my level

Is this a girl's qualifying time it seems too slow for a guys time. I don't see why you can't make that time. As a senior in high school I decided to swim the 500 yard free instead of the *** which I'm better out in order to do something different. I drop from around 6:10 to 5:58. And free was my third stroke. I bet that you can do it from all the running and swimming you do. And you are in better shape than most girls that only swim on a team during the school year.

A 30 second drop is a lot for a 500. However if you break it down it works to a little over 1 second per length. And while increasing your yardage and number of swims will help your conditioning, it is also very important to focus on technique. Swimming quality yards is more important that just increasing your yardage. Work with your coach on starts and turns. A 1/2 second improvement in the start and each turn is worth 10 seconds in the race, without any increased effort. Also, making your stroke more efficient and powerful, through drills and speed work will help drop time. A 5 hundredths of a second improvement in stroke efficiency per stroke is worth another 15 seconds in the 500. Between improving start, turns and stroke this could easily account for 25 of the needed 30 seconds. The important thing is to talk with your coach and let the coach know your goal and what you are willing to do to achieve this goal. Then work with the coach to make it happen. GOOD LUCK!!!

Back when I was in high school (when dinosaurs roamed the earth), I did cross country and swimming as well. My first year of high school swimming, I dropped a minute in the 500. (The other years, not so much improvement.) Part of that was the difference in intensity between age group practices and high school, part was the improved coaching. I think most of it came from strength training, both weight lifting and dryland exercises. (That was my first experience with real strength training.) My coaches also really pushed stretching, which is often undervalued. Especially for distance swimmers, having a solid endurance base is important. You will be at a disadvantage compared to others who are (age-group) training this fall. When your swim season starts, keep the big picture in mind (states), even if it means sacrificing in the short term. Maybe you can talk to your coach to make sure you are on the same page. Even if you can't get in the pool that often now (while you are running), you can try to strengthen up (especially upper body). And like Rob says, when you do get in the water, really work on your turns and technique!

You said that right now you can swim about 6:55 in the 500. Is that in practice? If so I will guarnatee that you make the state cut. And to swim an effective 500, you need to train 4000-6000 per day, so getting your yardage up will really help.

Do pace work! Figure out what each 100 should be for in order for you to get that time. then do broken 500's. for those swim 100, stop long enough to get your time, take a breath and push off for the next 100, and do that 5 times. work on trying to keep your pace time for each 100 or a little bit below it. also come up with a way that you are going to swim your 500 and practice it. I always did a steady 300 and then started swam the last 200 the same way i swim a normal 200, so that would be a steady but fast and controlled 100 about on a 56 sec pace then go almost all out of the third 50 and sprint the hell out of the last 50. i usually swam a 1:54. also kick is very important for a 500, don't drag your feet behind you! keep a steady kick for the first 300 then increase it for the last 200. it is much easier to drop a large amount of time for longer distance events. at caa's i went from a 5:15 to a 5:05. also when you swim at meets tell your coach what time you want to hold for each 100 and have him/her stand on the side with a stopwatch and give you a thumbs up if you are on pace and do the hand wave to swim faster if you are off pace. that helps a lot and it keeps you swimming your own race and not the person's next to you, especially helpful if it is a slow heat. if you have anymore questions just email me.

As a coach, I think one of the best ways to get your time down is race strategy. You need to avg. 1:15/100 to get a 6:15 in the 500. Basing your workout on this interval is essential. 10*100 on 1:30 or 1:45 (each hundred under 1:15) is a good one. Next work on a long stroke (Total Immersion Techniques) and efficient kick. Your coach should be able to guide you. This is an awesome goal for a new swimmer. Good Luck!