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.
That’s a good time especially for being new. I am not an IMer /mid-D, but what were the 2:41 splits? transitions?
Do you think fly conditioning would help?
I have found fly conditioning doesn't do THAT much. The fly part of the I.M. is like the swim portion of a triathlon. You can be really poor at it and still be really good at the race as a whole. Certainly for the 400, having a better fly is going to be more beneficial, but again, having a weak backstroke or breaststroke is far more detrimental.
When I train I.M., I try to write workouts (main sets specifically) that focus on long and smooth butterfly, with limited fatigue, while hammering the backstroke and breaststroke (often times at race pace), and then some sort of race component on the freestyle (like negative splitting or descending 100s). One coach I had as a post grad was big on the over-training the freestyle to work on that mental toughness...helped me get past coming off the breaststroke and just feeling like my arms were made of rubber and just flailing through the freestyle!
Everyone has their own style though. If your fly is really weak, then obviously it needs SOME work. But definitely focusing on the "meat" of the I.M. race will be very beneficial.
That’s a good time especially for being new. I am not an IMer /mid-D, but what were the 2:41 splits? transitions?
Do you think fly conditioning would help?
I have found fly conditioning doesn't do THAT much. The fly part of the I.M. is like the swim portion of a triathlon. You can be really poor at it and still be really good at the race as a whole. Certainly for the 400, having a better fly is going to be more beneficial, but again, having a weak backstroke or breaststroke is far more detrimental.
When I train I.M., I try to write workouts (main sets specifically) that focus on long and smooth butterfly, with limited fatigue, while hammering the backstroke and breaststroke (often times at race pace), and then some sort of race component on the freestyle (like negative splitting or descending 100s). One coach I had as a post grad was big on the over-training the freestyle to work on that mental toughness...helped me get past coming off the breaststroke and just feeling like my arms were made of rubber and just flailing through the freestyle!
Everyone has their own style though. If your fly is really weak, then obviously it needs SOME work. But definitely focusing on the "meat" of the I.M. race will be very beneficial.
