200m Freestyle

Thanks guys! Your advice is important to me. It may be late as far as my fast approaching test but I will reevaluate if I fall short. The thing is, if I manage to get the 2400 score I will be rewarded with professional coaching at the OTC. It's a long shot and in a little more than a week I have to give it my best. Maybe I asked the wrong question at this point. Maybe I should be asking questions along the line of "how do I give it my best shot with what I got?" Strategy, pointers, greatly appreciated! When I swim my 33/1.12/2.43 type efforts in practice I'm at about 90% effort, I take open turns, not pushing off the wall too hard. I breath every third stroke and kick my legs continuously. My skinny runner arms are getting stronger but time is not on my side at this point. I have good pain tolerance and I'm ambitious. This is what I got. How do I tackle this thing mentaly, physically and strategicaly?

If I were you I would work on 100's, 50's and 25's to increase your speed. It doesn't sound like you have lots of time before your test. I think you have to swim at the speed that is going to give you the end result that you desire. It also sounds like you are bilateral breathing I would breathe a little more often. Make your turns countpush off hard you can cut your time by as much as2 sec by pushing off with speed. George

One of my coach's always tells us that one of the best ways to get your meet time is to do a 'broken' set. So for a 200, start, 10 seconds rest per 50, then subtract 30 seconds at the end. Do about 5 with a minute or so rest between each interval. After that, try a set broken on 25, with 5 seconds rest. See if your times are similar to that of the set broken on 50. You mentioned that when you got your time you were doing point turns. Do you know how to do flip turns? That alone can shave 2-3 seconds per turn. I learned flip turns pretty much on my own, but with the help of a lifeguard at a quiet pool, she was glad to be doing something. You may want to talk to others at the pool you're at and ask for help on flip turns and other things that can make you more effecient and faster. I have to agree with everyone else...for long-term gains in swimming, you are far better off swimming with a coached team. You may want to consider this even once or twice a week, get time with a coach, and practice what he/she tells you while you swim on your own.

Sandu, Rob does tend to sound a little harsh, but his point is 'right on'. Your focus seems to be on "strength". This makes a great deal of sense coming from a runner. Technique isn't really all that important as a runner in relation to the speed and length of your legs. However, with swimming - strength isn't that important. What makes the fastest boat? Is it the most powerful engine that wins races? Answer: The shape of the hull, the and it's position in the water both have far greater impact on a boat's ability to win a race than the power of the engine. Which is faster: A wooden raft with a 200hp engine or a ski boat with a 200hp engine? You seem to be expressing that you'd like to modify the power which you're supplying to the water. You're hoping that power will increase your speed. Using that logic, how powerful of an engine would you need to put on the raft before it would be able to keep up with the ski boat? 300hp, 400hp? 2x400hp? All we know for sure is that it's going to take allot of power. In the end the raft never going to move nearly as well as the ski boat - it's the wrong shape. This exact principle applies to the human body as well. You can try to increase your power, but it's far more effective and far easier to improve your shape. So, you want to swim faster in a day, a week, a month or a year? My advise is the same: Learn how to be as streamlined as you can be (yes, you can improve in a day). Stroke power will come in time. If you're getting stronger and you're not streamlined you're a raft with a powerful engine... and not going to go very fast no matter how fast or hard you move your arms and legs.

Sandu -- If you can do repeats of 200Y at 2:45 in practice, then you can probably get a little under 2:20 in a one-shot, give-it-your-all 200Y fully rested. (This, of course, is just my guess based on how it translates for me. Your mileage will vary!) But that's still yards, not meters, so you'll have to add approximately 10% to a yards time to get a meters time. That would put you under 2:40 or so for meters. So you're close if everything goes its very best. You still have more work to do to break 2:30. There is a thread in here about the advantages of a block start. If you have never done it before, I wouldn't recommend that you count on any advantage from a block start. It can give you an advantage, but it can also cost you if you do a lousy start. Coaching will help you get the basics pretty quickly. I wouldn't count on much help from the fastskin. It makes a difference at the elite levels, but that's not where you are. If you are proficient at flip turns, you can pick up time on each turn with a flip. But if you are not proficient, you will hurt your time trying. A good open turn will be your best bet. Besides, if you are doing this in a 50M pool, there will only be 3 turns, so I wouldn't put a whole lot of time into improving the turn. Just use a good open turn. (You mentioned "not pushing off the wall too hard". There is no such thing as too hard! This is a part of the swim where you momentarily are moving faster than at any other part of your swim. Get the most out of that. Learn to get the best glide. Push hard off the wall! Coaching will help you pick up the basics of a good glide pretty quickly. I'll recommend this -- keep your hands together, one palm over the top of the other hand, when you push off, and squeeze your ears with your biceps. It gives you a better streamline and you'll glide farther. Don't emulate Supeman with your hands apart and your head up!) The difference between a turbulent and smooth pool can be significant. This may be your ace in the hole. There are several threads on this board about pacing a 200. My philosophy is to go about 90+% on the first 50. Go all out on the middle 100, and then do whatever it takes to survive and bring it home on the last 50. If you are not in pain when you touch at the end, you didn't give it your all. Others have pointed out here that the 3rd 50 is key. It's where more people win or lose the 200. I can see the point. But keep in mind that this is all new ground for you. You've never raced a 200, I presume. You won't really know what it's like until you get there. So see if you can get yourself into some simulated 200 races with someone racing against you in the next lane. Know what the oxygen debt of that 3rd and 4th 50 feels like. Be ready for it! Having a coach and working out with a Masters team will help facilitate this. There are several large ones in the Denver area. Ditto Colorado Springs. PS: Where are they doing the test? Denver University? Olympic Training Center?

