I’m gonna start getting timed at least once a week, to see how am doing, I wonder when is the best time to do so...
Basically you have 3 options
1) Before the actual practice, good dry land warm up moving your arms (without warming up in the pool), I found this is +1 sec every 50 from my current time.
2) After long/short warm up.
Short = 300-500 free and then just going for it
Long = lets say Im trying the 400IM
I would do: (just an example)
-400 inverse im (50 drill/50 drill)
-4x50 strong (1 of each)
-100 im strong
-4 or 8 x 75 k,d,s (im order)
-2 or 3 jumps
THEN…400 IM all out
3) After practice, after or before warming down, (I’m usually very tired, so I cant go all out anything over 100 meters)
-How often do you time youself/get timed?
-When? before/during/after practice?
Definitely not #1. You should test out options 2 and 3, and see which consistently work for you. I've had fast times both mid-practice, and at the end. It depends a lot on what you've done so far, but also how motivated you are. For me, that motivation factor works best.
Our coaches will offer up things like not doing the last round of a set, a better interval, or something, and I almost always deliver. 2 weeks ago, our coach pulled us out of the water and challenged us to swim at our fastest in-season speeds, and I went a time that I would be absolutely thrilled with if that were in a meet.
Definitely not #1. You should test out options 2 and 3, and see which consistently work for you. I've had fast times both mid-practice, and at the end. It depends a lot on what you've done so far, but also how motivated you are. For me, that motivation factor works best.
Our coaches will offer up things like not doing the last round of a set, a better interval, or something, and I almost always deliver. 2 weeks ago, our coach pulled us out of the water and challenged us to swim at our fastest in-season speeds, and I went a time that I would be absolutely thrilled with if that were in a meet.
