I am an amateur swimmer and have started swimming in the pool 2.5 years ago. I enjoy all strokes and swim IM. This last year i have trained hard and got to this time a week ago 2:41 200m im (25m pool). What would it take to catch ~ 2:25 ? What are the advanced techniques for an IM-er? I get a bit tired in the first 50m of butterfly and suffer a bit the backstroke exhaling part underwater.
They always told me because I was a good butterflier and a great breaststroker, that I could have a really good I.M. What they didn't tell me was that since I sucked at backstroke, my I.M. would never be that great. Wasn't until I was a post-grad that I clued into this. Worked a lot on my backstroke. It still sucks, but I saw marked improvement in both I.M.s (200/400...100 doesn't matter as much having a weak stroke).
Best advice I can give you is to identify your weakest stroke, and spend some (or all) of a practice one a week or every two weeks working on it.
Also everything Jeff said is spot on, and I would take advice from him, seeing as he was a really good 400 I.M.er in a past life.
They always told me because I was a good butterflier and a great breaststroker, that I could have a really good I.M. What they didn't tell me was that since I sucked at backstroke, my I.M. would never be that great. Wasn't until I was a post-grad that I clued into this. Worked a lot on my backstroke. It still sucks, but I saw marked improvement in both I.M.s (200/400...100 doesn't matter as much having a weak stroke).
Best advice I can give you is to identify your weakest stroke, and spend some (or all) of a practice one a week or every two weeks working on it.
Also everything Jeff said is spot on, and I would take advice from him, seeing as he was a really good 400 I.M.er in a past life.
