Distance Backstroke

Tom, my team did a test set every other wednesday in the three months leading up to SCY Nationals. We started at 12x75 on 1:05, and dropped two repeats off and added 5 seconds to the interval each week. Mollie (SwimmieAvsFan) did hers all backstroke to train for her fave event, the 200 back. I can't recall what times she was holding for those, but her nationals 200 back was I believe a USMS best, and lifetime #2. I'll be sure to encourage her to weigh in on this topic - though most of her training partners (ie me) train for mid-distance free, she will tend to tinker with things slighty to fit in her backstroke... figured i'd weigh in, since i am a distance backstroker and all ;) so, the test set muppet refered to, this is how i swam it: 12x75- held :51s/:52s 10x75- held :50s/:51s 8x75- held :50s/:49s 6x75- held :49s/:48s 4x75- held :48s i was holding low 2:17s for the season, and tapered down to a high 2:11 at nationals (i was a low 2:11 as an age grouper). so i really feel like this set helped, a lot. mostly, it got me comfortable with being uncomfortable (cause trust me, even with 10-15 seconds rest on the first 2 times through, it was a painful set). and it also gave me and my coach plenty of time to figure out a smart race strategy (i tended to go out too easy and with too much speed from the legs, this set showed me to set my tempo with my arms and to get out after the race from the start instead of waiting for the 100 to get moving). other times, if the guys are doing a longer freestyle set (like ladders starting or ending on 400 or 500 free), i'll do the shorter stuff free and the long stuff i'll chop off a 50 or 100 and do it back. so if the given set is: 100 200 300 400 500 all on a 1:15 base, i'll do the 100 and 200 free, then do a 250, 350, and 400 back, still on the 1:15 base. i could make the full 300, 400, 500 on 1:15, but my stroke would start to fall apart, so i thought it was more important to cut off a little of the repeat and keep my stroke together. i started doing this not so much to train for the 200 back, but because i have occasionally cranky shoulders, and doing backstroke makes them much happier :) it ended up having the side benefit of really helping my 200 back, so i continue to do it. not all the time, but frequently.

Tom, my team did a test set every other wednesday in the three months leading up to SCY Nationals. We started at 12x75 on 1:05, and dropped two repeats off and added 5 seconds to the interval each week. Mollie (SwimmieAvsFan) did hers all backstroke to train for her fave event, the 200 back. I can't recall what times she was holding for those, but her nationals 200 back was I believe a USMS best, and lifetime #2. I'll be sure to encourage her to weigh in on this topic - though most of her training partners (ie me) train for mid-distance free, she will tend to tinker with things slighty to fit in her backstroke... figured i'd weigh in, since i am a distance backstroker and all ;) so, the test set muppet refered to, this is how i swam it: 12x75- held :51s/:52s 10x75- held :50s/:51s 8x75- held :50s/:49s 6x75- held :49s/:48s 4x75- held :48s i was holding low 2:17s for the season, and tapered down to a high 2:11 at nationals (i was a low 2:11 as an age grouper). so i really feel like this set helped, a lot. mostly, it got me comfortable with being uncomfortable (cause trust me, even with 10-15 seconds rest on the first 2 times through, it was a painful set). and it also gave me and my coach plenty of time to figure out a smart race strategy (i tended to go out too easy and with too much speed from the legs, this set showed me to set my tempo with my arms and to get out after the race from the start instead of waiting for the 100 to get moving). other times, if the guys are doing a longer freestyle set (like ladders starting or ending on 400 or 500 free), i'll do the shorter stuff free and the long stuff i'll chop off a 50 or 100 and do it back. so if the given set is: 100 200 300 400 500 all on a 1:15 base, i'll do the 100 and 200 free, then do a 250, 350, and 400 back, still on the 1:15 base. i could make the full 300, 400, 500 on 1:15, but my stroke would start to fall apart, so i thought it was more important to cut off a little of the repeat and keep my stroke together. i started doing this not so much to train for the 200 back, but because i have occasionally cranky shoulders, and doing backstroke makes them much happier :) it ended up having the side benefit of really helping my 200 back, so i continue to do it. not all the time, but frequently.