Hi all, I am a relative beginner just started regular training. My aim is to get to 30' on 1500 m in a 50 m pool.
I have tried a straight 1500 m in a pool last evening, and got 35'9" with not much effort with average 52 spl without flip turns, which was about 49 - 50 near the beginning but 52 - 54 towards the end.
Last week I also tried a straight 2000 m in the same pool, and got 46'52", i.e. the exact same pace (2'21" / 100 m) as last evening, but with 50 - 52 spl at the beginning and 57 - 58 towards the end.
More swim statistics includes:
10 x 100m on 2'30" - average 2'5"
10 x 100m on 3' - average 2'0"
4 x 500m on 12'30" - 11'22", 11'25", 11'49", 11'56"
50m all out - 47" with about 53 strokes (race time is much faster because races start with a dive)
For comparison, my running race speed is 48'36" for 10 km on completely flat course, but any slope will tire me and slow me down immediately significantly.
Should I work to reduce stroke per length, or increase the effort (i.e. stroke rate) to see if I can reduce my time further?
After reading your reply I managed to squeeze 4 strokes out of 50 m - I completed the length in 45 strokes in warm up in my training session just now.
However, that was not sustainable because I exaggerated stretching in my core and my arms, and become tired so fast, in my main set consisting of mainly 200 m intervals the spl fell back to about 53 (time for 200 m about 4'9" to 4'15"), and couldn't bring it back below 50 afterwards no matter how I tried.
Takes practice and patience. Your body has to get used to it. It will tire out you more, as you are working your core and lats, which are not as conditioned to it. But as you engage more of your body, you'll find more of your body contributes, which will in the long run only help.
After reading your reply I managed to squeeze 4 strokes out of 50 m - I completed the length in 45 strokes in warm up in my training session just now.
However, that was not sustainable because I exaggerated stretching in my core and my arms, and become tired so fast, in my main set consisting of mainly 200 m intervals the spl fell back to about 53 (time for 200 m about 4'9" to 4'15"), and couldn't bring it back below 50 afterwards no matter how I tried.
Takes practice and patience. Your body has to get used to it. It will tire out you more, as you are working your core and lats, which are not as conditioned to it. But as you engage more of your body, you'll find more of your body contributes, which will in the long run only help.
