Over the last weekend I competed in 50m and 100m LCM butterfly.
I can swim the events, but I am just not able to keep my stroke together and remain at a reasonable speed (I would say fast, but even when sprinting it takes me about 36 secs per 50m SCM). I then deteriorate into 'survival' fly, where my hips drop and the priority is breathing on each stroke.
On the 50m, I started to struggle over the last 10m, which lost me a few seconds. On the 100m, I went out a bit slower, but by the time I got to the second 50m I was really struggling. This meant it took me around 55 secs to do the second 50m.
I've done a lot of fly in training recently, so I didn't expect it to be so tough.
In contrast, I did the 100m freestyle, and kept my intensity near maximum throughout, so I'm not sure why fly would be so different?
I do all of my training in a 25m pool, so do I really need to get to a 50m pool to get used to longcourse?
Is part of the problem oxygen debt? I seem to have trouble breathing properly on fly, as I am normally rushing to get my head back down after a very short breath.
I saw in the archives a topic about fly endurance. It suggested working on sets of 25m, then 50m, then 75m until doing 6x75m at a good pace. Another suggestion is doing 8x25m fly and decreasing the rest with each workout. My coach suggested doing 20x25m of 6 stroke fly followed by easy freestyle into the wall. That doesn't seem to be working for me, because it seems to be teaching me to swim 6 strokes then relax.
Would you recommend one of the above training methods or another one?
Is land training essential for conditioning to the level required, as most of my training is pool based right now?
Sorry for the long topic, with lots of questions. Hopefully, I will find some help here or just pointed towards some articles/training methods that work.
When I am training to race a 200 fly, I tend to start with something like 6 or 8 x 50 where I'm aiming to hit my target race pace on each 50. When I first start doing this set, I'll set the interval at 20 seconds above my target race pace. If I get to the point where that is really comfortable, I'll drop the interval to 15 seconds above target race pace. As I get closer to race day, I'd probably do 4 to 6 x 50 and set the interval at 10 seconds above target race pace
Hi, Patrick! :wave: How many times per week would you recommend I do this set? I typically swim 6 x wk (when I'm not traveling), and I max out my workouts at 2,500 yards. My core events are breaststroke; however, I also compete in 400 IM, 200 fly, and I will add distance free on a multi-day meet. How would you break down the percentage of yardage I swim each stroke in each workout?
Thanks!
:D
When I am training to race a 200 fly, I tend to start with something like 6 or 8 x 50 where I'm aiming to hit my target race pace on each 50. When I first start doing this set, I'll set the interval at 20 seconds above my target race pace. If I get to the point where that is really comfortable, I'll drop the interval to 15 seconds above target race pace. As I get closer to race day, I'd probably do 4 to 6 x 50 and set the interval at 10 seconds above target race pace
Hi, Patrick! :wave: How many times per week would you recommend I do this set? I typically swim 6 x wk (when I'm not traveling), and I max out my workouts at 2,500 yards. My core events are breaststroke; however, I also compete in 400 IM, 200 fly, and I will add distance free on a multi-day meet. How would you break down the percentage of yardage I swim each stroke in each workout?
Thanks!
:D
