One of the big questions I suspect a lot of us have is how to best split the 50s on the 100 as we get a bit older. Youngsters may be able to more or less all-out sprint the whole thing, but I find that if I go too fast upfront, I die so horribly on the second half, that it proves self-defeating. But if I go too slow at the outset, I can't make up the hole I've dug for myself.
I have a teammate named Ronald, and we both swam last April at Y Masters Nationals. In a sense, we each adopted opposite strategies, and in this one race, at least, it seemed that the "don't go out too fast" strategy prevailed.
If anyone is interested, please take a look at the following "analysis" of our respective races and let me know what your opinions are about how we might each go faster:
100 Freestyle analysis from Ft. Lauderdale
7 Jacobs, Ronald 38 South Hills-PA vs. 7 Thornton, James 49 South Hills-PA
(For some reason, I can't get the following to break out in a table format, but the numbers are for Ronald first then Jim then the Difference in Ronald & Jim's 50 splits in parentheses. The difference for each swimmer's own first and second 50s are in brackets.)
Ron Jim Difference between Ron and Jim
25.69 24.89 (-.80) 1st 50
26.38 27.57 (+1.19) 2nd 50
52.07 52.46 (+.39) total time
* difference between 1st & 2nd 50 splits
Possible conclusion: Jim went out too fast and could have done a better overall time by easing up slightly on the first half; the 2.68 second differential indicates some heavy duty dying went on in the second half
Possible alternative conclusion: Ronald went out too slow and could have broken 52 with more upfront effort; a .69 second differential indicates he essentially negative split this 100, given that there is no dive for the second 50
Ian--
Just realized we're comparing slightly different things.
Me: the difference between the first and second 50 in the 100.
You: the difference between the time in the 50 event vs. the first 50 in a 100. Both are interesting to look at.
Tom's "2 second rule" refers to my comparison.
The yet-to-be-announced rule refers to your comparison. If you look at your statistics, it looks like most swimmers in this small sample group took out the first 50 in their 100 about 1 second or so slower than their all out 50 time. In my case, this was almost exactly how I swam the 100. In your case, you went out almost 3 seconds slower than your 50.
So, here's what I propose as a starting point for strategic thinking:
A) Go out anywhere from 1-2 seconds slower on the first 50 of a 100 than you can all-out sprint on a 50 alone. This isn't actually as big a gap as it might seem, since in the latter you must do a flip turn before the split registers, whereas on the former your hand touches the wall to stop the clock.
B) Swim the second 50 as hard as possible. If your split here is significantly more than 2 seconds slower than your first 50 on this same 100, go out a little slower next time.
Example:
Best 50 yard time--24 flat.
Ideal 1st 50 in 100--25-26 flat.
Ideal 2nd 50 in same 100--27-28 flat.
Time for 100--52-55 flat.
Assuming you can do this, tinker around with the tenths on subsequent races to optimize your personal best. What do you think?
Ian--
Just realized we're comparing slightly different things.
Me: the difference between the first and second 50 in the 100.
You: the difference between the time in the 50 event vs. the first 50 in a 100. Both are interesting to look at.
Tom's "2 second rule" refers to my comparison.
The yet-to-be-announced rule refers to your comparison. If you look at your statistics, it looks like most swimmers in this small sample group took out the first 50 in their 100 about 1 second or so slower than their all out 50 time. In my case, this was almost exactly how I swam the 100. In your case, you went out almost 3 seconds slower than your 50.
So, here's what I propose as a starting point for strategic thinking:
A) Go out anywhere from 1-2 seconds slower on the first 50 of a 100 than you can all-out sprint on a 50 alone. This isn't actually as big a gap as it might seem, since in the latter you must do a flip turn before the split registers, whereas on the former your hand touches the wall to stop the clock.
B) Swim the second 50 as hard as possible. If your split here is significantly more than 2 seconds slower than your first 50 on this same 100, go out a little slower next time.
Example:
Best 50 yard time--24 flat.
Ideal 1st 50 in 100--25-26 flat.
Ideal 2nd 50 in same 100--27-28 flat.
Time for 100--52-55 flat.
Assuming you can do this, tinker around with the tenths on subsequent races to optimize your personal best. What do you think?
