Has anyone heard of saving their kick for the second half of the two hundred to draw lactic acid towards the leg muscles? I recall reading somewhere that this would allow the arms to remain relatively free of acid build up so they don't tighten up so much on the final laps.
In sprint races, the fifty and hundred are over before you know it. The two hundred however has always posed a challenge because if you go out too fast, there's a price to pay towards the 150 mark. I am working on getting the first hundred paced fast but easy, and then saving some steam for the last seventy five. (Almost like an attempt to even split the 200.)
Any thoughts on race pace strategies would be appreciated.
Parents
Former Member
A very successful race pacing strategy for the 200 free (the other strokes pose different type of challenge) is to back-off slightly in the second 50 (less kick) and then descend the 3rd and 4th. Some prefer the third 50 to be the fastest others, who have more confidence in their ability to descend, the last 50 is the fastest.
I think a very good split is somwhere between 1-2 seconds (I prefer something like 2 seconds but Thornton's recommendatin of 1 second might be better)
My recent best 200 at age 50 was 1:57 my splits:
27, 30, 29, 30 (don't remember fractions)
My first 50 was about 2.5 seconds off my p.r. for a 50 and the 100 was also about 2.5 seconds off my p.r. for a 100.
Note: I train 3+ times week for a total of about 10,000 yards. You might be more aggressive with the first 50 if train more and/or are younger. Personally, I would still go ahead 2.5 seconds slower than p.r. for the first 50 and just push harder in the 2 or 3 50 if I had more training under my belt.
A very successful race pacing strategy for the 200 free (the other strokes pose different type of challenge) is to back-off slightly in the second 50 (less kick) and then descend the 3rd and 4th. Some prefer the third 50 to be the fastest others, who have more confidence in their ability to descend, the last 50 is the fastest.
I think a very good split is somwhere between 1-2 seconds (I prefer something like 2 seconds but Thornton's recommendatin of 1 second might be better)
My recent best 200 at age 50 was 1:57 my splits:
27, 30, 29, 30 (don't remember fractions)
My first 50 was about 2.5 seconds off my p.r. for a 50 and the 100 was also about 2.5 seconds off my p.r. for a 100.
Note: I train 3+ times week for a total of about 10,000 yards. You might be more aggressive with the first 50 if train more and/or are younger. Personally, I would still go ahead 2.5 seconds slower than p.r. for the first 50 and just push harder in the 2 or 3 50 if I had more training under my belt.
