Strategy for 200 FR

I tried to take everyone's thoughts and feedback into the second time I raced it. I also practiced and improved my stroke, and was successful in dropping 6 seconds. :bliss::banana: my time was: 2:24 (31.1, 35.6, 38.4, 39.0) Nice job!!!!!!! I think from here you are in a very good position to go under 2:20. Focus on good turns that maximize your free speed off the walls with a good push to a tight streamline. Work on improving your kick and try to hit at least 2 SDKs off every turn in practice to drill that as habit for your race. I think you can go 31/35/35/36. Paul

Rob: That's a very good point that I just didn't even consider. I have got to stop assuming that everyone has an age group swimming background. Maybe 2:10 isn't realistic at the moment but I think that someone with 26.8 speed (and that's not slow BTW) should be able to pull off a 200 in the mid 2-teens if they have a good endurance base, experience in swimming 200s fast and swim a good race. I couldn't do a 200 in a 2:10 for all the tea in China ... I have a slightly faster 50 free but the 200 sucks. If I could get solidly into the teens I'd be thrilled. I like to swim strong with my arms for the first 100 build the legs for 25 then drop the hammer and kick like heck for the last 75 ... I tried to do that yesterday but the legs never got going and it was a very painful and slow race ...

first 50 was too fast.

Thanks everyone so much for the discussion and feedback I have recieved on the 200 FR! I posted my first efforts at the 200 FR in another thread, but they were a 2:30 (30.7, 36.8, 41.1, 41.84) . I died on the 3rd leg... I tried to take everyone's thoughts and feedback into the second time I raced it. I also practiced and improved my stroke, and was successful in dropping 6 seconds. :bliss::banana: my time was: 2:24 (31.1, 35.6, 38.4, 39.0) Looks like I still ran out of steam - but less so, still took it out a little fast - but less so, and still have a lot of practicing the event and pacing the event and building endurance to work on. Any thoughts about my new splits are welcome - I'd love to work toward a 2:15. Best of all, I had fun during it and, while it still hurt, I didn't feel like I was dying.

Congratulations on dropping six seconds! That's great. :applaud: Now you need to work on your aerobic base so you can get those splits down. I think the splits Paul suggested splits are very do-able. Enjoy working on it!

Thanks! I'm pretty excited, especially since I've hit plateaus in other events. Thinking about your suggested splits... would it make sense to practice broken 200's and work at making 50s @ 35 seconds - and over time decrease the rest interval inbetween? Randal Yes, that would be a good idea to throw in broken 200s. Remember the goal is not to go as fast as you can but to get the right pace.

Nice job!!!!!!! I think from here you are in a very good position to go under 2:20. Focus on good turns that maximize your free speed off the walls with a good push to a tight streamline. Work on improving your kick and try to hit at least 2 SDKs off every turn in practice to drill that as habit for your race. I think you can go 31/35/35/36. Paul Thanks! I'm pretty excited, especially since I've hit plateaus in other events. Thinking about your suggested splits... would it make sense to practice broken 200's and work at making 50s @ 35 seconds - and over time decrease the rest interval inbetween? Randal

