I've been aiming to achieve an NQT for the 1650 this season (20:33). Came up short the first time I raced in in January @ 20:53. Next race, early March, I went out a bit faster, but blew up on the back half and ended up going 20:59. Gonna take one more crack at it the last weekend before the Spring Nationals entry deadline.
Today I was planning to do a fly workout at my normal late-lunch afternoon swim, but then I got a text from my co-worker that he was going to have to go home early, and that I should go to the pool this morning if I wanted to swim. I did so, but I'd already done 30 minutes on the bike trainer earlier in the morning so my legs were a little tired. I didn't have a lot of time, either, so I decided to just jump in cold and do a 1650 TT with a pull buoy (no paddles).
I started watching the clock around the 400 mark, and was holding right around 1:16/100. I had to gradually increase the intensity, but I was able to hold that pace for the next 1000. When I got to the 1400 mark, it dawned on me that if I pushed the last 250 a bit, I might actually finish with a personal best. I did push, and I ended up going 20:51....with no block start, and no ability to 6-beat kick the last 50. So, I was simultaneously happy to go a personal best, but also perturbed that I was faster with a pull buoy than without.
This certainly wouldn't be the case for any distance 500y or shorter. I think even at 800m/1000y, I'd be faster without the pull buoy. But the evidence that I could pull a 1650 faster than I could swim hit me right between the eyes this morning. So the big question is, how unusual or normal is this? What does it all mean? What is the airspeed of an unladen swallow? Should I give up and go back to middle-distance and sprints?
Coaching a Masters swimming team I consider this pretty normal for men. Often women seem to pull slower with pull buoys. I think it has to do with the average body fat percentages being different between men and women. It would be interesting for you to see an underwater video of your body when swimming versus pulling with the pull buoy. I would guess that your legs are much higher in the water (your body being more horizontal) when you have the pull buoy between your legs. I also notice that often people have different arm stroke cadences when just pulling than with kicking. This is probably related to the arms and the 6-beat kick (or 2-beat kick) coordination. Also kicking can take a lot of energy, so by not kicking you might have been able to work faster with just your arms over the total distance. Just my thoughts.
For what it's worth, I'm female and also a better puller than kicker. I still don't quite understand why because I am actually a better bicyclist than swimmer and would have though I had strong legs. I agree about the energy demands of kicking. I don't need to breathe nearly as often pulling compared to swimming
For what it's worth, I'm female and also a better puller than kicker. I still don't quite understand why because I am actually a better bicyclist than swimmer and would have though I had strong legs. I agree about the energy demands of kicking. I don't need to breathe nearly as often pulling compared to swimming
Well, I'm the same. A powerful breaststroke kick and a weak freestyle kick. I swim faster with a pull bouy as well in freestyle and can't swim that good past 200 yards. If I do a freestyle event again it will be 50 or 100 yards.
You have struck a nerve on this one. I usually go on a rant about this, but I will try to keep it brief here. Too many swimmers, especially triathletes, use pull buoys as crutches. The buoys artificially raise your hips, allowing you to overcome poor streamlining. Most people would be much better served by working to improve body position by 1) lowering the head, 2) raising the hips and 3) related to 2, engaging the abs.
FWIW, I'm a swimmer who dabbles in triathlon, not the other way around. I usually start my warmup with a 200 pull, and might use the pull buoy for a 100 yards of a 300 yard between-sets-active recovery, but that's it. Only because my schedule got scrambled after I'd already done a bike trainer session, and I unexpectedly ended up at the pool shortly after, did I go to the pull buoy for this 1650.
I think your #3 is my problem. In retrospect, I don't think I'm really doing enough yardage to build the core stamina to keep my abs fully engaged for an entire 1650. I've been trying to "hack" my way to 1650 performance on just 12-14k yards a week.
You have struck a nerve on this one. I usually go on a rant about this, but I will try to keep it brief here. Too many swimmers, especially triathletes, use pull buoys as crutches. The buoys artificially raise your hips, allowing you to overcome poor streamlining. Most people would be much better served by working to improve body position by 1) lowering the head, 2) raising the hips and 3) related to 2, engaging the abs.
+1 on this. The last time I used my pull buoy was after having hip surgery for a labral tear repair and hip flexor release. After my stitches were removed, the only way my surgeon would only allow me back in the pool for the following two months was if I followed his order of "No kicking!" My pull buoy was my friend for those two months! I haven't used it since.
Female here and I'm definitely more typical. My pull is nearly always slower, I suspect because I have plenty of floatation in my hips already. :) The buoy puts that whole area higher in the water.
I'm female and pull a lot faster than I kick. I'm not a triathlete (I don't bike, but I do run).
Lately, I've been substituting an ankle band for a pull buoy. When I first used one, I could hardly hold my legs up and was sure I'd drown. Now I can swim a lot more easily w the band. (Interestingly, my breaststroke and fly are faster w an ankle band than without--back and free are about the same either way.)
A master's teammate noticed that my hips are higher now and my legs aren't sinking even when I don't wear the band.
Getting to like my band almost as much as my pull buoy! :)
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You have struck a nerve on this one. I usually go on a rant about this, but I will try to keep it brief here. Too many swimmers, especially triathletes, use pull buoys as crutches. The buoys artificially raise your hips, allowing you to overcome poor streamlining. Most people would be much better served by working to improve body position by 1) lowering the head, 2) raising the hips and 3) related to 2, engaging the abs.