Sandu, I like what the Guv says... Also Ande says he would like to see you swim faster in practice... I have always said if you want to swim fast in a race, you have to swim fast in training... So if you average 33 sec per 50 that gives you 2:12 for 200, I would not even worry about swimming 200's get your fiffties down with decreasig rest periods say 10 sec. down to 5 sec. and you will be surprised how easy a 200 can be. The last 25 any air you take in won't help so keep the body streamlined and don't worry too much about breathing. George www.swimdownhill.com

Sandu, "How do I give it my best shot with what I got?" Find a very good coach and get some private lessons, quick. I say this because of two of your comments. One “I'm training on my own and I don't really know what I'm doing.” And two “I did have a few coaches take a look at my stroke and they did not point out fundamental mistakes in my stroke.” First, if you don’t really know what you are doing, get someone who does. And second every swimmer has some fundamental flaws in their strokes. Even Olympic champions like Phelps (US record holder in the 200 Free) are constantly working with their coaches to improve their strokes. If the coach you’ve talked to can’t find technical improvements in your stroke, find others who can. Check with the USMS LMSC chair or the USA-Swimming LSC chair.

Sandu, I am going to break with all of the others somewhat and tell you that in the condition you are in, you should probably be able to meet your goal time. Concentration and focus are the key now, you only have to get through 200 meters to get experienced coaching, so don't get too excited on the first 50. And all races are won at the finish line, so don't use all your energy on the 3rd 50. Do not start out too fast on the first 50 (70% effort is plenty, make sure your strokes are long and breathing is regular and relaxed), and give every subsequent 50 15% more effort, so by the end you are going 115%. Okay, bad math, but you kow what I mean. And the time in the water is only going to be a couple minutes, so while you are swimming, keep running a checklist through your head: body position, head position, arms reaching, legs kicking, streamline from pushoffs. Mental preparation is very helpful, so visualize yourself going through the race in the days before the contest (make sure that your visualization includes looking at the clock at the finish and finding the time you want and expect). A good warmup will also help you get the most from your race. Don't be afraid to work hard for a few hundred meters up to 1/2 hour before your race. Try pace 50s, broken swims, and a few sprints at the end. These will all help your body know what to do as far as pacing, speed and effort in the race. Best of luck.

Sandu, Good advice above in terms of looking at "broken" swims with short rests as a measure of where you are. If you're doing 50 yard repeats at 33secs, you can probably link 4 of these together in a race for a 2:12. This converts to 2:30.8 for long-course meters. (You never said, but we're all assuming the competition pool is 50 meters) My advice in terms of pacing, think of a 200m like an 800m run. Try to split the 4 50s evenly. The first 50 you want to go long and strong, maximize dps (distance per stroke) Focus on streamlining your stroke, keep head in line with body, eyes focused down. Think of your kick as you would your arms in a run. First 50 (like first 200 of an 800) don't invest lots of energy here. Second 50 need to pick up your turnover. A little fatigue is starting so to keep pace you need to quicken your stroke pace. Third 50, you can feel it now. Don't tighten up--concentrate on relaxing, but maintaining high turnover and good power on each stroke. Maintain your breathing rhythm. You should bring the kick into it more (like your arms on the third 200 of an 800 run). This is the working 50. Last 50--bring it home. This is a race. Turnover is high, kick is strong. Don't leave anything in the pool. It should hurt (but will be over soon). Good luck!

Originally posted by geochuck . The last 25 any air you take in won't help so keep the body streamlined and don't worry too much about breathing. I like that! It's a bullseye!