How many here are sprinters and how many long distance swimmers?

For the past few years I've been trying to work out whether I'm a distance swimmer or sprinter, I do all distances and events, similar to pbsaurus - only I guess I've been endowed with a little more grey matter as I've never done a 1650 fly!!!! :) I've now decided I'd like to concentrate on specific events but my results are comparatively pretty much all the same. Would this be a matter of choose what you like doing best? Any advice?

Liala, You are precisely correct. If you are reasonably comfortable with all strokes & distances, pick the events that appeal to you for any reason, no matter how profound or flippant. (The 200 free because you really admire Franze van Almzick, or the 400 IM because you get to use all strokes and a bad start or turn will not ruin your race, or all 50's because they are done quickly and you can do a race-paced swim in practice several times a day, or...) Do the events that make you say "Dang! I only got to swim it once! Too bad we do all our events as timed finals because I would LOVE to have a prelim, semi-final and final swim of this event." BOREDOM is the biggest obstacle to a long-term exercise plan, so pick the events that will have you looking forward to practice. Matt

i used to do distance but have started splitting this down into sets of 250 metres,or even 125 metres,i still do 3000metre workouts but must admit i feel fitter and healthier doing smaller sprints ,i would sometimes before swim2500metres without stopping,all i used to feel was drained at the end(lactic acids in abundance i think,combined with the occassional charlie horse for good measure)i looked like i'd come from the ministry of funny walks when i exited the pool.....

In high school, I was a sprinter, but not a terrific one. The best times for the 100 free were around 1:10 or 1:12. Not that special. And, for the 50 free, I was lucky to crack 28 or 29 seconds. You maniac fast people out there...and you butterfliers! Mad skills! So, now I'm almost 30--and figured, distance would make sense. Hopefully this knee will be ready to run a 5-10K by next spring, and I could do some tri's. It would be awesome to pass most people during the swim. It seems the longer I go, the faster I am. Are there many triathletes here? Have a great day! Jerrycat

I love to do distance. if I had my choice between a 1500, or a few 100 sprints, I would do a 1500. Sprints are a torture! ;)

Like Jerrycat, I too was a sprinter and remember my 50 free times when I was 15 around the mid to lower 22's. I'm 29 now and just getting back in the pool and hopefully able to get near that same time again.

middle distance free is the best......i love anything from a 100free to 500free. i like 400im as well. i absolutely hate 50 free. i just can't get my turnover going, and i have bad starts so i'm pretty much out of the race before it even starts. i have done a 1650 fly........it wasn't too bad. i think i did it because i was pissed at my coach, we had some sort of disagreement and it was kinda like "fine i'll just swim the whole thing butterfly!" i did it all and beat some ppl who were swimming freestyle. i just get bored with distance....i lose count too so i usually end up swimming more than i was supposed to. i hated it when we did timed 3000yds in practice, i just never saw any real point to it even though it was supposed to test your level of conditioning during the season. i much rather do 8x200 sprints, 500s descend, or 100s off the blocks.

Sprint Breaststoker now in my mid-40's. Swam a 46.12 in the 50 meter *** and a 1:43.31 in the 100 meter *** and a 3:58.01 in the 200 meter, went out three seconds slower in the first 100 meter than the last because I can't keep up the pace of doing a 200 meter *** if I swam the first 100 meter just 5 seconds slower than my 100 meter swim. Your right, the 50 is one of the most tiring races.

How about a middle ground for us people who don't quite have the fast twitch for sprint, but lacks the patience for distance - There has to be other middle distance (200-500) swimmers out there... ~CB

I was never a sprinter even in running. I really don't even enjoy sprints now. Why all that work in practice just to swim a few seconds at the meet? I like my events to last a little longer. Jerrycat I started doing triathlons two years ago.