If I have a goal time of 5:59.99 for the 400m free, but don't have any experience racing this distance, what would be a good test set to gauge where I am now, and what approach to pace training would be good for this event?
I was thinking 4x100 at 1:30 pace with X seconds rest as a test set, but I don't know what value of X to use to give a gauge of ability to do it continuous in a meet.
Secondly, for pacing, should I train to hold a steady 1:30 pace or figure that I'll do the first 50 or 100 faster and then hold a slightly slower pace the rest of the way with perhaps a slight speed up in the final 50 or 100?
Would sets of Y times 100m on 1:30 with Xs rest where I slowly decrease X be a reasonable approach to training for this? Would 6 be a reasonable value for Y?
I've always swam much faster in meets than I can manage in practice, but up to now I've considered the 200 to be a distance event! I'm more used to pushing speed than endurance and pacing. I'm hoping that the extra endurance from training for the 400 free might eventually lead to a better 200 fly.
Thanks in advance for any advice, and for repressing the urge to publicly laugh at how slow my goal time is!
X = 10 seconds should be close.
I would train to hold a steady 1:30 for your 100s. Yes, in the race you'll go out a little faster, but you might also go slightly slower in the middle.
the best test set for the 400 free is:
1 x 400 free FAST
split it right
do the equivalent of what katie did, adjusted for you
1 Hoff, Katie E 18 North Baltimore 4:02.20
28.71 30.09 30.53 30.36 30.20 30.50 30.93 30.88
1) first 50: swim an easy speed 50, breathe every stroke
2) hold the same time for the next 6 lengths
3) last 50: sprint with whatever's left
to train for the 400
get in the middle distance lane and do what your coach tells you to
ande
If I have a goal time of 5:59.99 for the 400m free, but don't have any experience racing this distance, what would be a good test set to gauge where I am now, and what approach to pace training would be good for this event?
I was thinking 4x100 at 1:30 pace with X seconds rest as a test set, but I don't know what value of X to use to give a gauge of ability to do it continuous in a meet.
Secondly, for pacing, should I train to hold a steady 1:30 pace or figure that I'll do the first 50 or 100 faster and then hold a slightly slower pace the rest of the way with perhaps a slight speed up in the final 50 or 100?
Would sets of Y times 100m on 1:30 with Xs rest where I slowly decrease X be a reasonable approach to training for this?
Would 6 be a reasonable value for Y?
I've always swam much faster in meets than I can manage in practice, but up to now I've considered the 200 to be a distance event! I'm more used to pushing speed than endurance and pacing. I'm hoping that the extra endurance from training for the 400 free might eventually lead to a better 200 fly.
Thanks in advance for any advice, and for repressing the urge to publicly laugh at how slow my goal time is!
Thanks Kirk! I have a friend on my team who can swim 1:30 endlessly that has agreed to act as rabbit, so I think tonight we'll try 4x100 at 1:30 + 10s rest. We'll see if I can keep under 1:30 for all four. If I can then hopefully I just need to learn to hold that pace.
to train for the 400
get in the middle distance lane and do what your coach tells you to
ande
Get in the WHAT? Maybe I'm swimming with the wrong team but we barely have a difference between sprint and distance much less qualifiers on what type of distance.
Paul
How to pace is to find out how fast you want to go.
1:12
1:16
1:16
1:16 makes a 5 minute 400m.
It is easy to set your required 100 times by setting a goal time.
Then swim them.
Tuesday I felt like the walking dead by the end of workout so I postponed my 400 test set to Wed. night. I decided to save Ande's suggested test until I had a little more confidence and did the 4x100 at 1:30 pace with 10s rest between, with my friend pacing, and I completed it! It wasn't a walk in the park but it wasn't that painful so I'm pretty confident I'm capable of making my 6:00 goal, but pacing will definitely be the challenge! Every 100 felt like the pace had picked up, but they all came in on 1:29.
Based on how it felt tonight I think I can probably do it in 6:00 in practice with my friend pacing, maybe not yet having to pace myself.
When we did our five minute swims in training we tried to cover 440 yards in that 5 minutes. At first we could not do it. The more we did this the sooner we were able to do it. On Mondays we did a warm up then we did our 5 minute swims.
Last weekend I tried the 400free at a LCM meet, with rather disappointing results, I did a 6:21.
Three things didn't go well: my goggles filled with water on the dive and I stopped to empty them at the first wall, the guy in the next lane had a seed time of 5:45 but actually swam 6:10, so when I thought I was doing well keeping up with him I was actually below pace (he pulled away at the 250m mark), and I may have had a mild flu as I felt exhausted all weekend and into the week.
This week in practice I did a 5:58 400m pull, and it wasn't even that hard. :confused:
So, I guess I need to work further on my pacing and see if I can adjust my balance or kick to be more efficient.
At the meet I had another new experience, I totally died in the 50fly! The first 40m or so felt great and then bam my arms just suddenly lost all power. I've never experienced that before in a 50! Today I added 50s to my usual 25s in my usual fly workout...
Perhaps I'll try to talk my coach into weekly six minute swims...