here's how men split the 200 free at the UT Invite 1st - 8th are good examples of how to split a a 200 1st place broke the american record 6th place had the largest drop off from when we compare his 3rd 50 to his 4th 50th 15th place is a perfect example of how NOT to split a 200 free that must have been agonizing The correct way to swim a 200 is easy speed, breathe, save your legs for the 2nd 100, and finish tough. Times for the the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th 50's should be very close, even and preferably decended, but not ascended. Keep your 2nd, 3rd & 4th 50's within 0.25 of each other. Keep your last 50 within 2.0 of your first 50. Event 20 Men 200 Yard Freestyle === A - Final === 1 Walters, David Texas 1:34.85 1:31.83 AUTO 20 r:+0.75 21.48 44.77 (23.29) 1:08.11 (23.34) 1:31.83 (23.72) 2 Berens, Ricky Texas 1:35.71 1:32.82 AUTO 17 r:+0.76 21.85 45.67 (23.82) 1:09.42 (23.75) 1:32.82 (23.40) 3 Basson, Jean Arizona 1:33.26 1:33.48 AUTO 16 r:+0.77 22.14 45.66 (23.52) 1:09.34 (23.68) 1:33.48 (24.14) 4 Klueh, Michael Texas 1:35.90 1:34.50 CONS 15 r:+0.76 22.00 45.98 (23.98) 1:10.29 (24.31) 1:34.50 (24.21) 5 Shapira Bar-Or, Arizona 1:36.29 1:34.83 CONS 14 r:+0.80 22.32 46.35 (24.03) 1:10.60 (24.25) 1:34.83 (24.23) 6 Verlatti, Ryan Texas 1:35.79 1:35.25 CONS 13 r:+0.78 22.46 46.58 (24.12) 1:10.59 (24.01) 1:35.25 (24.66) 7 Wilcox, Jackson Texas 1:35.91 1:36.11 CONS 12 r:+0.77 22.57 46.77 (24.20) 1:11.60 (24.83) 1:36.11 (24.51) 8 Waked, Vinny Arizona St 1:36.34 1:36.57 CONS 11 r:+0.77 22.83 47.17 (24.34) 1:11.76 (24.59) 1:36.57 (24.81) === B - Final === 9 Boyle, Sean Arizona St 1:36.34 1:35.91 CONS 9 r:+0.74 22.93 47.47 (24.54) 1:11.82 (24.35) 1:35.91 (24.09) 10 Patton, Sean Texas 1:36.41 1:35.96 CONS 7 r:+0.82 22.56 46.59 (24.03) 1:11.10 (24.51) 1:35.96 (24.86) 11 Tipton, Alexand Arizona 1:37.06 1:36.81 CONS 6 r:+0.72 22.64 47.12 (24.48) 1:12.09 (24.97) 1:36.81 (24.72) 12 McNeilis, Kyle Texas 1:36.80 1:36.82 CONS 5 r:+0.78 23.03 47.52 (24.49) 1:12.26 (24.74) 1:36.82 (24.56) 13 Jameson, Peter Texas 1:37.56 1:36.83 CONS 4 r:+0.77 22.37 46.62 (24.25) 1:11.61 (24.99) 1:36.83 (25.22) 14 Smith, Jordan Arizona 1:36.98 1:37.12 3 r:+0.69 22.40 46.71 (24.31) 1:11.62 (24.91) 1:37.12 (25.50) 15 Jackson, Jonath Texas 1:36.92 1:37.25 2 r:+0.69 20.97 44.37 (23.40) 1:09.92 (25.55) 1:37.25 (27.33) 16 Svendsen, Tyler Arizona 1:37.86 1:37.31 1 r:+0.78 22.80 47.37 (24.57) 1:12.43 (25.06) 1:37.31 (24.88) === C - Final === 17 Feigen, Jimmy Texas 1:37.95 1:37.27 r:+0.70 22.10 46.66 (24.56) 1:12.03 (25.37) 1:37.27 (25.24) 18 Thompson, Kyle Wisconsin 1:38.07 1:37.86 r:+0.68 22.38 47.54 (25.16) 1:12.93 (25.39) 1:37.86 (24.93) 19 Kirkpatrick, Ad Arizona St 1:38.59 1:38.68 r:+0.76 23.04 48.11 (25.07) 1:13.24 (25.13) 1:38.68 (25.44) 20 Nagle, Brett Wisconsin 1:38.21 1:38.88 r:+0.71 22.97 47.94 (24.97) 1:13.53 (25.59) 1:38.88 (25.35) 21 Raffard, Arthur Arizona 1:38.97 1:39.21 r:+0.81 23.26 48.23 (24.97) 1:13.93 (25.70) 1:39.21 (25.28) 21 Iddiols, Robert Arizona 1:39.24 1:39.21 r:+0.72 22.97 48.08 (25.11) 1:13.70 (25.62) 1:39.21 (25.51) 23 Robertson, Jim Texas 1:39.18 1:39.63 r:+0.76 22.96 48.26 (25.30) 1:14.31 (26.05) 1:39.63 (25.32) 24 Rice, Scott Wisconsin 1:39.11 1:39.81 r:+0.82 23.29 48.63 (25.34) 1:14.15 (25.52) 1:39.81 (25.66) === D - Final === 25 Van Roekel, Ben Texas 1:39.88 1:37.35 r:+0.77 22.35 47.29 (24.94) 1:12.54 (25.25) 1:37.35 (24.81) 26 Stacy, Peter Arizona 1:40.34 1:38.35 r:+0.79 23.69 49.17 (25.48) 1:14.27 (25.10) 1:38.35 (24.08) 27 Caskey, Neil Texas 1:40.58 1:38.51 r:+0.78 22.77 47.72 (24.95) 1:12.99 (25.27) 1:38.51 (25.52) 28 Koubratoff, Rob Arizona 1:39.94 1:40.47 r:+0.81 23.64 49.42 (25.78) 1:15.00 (25.58) 1:40.47 (25.47) 29 Richardson, Tre