why am i so sloooooooooow? i've been swimming since i was 21, i'm now 30. When i was 21 i basically taught myself to swim and with a few tips here and there from lifeguards, i was able to swim 3 miles in the pool at approximately 35 minutes a mile.
fast forward a few years, i would consider myself a much better swimmer now, i've gotten a few lessons with coaches and i've been told my technique has gotten better. but my speed has BARELY improved!!! i'm talking major changes in technique and training, and it still takes me 34 minutes to do a mile! that's a 1 minute improvement over the time when i had taught myself to swim! it's ridiculous. and i swim so much...i swim in open water and have been doing master's for 7 months now.
is it possible that i was just born slow, or do you think i need further refinement to my technique? none of it adds up--i work very hard in the pool, my technique sounds like it's decent, and i am physically in very good shape. i can swim 9 miles in open water, but i just cannot bring up my speed! it's ridiculous. i don't want to be fast, i just want to be somewhere near 30 minutes per mile!
You talk about your mile time, but what about your short distance times?
Has, for instance, your 100 yard free improved at all?
Are you one of those swimmers who "only have one speed"? You can go at a decent pace and hold it forever, but you can't go much faster when sprinting all out?
I sometimes think athletes that are predominantly equipped with slow twitch muscle fibers have trouble adjusting speeds. You might need to do some REAL sprint practices--50s, 25s, even 12.5s with lots and lots of rest, but all out. This can help you recruit a few switch-hitter muscle fibers to help your speed.
In terms of speed and endurance, you can help by gradually upping the pressure of training.
One thing our coach does on distance days is slowly, over the course of a season, decrease the intervals. For example, two months ago, we might have been doing do 4 x 500 on 7:00 or sets of 10 x 100 on 1:30 then 1:25.
Now we have worked our way down to 500s on 6:30 and 100s on 1:20 and 1:15. I am sure my mile time now would be better than it was in September. Good luck. I know it's frustrating, but sometimes people just reach their hull speed, so to speak, and huge differences in training don't translate into huge differences in performance. I would think that it would be easier to drop a mile time significantly, however, than a short sprint, if for no other reason than enhanced ability to suffer without quitting!
You talk about your mile time, but what about your short distance times?
Has, for instance, your 100 yard free improved at all?
Are you one of those swimmers who "only have one speed"? You can go at a decent pace and hold it forever, but you can't go much faster when sprinting all out?
I sometimes think athletes that are predominantly equipped with slow twitch muscle fibers have trouble adjusting speeds. You might need to do some REAL sprint practices--50s, 25s, even 12.5s with lots and lots of rest, but all out. This can help you recruit a few switch-hitter muscle fibers to help your speed.
In terms of speed and endurance, you can help by gradually upping the pressure of training.
One thing our coach does on distance days is slowly, over the course of a season, decrease the intervals. For example, two months ago, we might have been doing do 4 x 500 on 7:00 or sets of 10 x 100 on 1:30 then 1:25.
Now we have worked our way down to 500s on 6:30 and 100s on 1:20 and 1:15. I am sure my mile time now would be better than it was in September. Good luck. I know it's frustrating, but sometimes people just reach their hull speed, so to speak, and huge differences in training don't translate into huge differences in performance. I would think that it would be easier to drop a mile time significantly, however, than a short sprint, if for no other reason than enhanced ability to suffer without quitting!
