200m Freestyle

Maybe this is too simple, but what about doing a time trial and see where you are at?

Sandu Sorry for confusion. No I didn’t mean that you add 23 seconds to a fatigued 200 Yard time to get a 200 meter time. What I did was take the only time you posted for the 200 Yard free (2:43) and using a swim time conversion formula provided what the time converts to for 200 Meters (3:06). Swiminfo.com has such a converter. Another way to look at this is to convert a 2:30 200 Meter time to a 200 yard time. According to the swiminfo converter “Your time of 2:30.00 in long course meters converts to 2:11.25 in short course yards”, meaning if you can swim a 2:11.25 for 200 yards you should swim a 2:30 200 meters. In many regards swimming is much like running, you need to invest in the base training to maximize your return. So when I see you say in 3 months of training you’ve improved a lot and are already going 2:43’s in the 200, I see this as a tremendous accomplishment. You are obviously working hard to achieve this goal and I wish you the best at the test. Yes I suppose it was a bit harsh, but I assumed you wanted realistic expectations more than just a rah rah, you can do it. Gook luck and keep us posted.

Family situation, time restraints, location and 12 Mile running days, are a few reasons why I decided to swim at a rec center half mile away insted. However, I did have a few coaches take a look at my stroke and they did not point out fundamental mistakes in my stroke. What I got from them is that I need swimming fitness and I need to spend some time in the pool. I can swim 31 for 50y but yet, only 2.43 for 200. But you know what, I hope these these times are irrelevant. These are times I do in the middle of a workout and I never push to the point of muscle failure. I'm not sure how much different swimming is than running, but sometimes I would be doing 8x400m in 64 seconds in practice and every single one of them hurts. Yet when it comes to race day, I can put all those together (7.58 3K and 8.33 2M). It happened to me many times in my 25 year running career. But then again swimming phisiology may be different. Rob, let me get this straight. You take my last interval of 200y, (I'm already fatigued!) you add 23 seconds ( is that the real conversion for 200m?) and you suggest my final time will be 3.06 ? You're either a bit harsh or maybe that's not what I want to hear a week before my test. I'll tell you what Rob, I'll make you a wager! While I'm 100% my time will not be 3.06, I'm pretty sure I will be swimming 2.30+ Definitely under 2.40. Just today I was feeling pretty good through a set of 100s in 1.12- 1.13. I'm improving from one session to another. I'll keep you posted!

Please don’t take this the wrong way, but as an obviously well trained athlete, why on earth are you not swimming with a coached program? A 2:43 for 200 yards converts to 3:06 for 200 meters, a dive start and a fastskin aren’t going to give you more that a few seconds. Being rested will give you a few more seconds. But for real improvement, train with a team and a good coach. There are many good Masters and age group programs in the Denver area who would be able to greatly improve your swimming.

If you really are interested in getting your times down, you must learn how to swim the right way. If you are as fit as you say and have a great stroke you would be swimming much faster than you are. George

I'd say your chances of going sub 2:30 are slim but possible. 30 seconds is a pretty long interval. I typically go 1:10 - 1:15 with 15-20 seconds rest and 1:05-1:10 with more rest. My 200 yd free is 2:10, which would be about 2:23ish (using a 1.1 conversion) for meters. Depending on your ability to push through pain, you could make it, but I'm betting you end up more like 2:35-2:40. Ask Karen Dugan for a time estimate, she nailed the estimate for me for my 400 IM.

Originally posted by sandu I breath every third stroke and kick my legs continuously. Be careful that you don't kick so hard that it wears you out. With good swim technique (including balance on the water), you can cruise along with almost no kicking at all. (And then turn on the kick when you need that little extra...)

who's to say what is possible for you continue to train hard work on your turns find a full body suit What are you best 25, 50, 75, 100, 150 and 200 times in practice? you might want to do more race simulations in training warm up rest 15 minutes with easy drills then swim a fast 200 for time work to lower your time a 2:30 lcm is like a 2:15 or so for 200 yards I'd like to see you go faster in practice ande Originally posted by sandu I am a former distance runner and I'm trying to get into Modern Pentathlon. I have to swim a 200m Freestyle. I've been training for 3 months and I feel I've improved a lot. At first I couldn't do more than two 50yards without stopping. Now I can do 10x100yards in 1.17-1.18 with 30sec recovery. I also do 10X50 in 34-35 and 5x200 in 2.45-2.48. All this in a turbulent, filthy 25 yard pool! I'm training on my own and I don't really know what I'm doing. I have a test in ten days consisting of a 200m freestyle and a 3000m run and I have to have a total score of 2400 points. While my run is strong enough to get me 1400 points (I represented the US at 2 world championships), I have to swim at least a 2.30 for my 200 m to get the remaining 1000 points. I don't know what to expect! I don't know how I should pace myself through the 1st 50, how I'm supposed to feel on the 2nd, 3rd 50 etc. Based on my workouts, can anyone predict how fast I can swim a 200m in an Olympic size pool? The best I've done is 2.43 on my last interval in a 200 yards Is 2.30 for 200 meters a legitimate target considering I'd be using a starting block, fast skin half suit and I'd be swimming in a real competition pool?

Sandu, I agree with everything Rob Copeland said... but I'd like to emphasize: Running and swimming are not alike in one major area: Muscle effort does directly correlate to swimming speed. You can swim with all your might and actually swim slower then when you're relaxed and focused. You really should be focusing on how to swim fast using the least amount of effort. The water has allot of resistance and techniques as simple and keeping your head in line with your body, extending your arms fully, and keeping your kick tightly streamlined will make you go faster than swimming harder. Look at the top swimmers. It looks like they're gliding - that's your goal. That's how you want to be. Only the sprinters look like they're putting in effort from poolside. As a runner I know you want to move faster and harder. To be fast as a swimmer you need to move smarter. Water resistance is simply too great to fight. You can only gain a small amount of speed my pushing harder. It's not a question of 'muscle fatigue' vs. 'swimming time', as much as it is a question of muscle fatigue's effect on 'swimming technique' that should be your concern.

I think that the pool you discribed sounds a lot like the pool I swim in. My 200 time can be 25 to 30 seconds faster in a meet then it is in a workout. If there is anyone else swimming in the pool when I do my workout it creates waves like you would not beleive. I feel like I am in a wave pool. If you are swimming your competition in a much better pool then you may have the same results that I have. This could bring you down close to where you want to be. My pool is the slowest pool you can swim in. How long do you have before this competition?