How can I swim a Sub 20 minute in a 1.5K?

I don't think those times are all that inconsistent. 30 secs for 50 yards is pretty slow to hope to do a sub 20 minutes 1500m IMO. If I use the FINA pts calculator, 33 secs for 50m free translates to 22:34 for 1500m free, for example. I 100% agree. It seems that you are expecting to maintain the same pace whether it be a 50, 100, 200, 1500, or more. That just isn't the case. Here's my thoughts on getting there. 1) Always train alternate breathing (either by stroke or by lap) Only breathing to one side over time will severely throw your stroke out of balance and teaches a very bad habit. What happens in a tri where the landmarks are on the left but you breath on your right? Or worse, waves breaking on your right and you only breath to your right. Your screwed. Practice sighting during practice too if you only have access to a pool for ow training. 2) Train more at race pace. You're spending an awful lot of time putting in what is known as garbage yardage. I don't mean that in a derogatory way. It just means yardage for yardage sake. Do 6 x 50's or 100's at race pace with at least 4+ minutes of rest. Many triathletes and distance swimmers get caught with the belief that just doing more yardage is all that is needed. When I was growing up, that's what we did. Today, quality has become much more important and world records are falling because of it. 3) Train all 5 strokes - back, ***, fly, free, and YES IM. It is called cross training. If you are swimming freestyle all of the time, you are not giving a chance for those muscles to recover and other muscles are not being worked. Many triathletes don't want to train other strokes but this really hurts them. 4) Learn how long to taper. This varies with every individual. If you're putting in 4000 yards 3-4 times a week, you might want to consider at least a 2 week taper before your big events. Tapers are critical for swimming fast. Taper doesn't mean stop swimming. It mean gradually cut down on quantity but continue to emphasis quality. It does not mean switch to nothing but race pace the week before! 5) If you are going to race with a wet suit, you need to train with a wet suit occasionally. That can be difficult especially if your pool is warm. Watch your temperature. 6) Find a good coach and attend their practices. Pick their brains and when you are swimming on your own try to implement what they have told you. Every team and coach is different. Shop around. 7) You didn't mention doing any kicking other than you have a 2 beat kick. In recent years more emphasis has been put on upping kick rates. I would add significant kicking sets to your workout. Both with and without fins but no boards. They are bad for neck, shoulders, back and body position. Kick on side, back or underwater. Also, vertical and wall kicking. If you are not working your legs, you're letting your arms carry to much of the work. Hope that helps, Allen

I don't think those times are all that inconsistent. 30 secs for 50 yards is pretty slow to hope to do a sub 20 minutes 1500m IMO. If I use the FINA pts calculator, 33 secs for 50m free translates to 22:34 for 1500m free, for example. I 100% agree. It seems that you are expecting to maintain the same pace whether it be a 50, 100, 200, 1500, or more. That just isn't the case. Here's my thoughts on getting there. 1) Always train alternate breathing (either by stroke or by lap) Only breathing to one side over time will severely throw your stroke out of balance and teaches a very bad habit. What happens in a tri where the landmarks are on the left but you breath on your right? Or worse, waves breaking on your right and you only breath to your right. Your screwed. Practice sighting during practice too if you only have access to a pool for ow training. 2) Train more at race pace. You're spending an awful lot of time putting in what is known as garbage yardage. I don't mean that in a derogatory way. It just means yardage for yardage sake. Do 6 x 50's or 100's at race pace with at least 4+ minutes of rest. Many triathletes and distance swimmers get caught with the belief that just doing more yardage is all that is needed. When I was growing up, that's what we did. Today, quality has become much more important and world records are falling because of it. 3) Train all 5 strokes - back, ***, fly, free, and YES IM. It is called cross training. If you are swimming freestyle all of the time, you are not giving a chance for those muscles to recover and other muscles are not being worked. Many triathletes don't want to train other strokes but this really hurts them. 4) Learn how long to taper. This varies with every individual. If you're putting in 4000 yards 3-4 times a week, you might want to consider at least a 2 week taper before your big events. Tapers are critical for swimming fast. Taper doesn't mean stop swimming. It mean gradually cut down on quantity but continue to emphasis quality. It does not mean switch to nothing but race pace the week before! 5) If you are going to race with a wet suit, you need to train with a wet suit occasionally. That can be difficult especially if your pool is warm. Watch your temperature. 6) Find a good coach and attend their practices. Pick their brains and when you are swimming on your own try to implement what they have told you. Every team and coach is different. Shop around. 7) You didn't mention doing any kicking other than you have a 2 beat kick. In recent years more emphasis has been put on upping kick rates. I would add significant kicking sets to your workout. Both with and without fins but no boards. They are bad for neck, shoulders, back and body position. Kick on side, back or underwater. Also, vertical and wall kicking. If you are not working your legs, you're letting your arms carry to much of the work. Hope that helps, Allen