UC Davis 1:40.21 1:40.49 r:+0.77 23.61 49.69 (26.08) 1:15.17 (25.48) 1:40.49 (25.32) 30 Lengfeld, Luke Wisconsin 1:40.39 1:40.66 r:+0.74 23.35 49.25 (25.90) 1:15.71 (26.46) 1:40.66 (24.95) 31 Underwood, Russ UC Davis 1:41.02 1:41.13 r:+0.64 23.35 48.61 (25.26) 1:14.47 (25.86) 1:41.13 (26.66) 32 Morris, Jeff Wisconsin 1:40.74 1:41.42 r:+0.85 23.72 49.33 (25.61) 1:15.63 (26.30) 1:41.42 (25.79) === Preliminaries === 7 Jostes, Scott Texas 1:36.21 22.49 47.39 (24.90) 1:12.02 (24.63) 1:36.21 (24.19) 21 Davies, Phil Wisconsin 1:38.43 22.36 47.08 (24.72) 1:12.64 (25.56) 1:38.43 (25.79) 23 Sorensen, Kyle Wisconsin 1:38.86 22.65 47.80 (25.15) 1:13.54 (25.74) 1:38.86 (25.32) 28 Nemeth, Chris Wisconsin 1:39.83 22.53 47.72 (25.19) 1:13.35 (25.63) 1:39.83 (26.48) 36 Daneke, Alex UC Davis 1:40.89 23.18 48.79 (25.61) 1:14.67 (25.88) 1:40.89 (26.22) 38 Schaffer, Alex Texas 1:41.32 23.33 48.39 (25.06) 1:14.86 (26.47) 1:41.32 (26.46) 39 Yamashita, Yuta Arizona St 1:41.34 23.81 49.17 (25.36) 1:15.32 (26.15) 1:41.34 (26.02) 40 Madwa, Mohammed Arizona St 1:41.45 23.24 48.72 (25.48) 1:14.92 (26.20) 1:41.45 (26.53) 41 Arbios, Alex UC Davis 1:41.51 23.78 49.13 (25.35) 1:15.37 (26.24) 1:41.51 (26.14) 42 Andrews, Conner Wisconsin 1:42.08 23.07 48.72 (25.65) 1:15.30 (26.58) 1:42.08 (26.78) 43 Wiesner, Steven Wisconsin 1:42.40 22.79 48.22 (25.43) 1:14.61 (26.39) 1:42.40 (27.79) 44 Kraus, Evan UC Davis 1:42.54 23.55 49.40 (25.85) 1:15.72 (26.32) 1:42.54 (26.82) 45 Roberts, Fraser Wisconsin 1:42.73 22.97 48.31 (25.34) 1:15.22 (26.91) 1:42.73 (27.51) 46 Murtagh, Colin Texas 1:42.82 22.77 47.81 (25.04) 1:15.23 (27.42) 1:42.82 (27.59) 47 Wise, Dustin Texas 1:43.09 23.16 48.57 (25.41) 1:14.89 (26.32) 1:43.09 (28.20) 48 Ruane, Nolan Arizona St 1:43.11 23.43 49.00 (25.57) 1:15.65 (26.65) 1:43.11 (27.46) 49 Sutton, Donald Texas 1:43.16 23.72 50.12 (26.40) 1:16.79 (26.67) 1:43.16 (26.37) 50 Borchard, Adam UC Davis 1:43.27 23.88 50.23 (26.35) 1:17.14 (26.91) 1:43.27 (26.13) 51 Anderson, Kyle UC Davis 1:43.48 24.19 50.42 (26.23) 1:17.07 (26.65) 1:43.48 (26.41) 52 Lagerhausen, We Wisconsin 1:43.58 22.55 48.15 (25.60) 1:15.10 (26.95) 1:43.58 (28.48) 53 Hunter, Pierce UC Davis 1:44.14 24.05 50.16 (26.11) 1:17.05 (26.89) 1:44.14 (27.09) 54 Robinson, Brand UC Davis 1:45.54 23.64 50.03 (26.39) 1:17.64 (27.61) 1:45.54 (27.90) 55 Houston, Craig TXLA 1:45.63 23.59 53.20 (29.61) 1:16.75 (23.55) 1:45.63 (28.88) 56 Calenti, Tony Arizona St 1:46.88 25.37 52.38 (27.01) 1:19.63 (27.25) 1:46.88 (27.25) 57 Donnelly, Danie UC Davis 1:48.56 25.26 52.84 (27.58) 1:20.70 (27.86) 1:48.56 (27.86)

15th place is a perfect example of how NOT to split a 200 free that must have been agonizing The correct way to swim a 200 is easy speed, breathe, save your legs for the 2nd 100, and finish tough. 15 Jackson, Jonath Texas 1:36.92 1:37.25 2 r:+0.69 20.97 44.37 (23.40) 1:09.92 (25.55) 1:37.25 (27.33) Ouch, 20.97? yeah, that must have hurt like hades. Still only 3 tenths higher than seed. I wonder if he just got a little too worked up and went out way too fast? I think that this shows how important it is to have race experience so you know how to swim the race. I imagine that he would have been in much better shape swimming the front 50 in 21.5 and probably would have gone 2 seconds faster over all.

Thanks Geek and PWBrundage for the great advice! On the dolphin kicks, I'm not that strong, so I should focus on very tight streamlines and push-offs instead (when I'm tired they can get sloppy). I like the pacing suggestions, but I still am learning how my target times feel during each split, i will give it a try. Stay long and strong, and then build... I do breathe a lot, but I often forget to kick much. Thanks again!