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, I think could attend more meets. But this season I notice that the SPMA which is north of him only had two meets listed in short course meters since one was cancelled. In the San Diego area I do not know what is available, But traveling a 100 miles or so does take some planning. I was able to change my days off so I could go up to Tempe on Friday for the short course meters meet during October the 26 and 27 and I took vacation days because I normally work on the weekends. Now Paul may be in a profession that allows him more flexiabity to travel than either Ion or myself. The next meet I'm planning on doing is a local meet in Tucson in February. I understand why my state which is even more spread out with its two population metro areas doesn't have as many meets as California or the some of the metro areas back east do which are closer together and have more people to drawed from. As for speed, I'm swimming times closer to when I was 12 or early 13 years old. And I did better in the 100 meter breastroke than last summer and did swim the 200 meter breastroke for the first time but did slower in the 50 meter breastroke this time. And my 50 meter butterfly is slower than when I was 12 years old. So, age and conditioning in my case as well are definenity factors. I was beaten by even a 83 year old but I beat some of the times of beginning or immediate level 20 and 30 something swimmers.
I too find it difficult to attend lots of meets. The time away from my wife and children, and all of the errands and chores that we need to do every weekend, is prohibitive, and not justifiable for a personal and somewhat selfish hobby.
I try to make 2, 3, or 4 local (pacific) meets and one national meet, but may not do that every year. My situation may change after the children leave (if they do!) but that is a few years away . . .
I don't think I really need the meets for sprints or for distance freestyle events - but I find that I could use more experience in the 200 events, especially the 200 fly. I don't like learning how to pace an event in the biggest meet of the year. Also, even in Pacific the number of meets that have 200 fly, back, or *** events is limited.
But to call a taper a rest is a mistake, I think. Sure, the yardage goes down and you get more rest, but the intensity goes up as you train your body for more speed, more sprint, and more lactic-acid toleration in short races. The endurance is pretty much maintained - I have never found that I have lost 'shape' after a taper. I may be tired and have less motivation after an intense meet, but it is not a consequence of the taper itself.
Also, as others have pointed out, you don't taper for every meet if you go to lots. In that case the meet is a high-intensity workout. Also, the performances of track and field athletes, who attend lots of competitions every year, and the solid performances recently in the SCM swim circuit, demonstrate that good quality performances can be done quite often.
Originally posted by Paul Smith
Ion, I was a lot faster 10 years ago then I am now and even faster when I was in my 20s. Truth is we both are getting older ...
...
Exactly.
I asked you August 2001 when you did 1:58.xx in 200 meters free Long Course, what is your lifetime best 200 meters and you didn't know, but I imagine as being maybe 1:50, or 1:51, or 1:52, around and at the time of the 1984 US Olympic Trials.
So, when August 2001 I did 2:34, 7 seconds off my lifetime best, that's on the scale of a similar slow down, even with a better potential for me since in one workout in July 2001, leading in the lane, with no diving, no tapering, no pull buoy, fins or paddles, I did a 2:33, then a 2:34 and another 2:34.
It's just that a slow down from 2:27, is not as good a swim that the same slow down from 1:50.
Hence, my emphasis on training more and stronger than some others, so that I develop further a swimming VO2 Max on top of what I managed to build when beginning to swim well into adulthood.
Originally posted by Paul Smith
...
As for racing to much, I think you said you swam in two meets last year (SC & LC Nationals), if you think that's to much competing I'll refrain from even debating the issue.
...
In 2001 I swam four meets, two small, and Short Course and Long Course Nationals.
In 2002 I swam five meets, three small, and Short Course and Long Course Nationals.
Like Cynthia writes, there are some people who don't travel well, and I am one who hates it, even though as a foreigner in France, in Canada and in US, I traveled a lot to these countries, inside these countries, and to other countries.
Another condition to negotiate with in order for me to sneak a travel, is that my high-tech work is competitive in a nerdy way -unrelated to the hobby of swimming races-, and has a possessive side often requiring overtime during weekends.
One year ago, I remember you were consulting the USMS listings for places to swim, I guess since your work was making you traveling -like going to Los Angeles for a workout under Gerry Rodriguez which I recall-, and it seems to me that you travel well.
Originally posted by Paul Smith
...
I also do 100% race pace work with dive starts 1-2 times a week durning mid season training.
...
That's the kind of coaching I need:
.) race oriented, with 'Race Training' workouts, not only aerobic fitness like my T30 above, but also anaerobic, 'VO2', and 'Sprint Training';
.) tapering under a responsible coach, so that August 2001, I swim faster in competition than a 2:34 for 200 meters free, giving a 2:33 in a regular workout.
Originally posted by Paul Smith
...
Last but not least, you keep emphasizing finding the correct coach. I beleive Karlyn Pipes-Nielson & Caroline Krattli both train with SD and they certainly don't seem to have much of an issue with the quality of coaching. Both swam this past weekend at the ASU meet and broke multiple world records without fully resting.
...
Karlyn Pipes-Nielson trains with a US Swimming club in Coronado, coached by her husband Eric Nielson.
Caroline Krattli trains partly at UCSD were I trained for almost two years, and she trains elsewhere too, I don't know where.
Both have a wealth of experience and development in swimming, from their age-group swimming up until now, and they know what they choose to do in San Diego, better than me.
I came to San Diego two years ago, I don't have an age-group background, and I still discover by trial and error in competitions, what fits me here.
I hate to travel too. Its that motel or hotel beds are not that comfortable for one thing. And as a kid being an A and B age group swimmer mean't that I rarely went to a meet more than 60 miles. Even in community college, I didn't have to travel that far since the California Community College league never held a meet more than 75 miles away and the two years I swam in it, there was not a state meet for women until the year after I became ineligble and I didn't have to travel to Northern California for a state meet. And as an adult,the Tempe meet was the first that I spent in a motel since the Newberry Park meet as a 18 year old at the JR Olympics way back in 1975.
