How do I make friends with this race? It always hurts. I have tried to go out slowly, but then I just slow down. I know I should pay attention to my pace, but this flies out the brain when I race. I am not a seasoned racer. At practice I pay attention to pace looking at clock but do not "feel" it. Should I just accept 1000 hurts, and swim it as fast as I can? This is my best event, but I am not loving it as I swim it.
Isobel,
What kind of training are you doing to prepare for this race? Are you doing any multiple repeats of 200y and over at practice?
When it comes to pacing a distance event, I am probably not the person you want giving you advice. '05 zones, I took the first 100 of a 1000 out in 59.5 (rest of the way anywhere from 1:04s to 1:08s). My personal philosophy is that one's dive is the fastest they will be that entire swim, so I am going to take advantage of that and give that first 100 a good hard workout and then go from there.
I feel that when the pace is set quick from the getgo, the rest of the race seems to be fast too. When I set the pace slow, I can't turn on the jets at the end.
:dedhorse:
How do I make friends with this race? It always hurts. I have tried to go out slowly, but then I just slow down. I know I should pay attention to my pace, but this flies out the brain when I race. I am not a seasoned racer. At practice I pay attention to pace looking at clock but do not "feel" it. Should I just accept 1000 hurts, and swim it as fast as I can? This is my best event, but I am not loving it as I swim it.
Ummm ... avoid it! Do not swim this event! It is at least 900 yards too long.
if you insist on working on it you need both endurance and pacing. You need to swim 10 - 12 x 100. First swim each 100 on the pace you want to hold for your 1000, but take 15 seconds rest between them. Once you can do that for 10 (or even better 12) 100s lower the interval by 5 seconds, but hold the same pace, so you only get 10 seconds rest. Once that becomes easy do it again. You'll want to focus on technique, too ... holding your technique when you get tired, DPS is important too.
Mix it up by doing the above set with 5 x 200 (or 6) and 2 x 500 (or 3), too. Try and hold the pace you want to on the 1st 500 and try to make the second one faster.
I love the 1000!!
For pacing repeats of 10 x 100 are good...at least I like them. Put them on an interval so that you only get about 5 to 10 seconds rest.
Remember to stay long, really stretch.
Set a pace that you feel like you can hold forever. Start slow and then as your conditioning takes hold you'll be able to hold a faster pace. You want to stay consistent with a little left for a sprint the last 100 to 50.
Good Luck!!!!!
I think one of the keys is negative splitting repeats and descending sets in practice. You need to know what a given split will feel like early in the race and at the end. The 1000 requires focus; it's very easy to swim the first 100 too fast. Our coach likes to say, "You do what you do," meaning that you will race as you have trained.
People who do this event are a special breed.
I wonder if you change the mindset from swimming it as fast as you can...to finding your most comfortable pace. Anything endurance needs a certain kind of pace or Zen. (Many runners know what this is like.)
A good way to find a pace for the 1000 is done with a reverse ladder swim.
400... 300... 200 ...100
Each chunk is done progressively faster.
Let me preface by saying that I am a relatively new swimmer. I started about 5 years ago and have only competed in meets for the past three.
What helps me is to start by swimming 100s on a specific interval to get the feel for the pace. I do the one hour Postal swim in January as a training exercise for the 1000 or the 1650 because I need to understand what the right pace feels like when I'm fresh and when I'm tired. I swim looking at the timer whenever possible so that I can gauge my speed. One year I did the one hour swim twice; the first time I swam it straight, the second time I swam it looking at the timer every 100. I was amazed by how much faster I swam when I watched the clock.
After I can hold the 100s without much rest, I start on 200s. Later, I work up to two 500s and start to think about what I have to do to swim a negative split.
If possible at the meet, it's helpful to have someone who can signal you whether you are making your expected times.
Good luck!
Let me preface by saying that I am a relatively new swimmer. I started about 5 years ago and have only competed in meets for the past three.
What helps me is to start by swimming 100s on a specific interval to get the feel for the pace. I do the one hour Postal swim in January as a training exercise for the 1000 or the 1650 because I need to understand what the right pace feels like when I'm fresh and when I'm tired. I swim looking at the timer whenever possible so that I can gauge my speed. One year I did the one hour swim twice; the first time I swam it straight, the second time I swam it looking at the timer every 100. I was amazed by how much faster I swam when I watched the clock.
After I can hold the 100s without much rest, I start on 200s. Later, I work up to two 500s and start to think about what I have to do to swim a negative split.
If possible at the meet, it's helpful to have someone who can signal you whether you are making your expected times.
Good luck!
the 1,000 free is EVIL
it will never be your friend
stick with sprints
Ande
if you can swim it during a coffee break....it is a sprint.
and at 5 dollars per event (in most meets), its also one of the better values in competitive swimming. .5 cents per yard
