All,
I'm now starting to feel more powerful on my free and am able hold shorter intervals so I decided to take a look at what an effective split would be and figure out how to start training for it.
So far my best times are in SC
50y - 24.98
100y - 56.89, 26.96,29.93
50m - 27.25
100m - 1:01.37, 28.67,32.70
Now looking at the percentages it is clear that my conditioning (or lack thereof) played a huge part in the drop offs.
SCY (based upon 50y event time)
1st 50 - 92.07%, 2nd 50 80.18%
SCM
1st 50 - 94.79%, 2nd 50 - 80.00%
So in each of my best swims, I took the front 50 out a little differently but had about the same Death March on the back half. Taking a look at other splits it appears that the most effective split is about 95%/88%.
I'm pretty sure that I'm in the low 24s for SCY now so let's use 24.00 as a 50y time. That means I should split 100 25.26/27.27/52.54.
Now the question is, what would be the best way to train for this? Would it be to throw in some 5x100 Sprints on 8:00 and try to find someone to time? Do less than that? Do more than that? What should I expect the times to be without access to blocks?
Paul
Hey Paul, I just took a look at your blog past post 41, and I think I know why Paul's Death March marches in during the back half of your 100s.
You are hardly doing anything over 100 in practice. And when you do, there's a lot of monkeying around and a short sprint. This works well for your 50s - I know first hand of your speed:whiteflag:. But if you're not actually swimming those whole 125's/150's/200s, its not going to help.
I think the only way for you to eliminate the death march is to start training and racing 200s in practice. Without experiencing the death march in practice, your body doesn't know what to do and is freaking out. By doing that "over"swimming in practice, you're familiarizing yourself with that feeling and also learning how to swim through it, maintain your composure and keep your technique together.
This translates to 100s mostly through fitness. When you get to a meet, that last half of your 100 still hurts, but different. Now you're swimming half - it becomes a bit easier.
Training-wise, think of something like 4x200m on 3:15. Swim the first at about 80%, even, strong pace throughout. Note the time. Swim the rest of it with the same even, strong pace throughout, focus on starting out smooth and building through. Try to knock 1-1.5 seconds off each 200. Also, make mental notes of how you pace each one and which ones feel best. Experiment!
Now, your 100 times are certainly nothing to be disappointed about, but yes, we can all shed a few tenths!
Hey Paul, I just took a look at your blog past post 41, and I think I know why Paul's Death March marches in during the back half of your 100s.
You are hardly doing anything over 100 in practice. And when you do, there's a lot of monkeying around and a short sprint. This works well for your 50s - I know first hand of your speed:whiteflag:. But if you're not actually swimming those whole 125's/150's/200s, its not going to help.
I think the only way for you to eliminate the death march is to start training and racing 200s in practice. Without experiencing the death march in practice, your body doesn't know what to do and is freaking out. By doing that "over"swimming in practice, you're familiarizing yourself with that feeling and also learning how to swim through it, maintain your composure and keep your technique together.
This translates to 100s mostly through fitness. When you get to a meet, that last half of your 100 still hurts, but different. Now you're swimming half - it becomes a bit easier.
Training-wise, think of something like 4x200m on 3:15. Swim the first at about 80%, even, strong pace throughout. Note the time. Swim the rest of it with the same even, strong pace throughout, focus on starting out smooth and building through. Try to knock 1-1.5 seconds off each 200. Also, make mental notes of how you pace each one and which ones feel best. Experiment!
Now, your 100 times are certainly nothing to be disappointed about, but yes, we can all shed a few tenths!
