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
I'm impressed with how far you came in a short period of time. Was reading through, and thinking a few things, but then got to your last post, and it seems that you have made some improvements, already. Stroke count is one of the big things I use to determine where I am. I think it could still be lower, and that would help you. I've been doing this about a year longer than you, but saw similar improvements in health. I'm 45 and 5'8", so a little younger and a little shorter. I started out at 19 strokes per 25, and was probably about 15 when I was a year into it. Now I'm around 12-13, depending on how many UDK's I do off the wall, which depends on how far into a set or swim I am. One fewer for the mile, one more for the 100 and 200. So it will be interesting to see how far you get with another year.
The other big thing you mentioned is head positioning. I think that may have a lot to do with efficiency, too. Absolutely keep the eyes down, even slightly behind you if you can. I'm in the habit of watching my feet off the walls doing UDK's to keep my eyes from wondering ahead. I also use a snorkel on kick sets, and keep my hands on the board, not my arms. When you breathe, look about 3/4 behind you. THese are things that have worked for me. They might not for you, but they are things that can be done throughout a workout, rather than just using drills to improve technique.
The folks who have chimed in are a lot more qualified to give you workout feedback, but FWIW, I followed the Basic Training workouts that were posted. I still use the old ones (a new coach is now authoring workouts, but I prefer the older workouts), and tweak them a little as I see fit. They are much more based on more yardage doing 50's, rather than less doing 100's. An example would be 40 50's wiht a 20 second rest interval. I'll do that, and try to hit a 200 pace, rather than a 500 pace. Another is a Hackett set, where you do 3 reps at one pace and 1 at a faster pace, 4 times through with about 5 rest (based on the slower pace), then 2 and 1 with 10 seconds rest, then 1 and 1 with 15 seconds rest, and finally 4 50's at the faster pace with 20 seconds rest. Most of the time, those are set up to be done at the mile pace and 500 pace, but I have started shooting for 500 and 200 pace. Caveat here is that I've still not been able to do a meet, so my pacing is guessing combined with a few test swims to see how close I am. Again, the others are much more qualified to give you feedback, but just sharing what worked for me. And it might help give you some different things to make the wokrout more interesting.
I'm impressed with how far you came in a short period of time. Was reading through, and thinking a few things, but then got to your last post, and it seems that you have made some improvements, already. Stroke count is one of the big things I use to determine where I am. I think it could still be lower, and that would help you. I've been doing this about a year longer than you, but saw similar improvements in health. I'm 45 and 5'8", so a little younger and a little shorter. I started out at 19 strokes per 25, and was probably about 15 when I was a year into it. Now I'm around 12-13, depending on how many UDK's I do off the wall, which depends on how far into a set or swim I am. One fewer for the mile, one more for the 100 and 200. So it will be interesting to see how far you get with another year.
The other big thing you mentioned is head positioning. I think that may have a lot to do with efficiency, too. Absolutely keep the eyes down, even slightly behind you if you can. I'm in the habit of watching my feet off the walls doing UDK's to keep my eyes from wondering ahead. I also use a snorkel on kick sets, and keep my hands on the board, not my arms. When you breathe, look about 3/4 behind you. THese are things that have worked for me. They might not for you, but they are things that can be done throughout a workout, rather than just using drills to improve technique.
The folks who have chimed in are a lot more qualified to give you workout feedback, but FWIW, I followed the Basic Training workouts that were posted. I still use the old ones (a new coach is now authoring workouts, but I prefer the older workouts), and tweak them a little as I see fit. They are much more based on more yardage doing 50's, rather than less doing 100's. An example would be 40 50's wiht a 20 second rest interval. I'll do that, and try to hit a 200 pace, rather than a 500 pace. Another is a Hackett set, where you do 3 reps at one pace and 1 at a faster pace, 4 times through with about 5 rest (based on the slower pace), then 2 and 1 with 10 seconds rest, then 1 and 1 with 15 seconds rest, and finally 4 50's at the faster pace with 20 seconds rest. Most of the time, those are set up to be done at the mile pace and 500 pace, but I have started shooting for 500 and 200 pace. Caveat here is that I've still not been able to do a meet, so my pacing is guessing combined with a few test swims to see how close I am. Again, the others are much more qualified to give you feedback, but just sharing what worked for me. And it might help give you some different things to make the wokrout more interesting.
