Need suggestions for improving my 500 free.
A little background: 52 year old male. been swimming again for about a year. up to 3500-4000 6 times a week. 5'10", 172 lbs (down from 195 when starting:)). Went to first masters meet last weekend. happy with times except 500. wanted to go 1:15,1:20,1:20,1:20,1:15. Went a 6:52 instead. 1:13, 1:26, 1:26, 1:27, 1:20. so about 43's per 50. swam the 1650 and went 44.5's per 50. (24:14). 50 free was 28secs. Even after swimming a year, pulls are faster than swims.
Usual workout is 1650 warmup, 5x100s on 2 pull (~1:11s), 5x100s on 2 swim (~1:13s), 1x500 kick, 12x50's IM on 1:15, 10x25's no breathers free/fly. breath every 2 in the 500. breath 2/3 on the 1650 (no legs hardly). high exertion difference for only 1.5 second difference per 50.
personal bests were 49 100 free, 4:59 500 free at age 20.
worried a bit about heart rate max. even though 52 no problem hitting 180 on tough sets (if I shorten rest on 100s). Is that too high for 52? I thought 220-age should be about max.
started swimming with a masters group 2 weeks ago but can only go on Saturdays.
I'm guessing shorter rest on the 100's.
(all distances are SCY)
Thanks
Good Morning Paul,
I agree with Calvin about doing 50s when training for the 500. When I coached in Red Wing, the distance guys would do 12 x 50 on :45 - trying to hit their target pace (usually 30). A few times they did 5 x 100 with 10 sec rest - only to get "mental" feel for the race.
If you are surfacing past the flags and still taking 17 strokes, that seems about 3-4 too high to me. BUT, if you are not kicking, stroke length can shorten. More importantly though is stroke rate. Going back to Calvin's comment, doing 50s makes it easier to work on tempo as well. I hate catch-up stroke drill because it completely messes up body rotation and timing and places a huge emphasis on kicking. There are better drills for working on stroke length and body position.
As for abs, I never do them. They are not going to help your body position. Planks, supermans, and other exercises that strengthen glutes and hamstrings are better. Most important though is head alignment (tucking the chin and looking down) coupled with staying tight through your hips (keeping the glutes a little contracted). Find a good yoga or pilates video or class for dry land.
HR info looks really good.
The drop off in your race splits suggests more conditioning. The 50s on :50 - 1:00 at race pace will help you raise your anaerobic threshhold. I suspect there might be more going on with body position and pulling pattern as well. As mentioned in my earlier post, HS or college men can just do it on guts and effort (to go 49 and 4:59. At 52, not gonna happen. :)
Finally, the warm-up my teams do something like this: 400 swim, 8 x 50 kick (increasing effort), 12 x 25 tech set, and 8 x 50 swim (desc 1-4, 5-8). Then, we get into it. :) Working harder during warm-up is not likely to lead to injury if you have good technique. Poor technique, doing the wrong lifts in the gym (too much weight, bad technique, etc.), and aging injuries are more likely to get you.
You are on the right track to getting faster!
Good Morning Paul,
I agree with Calvin about doing 50s when training for the 500. When I coached in Red Wing, the distance guys would do 12 x 50 on :45 - trying to hit their target pace (usually 30). A few times they did 5 x 100 with 10 sec rest - only to get "mental" feel for the race.
If you are surfacing past the flags and still taking 17 strokes, that seems about 3-4 too high to me. BUT, if you are not kicking, stroke length can shorten. More importantly though is stroke rate. Going back to Calvin's comment, doing 50s makes it easier to work on tempo as well. I hate catch-up stroke drill because it completely messes up body rotation and timing and places a huge emphasis on kicking. There are better drills for working on stroke length and body position.
As for abs, I never do them. They are not going to help your body position. Planks, supermans, and other exercises that strengthen glutes and hamstrings are better. Most important though is head alignment (tucking the chin and looking down) coupled with staying tight through your hips (keeping the glutes a little contracted). Find a good yoga or pilates video or class for dry land.
HR info looks really good.
The drop off in your race splits suggests more conditioning. The 50s on :50 - 1:00 at race pace will help you raise your anaerobic threshhold. I suspect there might be more going on with body position and pulling pattern as well. As mentioned in my earlier post, HS or college men can just do it on guts and effort (to go 49 and 4:59. At 52, not gonna happen. :)
Finally, the warm-up my teams do something like this: 400 swim, 8 x 50 kick (increasing effort), 12 x 25 tech set, and 8 x 50 swim (desc 1-4, 5-8). Then, we get into it. :) Working harder during warm-up is not likely to lead to injury if you have good technique. Poor technique, doing the wrong lifts in the gym (too much weight, bad technique, etc.), and aging injuries are more likely to get you.
You are on the right track to getting faster!
