Strategy for 200 FR

Oh, as a side note, my 11 y/o son swam the 200 FR earlier that day and swam a 2:26, so it was a wonderful boost to his experience to beat dad; it was fun having him cheer me on!!!

Your son did well and so did you. You must swim a few 200s to get the feel of pacing a 200. Oh, as a side note, my 11 y/o son swam the 200 FR earlier that day and swam a 2:26, so it was a wonderful boost to his experience to beat dad; it was fun having him cheer me on!!!

I can relate to your pacing. You took this race out like you were going to swim it in a 2:10 or better. Better pacing could have yielded a better time, but so could better conditioning. Put them both together and you will be happy with the results. Swimming lots of 200's, 250's, and 300's in practice will help.

I can relate to your pacing. You took this race out like you were going to swim it in a 2:10 or better. Better pacing could have yielded a better time, but so could better conditioning. Put them both together and you will be happy with the results. Swimming lots of 200's, 250's, and 300's in practice will help. What bothers me is that I thought I was taking it out slower, trying to heed all the warnings from this thread - only to find out otherwise... Definitely more practice on longer swims in my future!

Just for humor, I was going to suggest taking it out fast and hanging on for dear life but we all know what happens when one does that (3rd lap death). I used to only compete in 200s, primarily backstroke, but a 200 is still a 200. I used to not just train doing 200s, I used to train doing piles of 50s. Some sets with little rest and some sets with lots of rest for optimum 90% effort. And I actually swim a 200 like 4x50s but with no rest. But on-the-clock 50s really gets one into race-pacing. After lots of those, one can actually tell how fast one is swimming those 50s. Best of Luck! Donna

Most of the middle distance swimmers I knew did 30 x 50s on 35 secs. You can then handle it very easily.

It was suggested I need to totally focus on long, stretched out strokes and swimming "easy" speed; this seems to fit my experience as I was fighting to hold on. It might have given me more even splits, with a slower speed up front and then relatively faster in the back half. What do you all think? . Either way the back half will be a challenge.Try to give yourself a head start before rigormortis begins to set in. As you said..."easy speed". Just don't take it out too fast. I like both Chris and Donna's 50 increment plan. When I swim the 200 back , my mantra is "4 50's fast". Getting used to the feel on each 50 is very helpful.

I have never in my life done over 2.10 for a 200scy. My first 200 free was done when I was 15 against George Stulac from West End Y Toronto time 2.05+. I have never done a 200 race since the 1960s. I may attempt one next year??? Hi George I'm a bit curious. 55 years (or so) ago, what was you best 50 free LCM? 100? :bow:

We never swam a 50 lcm it was always the 100. I could do a 50 lcm in about 25 sec on the way to a 100. The only lc swims we had were at international events. The pools in Canada were 55 yards long not 50 meters. No metric pools until much later. We had 25 yard pools and 50 or 55 yard pools. I did a 24 plus 55 yards. When everyone was doing 50 yards scy in 22.7 sec I set the Canadian Record in the 50 lcy 23.1 We very seldom did a 50. I only swam 50 scy in duel meets against USA universities. I won but never tried to go all out because I used to swim 3 other events plus relays on the same day.

Lightning, I'm glad you survived. I'm impressed with your time since you are a "rookie". I think you could swim a 2:25 the next time you swim it by splitting the first 100 in 35 and 37. Go out long and strong with no kick and breathe every stroke. Physiologically, your body could not cope with the lactic acid. With training you can prolong the onset of lactic acid. With training you can reduce the amount of lactic acid generated. With training you can buffer it quicker during practice to....well, get more out of your practices by reducing rest periods and extending sets. Did I mention training?