I had a swimming experience that makes me rethink my approach to the 200 BR.2006 I swam a 2:48.34 200 SCM BR in a very well paced swim and was happy with it(it was the AA time.) At the SPMA meet I went out way too slow and swam a 2:52.40 and was not happy with it.Jim Clemmons went 2:46.33 at that meet.The next week I had the opportunity to swim another 200 BR and was determined to"redeem" myself.I didn't think I could match Jim's time,but I knew I could do better than the prior meet.My plan was to go out somewhere between fast and too fast because there was no way I was taking it out too slow again.My splits were
37.14,41.49,42.56,45.17 for a 2:46.36.OK Jim beat me by .03 sec(in the probable AA time) and it hurt like hell the last 50,but that was my fastest time in about 5 years. I can't explain it.Ideas?
With all due respect to Allen and Paul (whose comments may have been made tongue-in-cheek), I have to disagree. I think that more often than not the average Masters swimmer will get burned in events 200 and up if he or she does not pace it properly. Unlike the two of you, most of the people reading these posts are not "elite" Masters swimmers and have neither the technique nor the conditioning to do what you suggest and still finish strong. Maglischo, in Swimming Fastest, has an excellent discussion on pacing strategies, with data from several Olympic performances. When we mortals take out a race too fast, we pay dearly for it at the end, and it is not pretty.
Gull, I actually wasn't joking. But to clarify I do think there is some level of pacing in all races...and in my case I was always an even splitting/negative splitting swimmer in the 200/500.
My point really was that the way you swim people like Thorpe, Phelps, etc. now swim these distances although it is certainly not 100% all out it is very fast. Jim Montgomery and I discussed this at Wolrds last year, he said he never won a race in the 200 that he didn't attack on the first half like a sprint...and the time drops and incredible times we now see in these events shows much less "old school" pacing (although I'll never change).
Also, disagree with what level i or anyone else is at as far as training/racing like this...face it the 200 in particular is one of the most painful distances in swimming and if swimmers don't start out right away learning to be aggressive vs. holding back and "finishing strong" they may never figure out just how good they can be....
With all due respect to Allen and Paul (whose comments may have been made tongue-in-cheek), I have to disagree. I think that more often than not the average Masters swimmer will get burned in events 200 and up if he or she does not pace it properly. Unlike the two of you, most of the people reading these posts are not "elite" Masters swimmers and have neither the technique nor the conditioning to do what you suggest and still finish strong. Maglischo, in Swimming Fastest, has an excellent discussion on pacing strategies, with data from several Olympic performances. When we mortals take out a race too fast, we pay dearly for it at the end, and it is not pretty.
Gull, I actually wasn't joking. But to clarify I do think there is some level of pacing in all races...and in my case I was always an even splitting/negative splitting swimmer in the 200/500.
My point really was that the way you swim people like Thorpe, Phelps, etc. now swim these distances although it is certainly not 100% all out it is very fast. Jim Montgomery and I discussed this at Wolrds last year, he said he never won a race in the 200 that he didn't attack on the first half like a sprint...and the time drops and incredible times we now see in these events shows much less "old school" pacing (although I'll never change).
Also, disagree with what level i or anyone else is at as far as training/racing like this...face it the 200 in particular is one of the most painful distances in swimming and if swimmers don't start out right away learning to be aggressive vs. holding back and "finishing strong" they may never figure out just how good they can be....
