Do we have to swim in a lot of meets to go fast? Of people that compete, it seems like there is a wide variance among forum members on meet attendance. Some go to many meets and some go to only a few a year. It seems like some people only attend the big meets or nationals. It obviously helps to get experience at meets, but how many do you need to compete in ideally to (1) swim fast and improve, and/or (2) do well at major competitions such as zones or nationals?
Every couple of weeks should have a specific day with a time trial if possible. It's a great way to get the feel for swimming "at speed". It's also a good guage of your performance level.
Ande does a swim for time very often towards the meet season. This is really helpful for one to get a feel of the race...and to know where the wheels might start to fall off the bus. Better knowledge and understanding of the race course can help one mentally train for the specific event during workouts.
If you know the third turn on a 100 yard sprint is brutal...then train for that. Likewise if the 200 poses a challenge by either not going out fast enough...or going out too fast...you can learn how to pace.
So my answer is ...it's not the amount of meets...but simply having a familiarity with race pace. The importance of an all out swim now and again shouldn't be overlooked. It's an opportunity to learn...and get a very tough workout in. Ask someone to time you.
This is great advice! I try to do a couple swims for "time" somewhat regularly. I usually do it on my own with a pace clock because my team doesn't do this. But I probably should do it even more! I've also been following Ande's aerobic-lite sprint advice and trying to do more race pace swimming. But there will be no 200s right now! I'm sticking with the 50s and 100s for awhile. But, you're right, that third turn is always my worst. Usually getting winded and can't stay under as long. I'll have to focus on that more.
Bob:
I did compete a lot when younger and I actually think that does have somewhat of a carry over effect. I'm banking on it. I only have one meet before zones. I think it'll be OK. I have seen some elite swimmers swim in very few meets with good results, so I was just wondering.
Tom:
I'm considering going to Nationals now, so maybe us Rochester folk will meet! Only two meets for me before then though. But that's OK, I think. I swam in Nationals last year and it was only my fifth masters meet ever. I bet that 200 fly time really starts dropping! (I hope you're at least going to give the 100 fly a whirl too though.)
Every couple of weeks should have a specific day with a time trial if possible. It's a great way to get the feel for swimming "at speed". It's also a good guage of your performance level.
Ande does a swim for time very often towards the meet season. This is really helpful for one to get a feel of the race...and to know where the wheels might start to fall off the bus. Better knowledge and understanding of the race course can help one mentally train for the specific event during workouts.
If you know the third turn on a 100 yard sprint is brutal...then train for that. Likewise if the 200 poses a challenge by either not going out fast enough...or going out too fast...you can learn how to pace.
So my answer is ...it's not the amount of meets...but simply having a familiarity with race pace. The importance of an all out swim now and again shouldn't be overlooked. It's an opportunity to learn...and get a very tough workout in. Ask someone to time you.
This is great advice! I try to do a couple swims for "time" somewhat regularly. I usually do it on my own with a pace clock because my team doesn't do this. But I probably should do it even more! I've also been following Ande's aerobic-lite sprint advice and trying to do more race pace swimming. But there will be no 200s right now! I'm sticking with the 50s and 100s for awhile. But, you're right, that third turn is always my worst. Usually getting winded and can't stay under as long. I'll have to focus on that more.
Bob:
I did compete a lot when younger and I actually think that does have somewhat of a carry over effect. I'm banking on it. I only have one meet before zones. I think it'll be OK. I have seen some elite swimmers swim in very few meets with good results, so I was just wondering.
Tom:
I'm considering going to Nationals now, so maybe us Rochester folk will meet! Only two meets for me before then though. But that's OK, I think. I swam in Nationals last year and it was only my fifth masters meet ever. I bet that 200 fly time really starts dropping! (I hope you're at least going to give the 100 fly a whirl too though.)
