Did you break 1:50 in the 200yd fr as a Master's swimmer?
Former Member
I would really like to hear if you have broken 1:50 for the first time as a USMS swimmer. What level of training got you there?
I certainly want to hear from anyone who is going fast in the 200.
A little background: I only swam club for two years in HS, and outside of masters, only swam competitively for 3 years total. My best 200yd free time was a 1:50.0x. I am in my early 30s so I think setting PRs are still within easy reach. The season leading up to that time, I was averaging 65k/week iirc.
The Master's team I train with works out 3 times a week, 4-5k/workout, the average being closer to 4k. This is the only team that it is realistic for me to train with at this time.
We are getting a new pool in 2012, and until then I do not believe it is realistic to train with the kids.
There are two other pools in the area that do not have teams that train at them that I can workout on my own at.
It is very realistic that I can work with my MS coach to customize my workouts.
I have gone 2:10 from a push in practice, but I certainly couldn't go 3x200 on 2:10 right now. I am afraid my SCM 200 time actually converts slower than that, so I don't have a good recent race pace time to share.
Given that small book of information: Am I getting enough yardage, and I just need to focus my training on my goal, or do I need to increase yardage and workouts? To what level was successful for you?
If the consensus is a need for significantly more yardage and workouts, I will use this season to ramp up and solve logistics.
Parents
Former Member
Michael, while 10 x 50's @ .45 (holding 27's) and similar sets might be great aerobic training tools, you still need to race a full 200 in practice to get a sense of the distance as a whole. I'm not knocking their value at all ( I do them myself) but you need to put the whole thing together (without any breaks at all), feel the pain of the lactate build up and work out how to still maintain perfect stroke while enduring it. If you do a broken 200 of 4 x 50 with 10 second intervals, you will missing out on three flip turns. Flip turns use up oxygen. You will also be getting an extra 30 seconds of rest you won't be getting in a race.
My advice, aside from doing the aerobic sets others have suggested, is to (at least once a week) do a, timed, 200 from the blocks. Plan your race ahead of time. Set goals for each 50, 100 and see how close you get to them. Work out how many SDK's you are going to take off each wall, when you need easy speed and when you need to ramp it up. Analyze it afterwards and see where you did well and where you can improve. Make sure you are well rested before each attempt and treat it just as you would at a meet. Then when you race it in a meet you will be confident you will be able to reach the goals you have set for yourself.
Michael, while 10 x 50's @ .45 (holding 27's) and similar sets might be great aerobic training tools, you still need to race a full 200 in practice to get a sense of the distance as a whole. I'm not knocking their value at all ( I do them myself) but you need to put the whole thing together (without any breaks at all), feel the pain of the lactate build up and work out how to still maintain perfect stroke while enduring it. If you do a broken 200 of 4 x 50 with 10 second intervals, you will missing out on three flip turns. Flip turns use up oxygen. You will also be getting an extra 30 seconds of rest you won't be getting in a race.
My advice, aside from doing the aerobic sets others have suggested, is to (at least once a week) do a, timed, 200 from the blocks. Plan your race ahead of time. Set goals for each 50, 100 and see how close you get to them. Work out how many SDK's you are going to take off each wall, when you need easy speed and when you need to ramp it up. Analyze it afterwards and see where you did well and where you can improve. Make sure you are well rested before each attempt and treat it just as you would at a meet. Then when you race it in a meet you will be confident you will be able to reach the goals you have set for yourself.
