I realize this question is niave, please go easy on me! :)
I don't have a background in competitive swimming and one of the things that confuses me is the contradiction between racing your own optimal pace and racing against the other swimmers in the pool. It seems like swimming with your own optimal pacing should always be your best option. The only exception I can think of is for a slower swimmer to use tactics which attempt to get a faster swimmer to blow their race. This doesn't seem to fit in with the general principles of masters swimming, so why do the higher level competitions seem to cater to it by seeding by other than time?
Former Member
When all is said and done, and you are coming down to the wire
shoulder to shoulder, hip to hip with the guy in the next lane,
and he is beating you into the finish, are you going to continue to "swim your own race", or are you going to compete with him?
Willl you "reel him in" or continue at your "optimal pacing"???
Trying to beat the guy in the next lane in last few yards is
what it is all about---it is the best way to reach your new personal records.........
Sticking to your own pace is fine and dandy in theory. But, when you get to the meet and swim next to people it's hard to maintain your own, solo practice pace. This is why you often go much faster at meets than practice. I fully believe that swimming alone is great but swimming with others is vital for meet preparation or even overally swimming enjoyment. It's boring to swim alone.
Someone once told me the English word "competition" comes from the Greek word which means "to elevate," in that the competition elevates each competitor to a higher level. This is very true for myself, I find I can put in a good swim at a time trial on my own but never a great swim as in a meet.
I think it is a mix of swimming your own pace and racing against the other swimmers. I know I pace myself and if the person next to me is right there a lot of times it becomes a race to see if I can beat that swimmer. Some of my fastest times are when there is someone next to me and I push myself a little harder to try and beat them.
It seems that any reasonable pacing strategy would involve swimming as fast as you can at the end as there is no benefit to holding back at that point. Deciding when to start your final sprint is of course the complicated bit. ;)
But, if early on someone goes out at a faster pace than your optimal pacing, why not stick to your own pace, which by definition will get you to the finish in the least amount of time? Either the other swimmer is faster than you or they will fade later on.
All the race tactics in Swimming Fastest seemed to be based on getting the competition to swim slower, either by preventing their getting energized or by demoralizing them. Seems like a violation of the golden rule to me! :D
If having someone right there to race against is the best way to improve times, what is the motivation for seeding races by gender and age group instead of by time?
Actually, I guess the interesting question is why people swim faster in a race than in a time trial? Is it competitive motivation in the race or poor pacing skills in the time trial?
If a person always stuck to his own pace he would never go faster. Sometimes it takes some good competition to push you out of your comfort zone. I am remembering an interview of Kaitlin Sandeno after her silver medal swim in the 400 IM in Athens. She was second by .12 in a very exciting race, going a 4:34. Afterward she said she had been "stuck" for a year at 4:40 (we should all have such problems!) and was thrilled to take off six seconds. That was definitely a break-through swim for her and I guarantee would not have happened in a time trial without the close competition and the Olympic medal stakes. To take off that much time at that level is enormous.
