500 yard free prep

Originally posted by GZoltners ... Try to groove in 1:10-1:11 so you can do it anywhere, anyhow, any amount of tired. Know what it feels like. Do some boring old sets of 100s on 1:20-2:00, holding that pace spot on. Try 5x100 on 1:20 or 10x100 on 1:30 or 15x100 on 1:45 Sounds easy, but hold that pace! Your volume here depends on how much you've been doing all along, obviously. You could try 2x4x100 on 1:20 or only 3x100 on 1:20. Just try to peg 1:10 when the lactic acid hits. Make sure you get a rest day or 2 this week, and 2-3 the next 2 weeks. Start doing your meet warmup every day to fine tune it. ... I am amazed at how easy workouts, such as the one I quote above, people are doing, yet come race time these same people are happy with themselves and me I am not. My tendency would have been to prepare the 500 yards free, as a broken 500 of 2 x 200 yards leaving on 2:25, and 100 in 1:10. When this is mastered, then is taper time. I reckon though that with my tendency I feel sorry about myself after races in which I keep producing workout times, no better. For example, Sunday after a mediocre small competition, with a 2:18.93 for 200 free, 28.07 for 50 free and 1:01.83 for 100 free, I did a 6,600 yards workout in which I was challenged at the end by a fresh UCSD varsity swimmer to do 5 x 150 yards leaving in 2:00 followed sthraight through by 10 x 75 yards leaving on 1:00. It might be that I dig myself into the ground as a tired zombie who doesn't achieve very often tapering.

Originally posted by GZoltners ... Try to groove in 1:10-1:11 so you can do it anywhere, anyhow, any amount of tired. Know what it feels like. Do some boring old sets of 100s on 1:20-2:00, holding that pace spot on. Try 5x100 on 1:20 or 10x100 on 1:30 or 15x100 on 1:45 Sounds easy, but hold that pace! Your volume here depends on how much you've been doing all along, obviously. You could try 2x4x100 on 1:20 or only 3x100 on 1:20. Just try to peg 1:10 when the lactic acid hits. Make sure you get a rest day or 2 this week, and 2-3 the next 2 weeks. Start doing your meet warmup every day to fine tune it. ... I am amazed at how easy workouts, such as the one I quote above, people are doing, yet come race time these same people are happy with themselves and me I am not. My tendency would have been to prepare the 500 yards free, as a broken 500 of 2 x 200 yards leaving on 2:25, and 100 in 1:10. When this is mastered, then is taper time. I reckon though that with my tendency I feel sorry about myself after races in which I keep producing workout times, no better. For example, Sunday after a mediocre small competition, with a 2:18.93 for 200 free, 28.07 for 50 free and 1:01.83 for 100 free, I did a 6,600 yards workout in which I was challenged at the end by a fresh UCSD varsity swimmer to do 5 x 150 yards leaving in 2:00 followed sthraight through by 10 x 75 yards leaving on 1:00. It might be that I dig myself into the ground as a tired zombie who doesn't achieve very often tapering.