I am notorious in my own book for producing workout times that are sometimes -not always, but frequently- faster than my competition times, no matter the tapering for competition.
Today was such an example.
One and a half months ago, I switched to a new Masters program, and today without tapering it was asked of us to do a T30 in a 50 meters pool, meaning swimming the maximum distance one can cover during 30 minutes.
I went a faster split at 800 meters than my tapered 800 meters swam in competition in Cleveland two months ago.
Today at the 800 meters mark I split 11:31.
In Cleveland it was 11:45.xx.
My distance covered today was 2,040 meter in 30 minutes, for an average of 1:28.23 per 100 meters.
In Cleveland, my 11:45.xx over the smaller 800 meters, is an average of 1:28.13, barely faster than the one during today's T30.
The fastest swimmer in the workout today, was in my lane, swimming 2,450 meters, for an average of 1:13.06 per 100 meters.
Last December, in the Masters program where I was then, in a 50 meter pool again, I swam 16 x 100 meters leaving every 1:25, so I started hoping to succeed a sub 11:00 in 800 meters in August 2002 in Cleveland.
I guess doing lots of quality swims so that the body remembers at least one of them during competition, leading a peace of mind life allowing for these swims, and tapering well -including carying a feel good sentiment into competition-, they are part of a fragile balance to achieve, and to maintain:
it is 'getting into the zone'.
Ion, sounds like an im pressive work out! I've mentioned this before but will bring it up again, in many respects you must separate what you do in workout from what you do in a meet.
Let me explain (before getting beat up on!), as other posts have mentioned there are often very good workout swimmers who don't perfom all that well and very good meet swimmers that are notorious "slackers" in workouts. Why this is the case can be the subjest of debate on another thread.
The reason I say you need to separate the two has to do with ones "comfort zone". We spend a heck of a lot of time in the pool for training, how much time do you actually spend a year in comparison swimming races (ahh, a challenge for Mr. Arcuni to figure out the math!)?
If you want to improve in meets, you need to swim in a LOT of meets. You happen to be in a location (southern Cal) that happens to have some type of meet going on virtually every weekend. If your not "practicing" racing at these meets and then getting down when you swim poorly at the one or two Nationals you attend each year than you are overlooking the key problem in your preparation.
Best of Luck!
Ion, sounds like an im pressive work out! I've mentioned this before but will bring it up again, in many respects you must separate what you do in workout from what you do in a meet.
Let me explain (before getting beat up on!), as other posts have mentioned there are often very good workout swimmers who don't perfom all that well and very good meet swimmers that are notorious "slackers" in workouts. Why this is the case can be the subjest of debate on another thread.
The reason I say you need to separate the two has to do with ones "comfort zone". We spend a heck of a lot of time in the pool for training, how much time do you actually spend a year in comparison swimming races (ahh, a challenge for Mr. Arcuni to figure out the math!)?
If you want to improve in meets, you need to swim in a LOT of meets. You happen to be in a location (southern Cal) that happens to have some type of meet going on virtually every weekend. If your not "practicing" racing at these meets and then getting down when you swim poorly at the one or two Nationals you attend each year than you are overlooking the key problem in your preparation.
Best of Luck!
