I took my 1500 m time in a 50 m pool 12 weeks before, and it was 31'42". Afterwards the 50 m pool I use closed for annual maintenance.
In these 12 weeks, I joined a squad and did 2 sessions per week, swam open water with a group every weekend, and also swam intervals on my own in a 25 m pool, with about 12 - 15 km total per week.
The 50 m pool I use reopened this week, so the first thing I did while returning was to take my time again, but the result was 31'13" - only 29 seconds improvement over 12 weeks! In contrast, I improved for 45 seconds in the preceding 6 weeks, from 32'27" to 31'42", and those 6 weeks were the weeks I newly joined the squad and I normally did only 1 session per week, and no intervals on my own.
I was targeting 30' and attempted to swim at an aerobic intensity which I thought I could sustain for 30 lengths, but I could only sustain my form for around 400 m. Afterwards, I felt my teres major were so tight that I couldn't perform my stroke well, my arms simply failed to execute my desired stroke even I reduced my stroke rate a bit, and the stiffness even persisted in the cool down after completing the set, and for another few hours.
According to my wearable, I was taking 31 - 32 cycles at the beginning, and 34 - 35 cycles at the end per 50 m length, while my stroke rate remained mostly the same. I was swimming at around 59" / 50 m in the 2nd to 4th lengths, then deteriorated to around 62" / 50 m in the middle, and about 65" / 50 m by the end.
The cumulative time as recorded by my wearable was follows:
250 m: 4'52"
500 m: 9'59"
750 m: 15'19"
1000 m: 20'31"
1250 m: 25'56"
1500 m: 31'14"
I'm very disappointed that, even after a few months of intense training, I still haven't reached 30' / 1500 m in long course yet. I'm taking a very expensive 1-1 professional analysis tomorrow, and hope that afterwards I can know all my technique problems and target them in the coming month in my own training, and get a jump in my speed.
Breaking the stroke down to absolute basics will probably take an adjustment period, but if you stay focused and refrain from old habits, there should be no reason not to excel well beyond your prior bests within a few months. Remember, it took thousands of km’s of inaccurate application of stroke technique, swimming inefficient will continue to feel natural and easier.
In the analysis, the coach told me that:
- my head was too low
- my arm was overreaching, such that the upper arm entered first, and the hand last
- my arm was pressing down the water instead of doing a proper catch, that lifted up my head for breathing but made my hip and legs sank
- I was overrotating to nearly 90°, creating cross-over and scissor legs
From the report it sounds you were expending most of your propulsive energy on fighting balance.
Breaking the stroke down to absolute basics will probably take an adjustment period, but if you stay focused and refrain from old habits, there should be no reason not to excel well beyond your prior bests within a few months. Remember, it took thousands of km’s of inaccurate application of stroke technique, swimming inefficient will continue to feel natural and easier.
In the analysis, the coach told me that:
- my head was too low
- my arm was overreaching, such that the upper arm entered first, and the hand last
- my arm was pressing down the water instead of doing a proper catch, that lifted up my head for breathing but made my hip and legs sank
- I was overrotating to nearly 90°, creating cross-over and scissor legs
From the report it sounds you were expending most of your propulsive energy on fighting balance.
