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?
As you can see by this thread the use of a pull buoy and most likely paddles is one of the biggest things Masters discuss. The main reason for this lies with the simple fact: We are all different. Surprise! Body composition, O2 uptake, and lastly technique. We all need some amount of kicking to maintain a good streamline. We have to kick for lift as well as speed. The amount of lift needed varies with the swimmer. Some can get by with just a two beat kick others can't. Yu have to find your own level. Try using paddles without the buoy. Your arm efficiency will improve enough that you can experiment with how much of a kick you need to maintain a good body position. A coach or friend would be a great help here as would taking a video for you to look at. Keep your kick shallow, in the hole your upper body is making. Work on ankle flexibility making the foot behave more like a fin. The better the ankle flexibility the less knee bend you need to get a better and more efficient kick. The lower body has over 50% of total muscle mass. That's good for runners bad for swimmers, especially freestyles. A shallow efficient kick will minimize the O2 consumption of the legs leaving more for the arms and core.
