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'.
Parents
Former Member
This is in response to Paul.
By my standards, I was a good meet swimmer from 1986 up to 1996.
In 1996 I went in USMS competitions 58.50 and 58.90 in 100 yards free, 2:10.xx and 2:10.xx in 200 yards free, 20:57.xx in 1500 meters free Long Course while not totally pushing myself that day in anticipation of the next day, and the next day 1:04.77 in 100 meters free Long Course.
Articles in www.swiminfo.com often mention that competing too much doesn't allow the body to train, because there is a recovery after each meet, there are efforts to travel in unfamiliar surroundings -like Tom points out-, that put swimmers doing too many races in bad physical shape.
For example in 2001 you told me that you didn't do anything hard for five weeks, prior to the Long Course Nationals.
When I told people here about this, they said five weeks for Long Course Nationals, five weeks for Short Course Nationals, that's already a lot of easy time, off a season.
So I have to find, my best balance between training, racing in and from Southern California which I am still discovering two years after I came to San Diego, tapering and working for a living.
If there were meets once every month within ten miles radius of where I live, so I wouldn't bother to travel to unfamiliar surroundings, I would train and swim through them, and only taper once a year for a big meet.
Yesterday, the coach of the new Masters program I joined, said that I might have to taper on my own, because she has an all purpose (mainly fitness) program to run.
This is an alarm in my book, because I want the coach to be as responsible as I am about tapering results, and tapering for me is a fragile balance to achieve.
Work permitting, I am considering entering the Las Vegas mid-December meet for a 25 meters competition.
I don't guarantee it, though.
This is in response to Paul.
By my standards, I was a good meet swimmer from 1986 up to 1996.
In 1996 I went in USMS competitions 58.50 and 58.90 in 100 yards free, 2:10.xx and 2:10.xx in 200 yards free, 20:57.xx in 1500 meters free Long Course while not totally pushing myself that day in anticipation of the next day, and the next day 1:04.77 in 100 meters free Long Course.
Articles in www.swiminfo.com often mention that competing too much doesn't allow the body to train, because there is a recovery after each meet, there are efforts to travel in unfamiliar surroundings -like Tom points out-, that put swimmers doing too many races in bad physical shape.
For example in 2001 you told me that you didn't do anything hard for five weeks, prior to the Long Course Nationals.
When I told people here about this, they said five weeks for Long Course Nationals, five weeks for Short Course Nationals, that's already a lot of easy time, off a season.
So I have to find, my best balance between training, racing in and from Southern California which I am still discovering two years after I came to San Diego, tapering and working for a living.
If there were meets once every month within ten miles radius of where I live, so I wouldn't bother to travel to unfamiliar surroundings, I would train and swim through them, and only taper once a year for a big meet.
Yesterday, the coach of the new Masters program I joined, said that I might have to taper on my own, because she has an all purpose (mainly fitness) program to run.
This is an alarm in my book, because I want the coach to be as responsible as I am about tapering results, and tapering for me is a fragile balance to achieve.
Work permitting, I am considering entering the Las Vegas mid-December meet for a 25 meters competition.
I don't guarantee it, though.
