I swam in a meet last weekend. For some time I have been working on my freestyle timing and technique, and I think I've made progress. During warm-ups for the 50 free I felt really great--powerful, good acceleration, lots of potential energy. This swimming at maybe 90%. Then, in the race, I found myself hacking at the water--none of the same sense I'd had in warm-ups.
Today, in a workout, I was able to replicate my meet time in the 50 at that same 90% pace I'd used in warmups.
Pause for metaphor introduction: as a kid (and now, for that matter) I was a Cleveland Indians fan. They were uniformly terrible during the 60s, 70s, and 80s. But in the 70s they had an outfielder named George Hendrick, who was a gifted player. Hendrick had an ability to run while looking like he was jogging. He covered a lot of ground, and was quite fast, but he appeared to be dogging it. No strain was ever visible. He got a lot of grief in the press for being lazy, even though it was an optical illusion. He ran really fast but looked slow.
So here's my question: is it possible that I should sprint at less than what feels like 100%, in order to get better efficiency and thus more speed? Or am I kidding myself, and I need to just learn to use a really fast tempo without overswimming?
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So here's my question: is it possible that I should sprint at less than what feels like 100%, in order to get better efficiency and thus more speed? Or am I kidding myself, and I need to just learn to use a really fast tempo without overswimming?Take a look at Ian Thorpe or Alex Popov's stroke. Neither were immensely strong athletes like Bernard but their drag reduction and stroke efficiency was simply insane. Popov in particular looked like he was taking a leisurely paddle, even in the 50. More recently, PVK and Cullen Jones have butter smooth and effortless technique. Sullivan also looks like he's skipping across the top of the water and that guy couldn't beat my grandmother in arm wrestling.
IMO, drag reduction, stroke continuity (smoothness) and stroke efficiency are the most important aspects of good swimming. Strength and effort are certainly important, but almost secondary. It's particularly true in the sprints.
So here's my question: is it possible that I should sprint at less than what feels like 100%, in order to get better efficiency and thus more speed? Or am I kidding myself, and I need to just learn to use a really fast tempo without overswimming?Take a look at Ian Thorpe or Alex Popov's stroke. Neither were immensely strong athletes like Bernard but their drag reduction and stroke efficiency was simply insane. Popov in particular looked like he was taking a leisurely paddle, even in the 50. More recently, PVK and Cullen Jones have butter smooth and effortless technique. Sullivan also looks like he's skipping across the top of the water and that guy couldn't beat my grandmother in arm wrestling.
IMO, drag reduction, stroke continuity (smoothness) and stroke efficiency are the most important aspects of good swimming. Strength and effort are certainly important, but almost secondary. It's particularly true in the sprints.
