Looking for feedback on some time trials so far this week. Since I am fairly new at swimming I have been training for and competing at 200yd and below. But now I am trying to do longer swims and experimenting.
Yesterday I did a good warmup and then a 500yd free near maximum intensity. My time was 8:40. Then I did a cooldown 500 after several minutes recovery and swam a 9:30. This was very relaxed and I was only 50 seconds slower. That to me does not make sense as I would expect the cooldown to be considerably slower. Then today I did a 1000 and I went out very relaxed and swam an 18:10.
My question is shouldn't my high intensity be more like 20-25% faster than low intensity? I would expect to at least be under 8:00 for high intensity....no?
Is techinque rewarded that much over power in distance events?
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Right now I am swimming
50 in 27
100 in 1:03
200 in 2:30
500 in 8:40
1000 in 18:10
To me it does not make sense. Am I that inefficient? I seem to fall off alot after the 200. My theory is I am mostly anaerobic and my aerobic capacity is not what it should be. As I approach the end of a 200 I feel myself falling apart and my form suffers. I think I need to control my intensity better and distribute the power more efficiently.
What should the % time differentials be for a well conditioned skillful swimmer?
I am really humbled by how difficult swimming is. It's like anything, until you try, you really have no idea. I am doing over 10,000 per week of 80% freestyle 10% *** and 10% kick. I thought I would be alot faster by now. I told myself it will take 3 years to put this together. Maybe I was wrong.
Rtodd - what age group are you in? What is a typical workout for you?
Your 50 time is very respectable. Your 100 time is pretty good. Your 200 time is OK, but not as competitive. Your 500 shows a big drop off.
For comparison - my times (45-49):
50 free - 24.6
100 free - 55
200 free - estimate 2:05
500 free - estimate 5:50 (1:10 split) but may never swim it
1000 free - will never swim it!
I am not a good distance swimmer and have no desire to get any better.
Based on your times I'd say you're a pretty good sprinter. That 50 time shows good power and your 100 time is just about where it should be. If I were your coach (I have no credentials whatsoever) I'd recommend focusing on races 200 or shorter. To get your 500 free where it could be (maybe 7:00-7:30?) will take some serious focus on fitness. Your otherwise good technique breaks down when your body is trashed. You need to train to push that breakdown point higher.
I'm unwilling to do that kind of training so I'm happy with my focus on 200s or shorter.
If you do want to work on this you should do more aerobic threshold types of sets. These are sets like:
15 x 100 swum fairly hard; interval that gives you 10-15 secs rest
8 x 200 similar profile
5 x 400 etc.
These kinds of sets also force you to pace smart. Your heart rate will be high. If you can repeat 100s in practice at 1:30 (swim time, not interval time) you have a good chance to swim a 500 at 5 times that (7:30).
You might want to buy the book Swimming Fastest by Maglischo. He explains all of this and you can design sets to do just about anything you want.
Right now I am swimming
50 in 27
100 in 1:03
200 in 2:30
500 in 8:40
1000 in 18:10
To me it does not make sense. Am I that inefficient? I seem to fall off alot after the 200. My theory is I am mostly anaerobic and my aerobic capacity is not what it should be. As I approach the end of a 200 I feel myself falling apart and my form suffers. I think I need to control my intensity better and distribute the power more efficiently.
What should the % time differentials be for a well conditioned skillful swimmer?
I am really humbled by how difficult swimming is. It's like anything, until you try, you really have no idea. I am doing over 10,000 per week of 80% freestyle 10% *** and 10% kick. I thought I would be alot faster by now. I told myself it will take 3 years to put this together. Maybe I was wrong.
Rtodd - what age group are you in? What is a typical workout for you?
Your 50 time is very respectable. Your 100 time is pretty good. Your 200 time is OK, but not as competitive. Your 500 shows a big drop off.
For comparison - my times (45-49):
50 free - 24.6
100 free - 55
200 free - estimate 2:05
500 free - estimate 5:50 (1:10 split) but may never swim it
1000 free - will never swim it!
I am not a good distance swimmer and have no desire to get any better.
Based on your times I'd say you're a pretty good sprinter. That 50 time shows good power and your 100 time is just about where it should be. If I were your coach (I have no credentials whatsoever) I'd recommend focusing on races 200 or shorter. To get your 500 free where it could be (maybe 7:00-7:30?) will take some serious focus on fitness. Your otherwise good technique breaks down when your body is trashed. You need to train to push that breakdown point higher.
I'm unwilling to do that kind of training so I'm happy with my focus on 200s or shorter.
If you do want to work on this you should do more aerobic threshold types of sets. These are sets like:
15 x 100 swum fairly hard; interval that gives you 10-15 secs rest
8 x 200 similar profile
5 x 400 etc.
These kinds of sets also force you to pace smart. Your heart rate will be high. If you can repeat 100s in practice at 1:30 (swim time, not interval time) you have a good chance to swim a 500 at 5 times that (7:30).
You might want to buy the book Swimming Fastest by Maglischo. He explains all of this and you can design sets to do just about anything you want.
