Last meet I swam the 100 and 200 IM, the latter for the first time ever. My best strokes are free and fly. My backstroke is quite lame. My breaststroke is slowly getting better. I have no illusions that I will ever get anywhere near a top ten in anything, least of all an IM event. But I would like to improve, and it give me a sense of accomplishment to swim all four strokes in a race and not drown (though the 200 introduced doubt on that front!)
I went 1:16.80 in the 100 (out in 35.83; back in 40.97)
In the 200, I went 2:51.82
fly 34.65
back 46.81
*** (falling piano) 53.83
free 36.53
The 200 was really a mixed bag--it felt absolutely horrible in the middle (why, oh why did I enter this event??? I am thinking about 20 yards into the breaststroke leg) but exciting to complete.
Any suggestions about IM sets for workouts (I swim alone, for the most part) or ways to think about the 200 race? Split goals, etc?? I'm sort of plateaued elsewhere, so this seems like a good thing to work on for awhile. My zone meet is at the end of this month, and I'd like to get the 200 down around 2:45 if possible.
I started this thread two years ago when I swam my first 200 IM.
My SCY season in 2009 was compromised by intermittent training, so I didn't advance the cause too much. Since then, however, I have maintained consistent time in the pool and established a decent level of conditioning. I've worked on my fly and my breaststroke kick, and I've put more time in doing IM sets.
A week ago, I swam the 200 IM for the first time since 2008, and I took six seconds off, from 2:50.99 to 2:45 flat.
My splits were
33.7
46.6
49.7
35.0
I used many of the thoughts provided in this thread over the intervening months, and I wanted to note the drop and especially express my thanks. Now I need to invest some time in improving my backstroke, and maybe I can drop some more...
Thanks, forumites, for the wisdom and the support.
Just some quick thoughts -- six seconds is a very impressive drop! Your free split is strong, so your pacing is pretty good, but your backstroke may still need some tweaking.
There are two things I've found most helpful in backstroke, body position and the start of the pull. For body position drills, I'd suggest that you lie on your back on a kickboard and do double arm backstroke. Try not to let the board go flying out from underneath. This is where your body is flat in the water, and this is the position where you will create the least resistance.
For the hand entry, I'd suggest some backstroke pull sets with paddles -- but do them easy and concentrate completely on mechanics. Don't blow your shoulders out! If you look at some of the fast backstroke swimmers, their arms are nearly at 45 degrees when their hands enter the water. You can't get much of a pull with your hand above your head, it doesn't produce much in the way of forward thrust. So try putting your hand into the water further out from the centerline, and see where you get the fewest strokes per lap.
I'm afraid I can't help you much on breaststroke -- I need to milk the pullouts as much as I can to keep from actually swimming the stroke. On the turn, though, pull yourself in close to the wall with your lead hand, and let your trailing hand point back to where you're going. Get a quick breath and push off hard and slightly downwards. You're allowed one dolphin kick and you should use it -- your butterfly split indicates your kick is pretty good.
Best of luck!
I started this thread two years ago when I swam my first 200 IM.
My SCY season in 2009 was compromised by intermittent training, so I didn't advance the cause too much. Since then, however, I have maintained consistent time in the pool and established a decent level of conditioning. I've worked on my fly and my breaststroke kick, and I've put more time in doing IM sets.
A week ago, I swam the 200 IM for the first time since 2008, and I took six seconds off, from 2:50.99 to 2:45 flat.
My splits were
33.7
46.6
49.7
35.0
I used many of the thoughts provided in this thread over the intervening months, and I wanted to note the drop and especially express my thanks. Now I need to invest some time in improving my backstroke, and maybe I can drop some more...
Thanks, forumites, for the wisdom and the support.
Just some quick thoughts -- six seconds is a very impressive drop! Your free split is strong, so your pacing is pretty good, but your backstroke may still need some tweaking.
There are two things I've found most helpful in backstroke, body position and the start of the pull. For body position drills, I'd suggest that you lie on your back on a kickboard and do double arm backstroke. Try not to let the board go flying out from underneath. This is where your body is flat in the water, and this is the position where you will create the least resistance.
For the hand entry, I'd suggest some backstroke pull sets with paddles -- but do them easy and concentrate completely on mechanics. Don't blow your shoulders out! If you look at some of the fast backstroke swimmers, their arms are nearly at 45 degrees when their hands enter the water. You can't get much of a pull with your hand above your head, it doesn't produce much in the way of forward thrust. So try putting your hand into the water further out from the centerline, and see where you get the fewest strokes per lap.
I'm afraid I can't help you much on breaststroke -- I need to milk the pullouts as much as I can to keep from actually swimming the stroke. On the turn, though, pull yourself in close to the wall with your lead hand, and let your trailing hand point back to where you're going. Get a quick breath and push off hard and slightly downwards. You're allowed one dolphin kick and you should use it -- your butterfly split indicates your kick is pretty good.
Best of luck!
