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.
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.
At championships, I swam a 1:50. My coach saw how devistated I was and let me lead off in the 800 free relay. I broke 1:50 by .2 seconds. I have never swam a 200 faster.
What a cool coach.
I love cool, smart and thoughtful coaches...!
Gosh, I couldn't even break a 1:50 as an age group. I think that I did a 1:51 but it was my 7th best event.
Tom: I couldn't break 1:50 as an age grouper either, and that was the point. Can I break 1:50 as a Master's swimmer who hasn't done it before? (Yes) And am I getting in enough practices to realistically break 1:50? (No) I am increasing my practices from 3 to 5, all 4-5k yards/workout, to make that No a Yes. You are welcome to join me in breaking 1:50 :)
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.
Syd: Good advice on swimming full 200s from the blocks. I will be taking that advice. As for the broken 200s, I don't think 4x50 is what some of the other posters had in mind. When I think broken 200 set, I think of something like:
1x200 for time, rest 1 minute
2x100 sum time, rest 30 seconds between
2x75,50 sum time, rest 20 seconds between
4x50 sum time, rest 15 seconds
each 200 time faster than the previous, last 200 faster than race pace
The way I look at it is, if the coach says broken X set, broken refers to me at the end of the set and X just happens to be the distance being used for the torture.
You need to be absoutely familiar with the distance at race speed. In college we would race once a week. You learn a ton that way. It is difficult to do that in masters.
When I broke the 1:50 barrier I knew precislely what my splits would be. I knew when I would breathe, at least on the first 100, and last 25.
I didn't know about SDKs back then but, had I incorporated them in my plan, I'm sure I would have known how many I was going to do at each wall.
This time standard has fond memories for me. I had trained very hard with a 1:49 in mind all season. At championships, I swam a 1:50. My coach saw how devistated I was and let me lead off in the 800 free relay. I broke 1:50 by .2 seconds. I have never swam a 200 faster.
Plan and race, race race.
What I don't have pool space to do is race. The team pool has blocks, but no space, and the on my own pool has space but not blocks. I can probably get a good amount of start practice in, but not much 200 race from a start practice. Something that I would like to have that I will just have to deal with.
I would swim that 200 Free in every meet possible.
You can even swim a 200 Free "time trial" at the beginnning of any longer freestyle race and then use the remaining yards to swim down. Swimmers do it all the time...
During the team workouts, the main set will be on the fastest pace I can hold, with an eye towards dropping the pace. This is a problem, because this pace is faster than what the rest of the lane can hold and there is no faster lane nor more lane space right now. Doing one set on a faster interval seems to be fine with the lane.
I'd suggest finding a way to add more resistance then (drag suit, etc).
If you're still dropping the lane then maybe work in some breathing drills to wind you a little (ex. break the 200s into 4x50s of 8 breaths-4 breaths- 8 breaths- 4 breaths). This will tire you and make it more difficult to make the interval the rest of the lane is using. Just a thought.
Ahelee: Good idea.
Speedo: I think I need to work at swimming faster specifically, not just put myself under more physical stress. The team practices just provide a logistics problem to doing this.
Thanks for everyone's input. I had just hoped to get an idea if I needed to increase the number of workouts I am doing, and ended up getting a lot more out of the thread.
This is what I am doing:
5 workouts/week. 3 with the team and 2 on my own.
My coach knows my goal and is working with me to meet it.
During the team workouts, the main set will be on the fastest pace I can hold, with an eye towards dropping the pace. This is a problem, because this pace is faster than what the rest of the lane can hold and there is no faster lane nor more lane space right now. Doing one set on a faster interval seems to be fine with the lane.
The rest of team workout I will focus on six beat kick, technique, turns and steamlines.
The on my own practices will focus on sprint work, hard 200s, lots of kick and the back half of practice being aerobic pace work.
Lift 3x/week
My target meet this year is Zones at the end of March
The realistic target for breaking 1:50 is 2010 SCY season.
What I don't have pool space to do is race. The team pool has blocks, but no space, and the on my own pool has space but not blocks. I can probably get a good amount of start practice in, but not much 200 race from a start practice. Something that I would like to have that I will just have to deal with.
The one thing I personally would caution you about, and keep in mind that I am a wimp, is that if you do an all out 200 split on the 500 (then easy 300)
followed by an all out 100
followed by an all out 50
followed by another all out 200 at the end of the meet,
you might be teaching a part of your brain--no doubt a small part of your brain, but a large part of my brain, that is, the pain experiencing lobe--that the 200 swum right is an agonizing event!
I think there is a reason that child birth can't happen again for a minimum of 9 months! The mother needs time to forget the previous ordeal.
I am a little scared your plot here will teach the beaten dog part of your brain that the 200 is a horror to be avoided at all costs.
What about doing the 500 fairly hard as a gauge of your aerobic shape, the 100 all out as a fast-twitch/slow twitch test; the 50 all out as a fast twitch test; and then the 200 as fast as you can do it trying to put all the pieces together?
That's what I would do, though it's really too bad the 500 comes first...
Strategy question.
www.clubassistant.com/.../meet_information.cfm
Given that order of events, my plan is to swim
#10 500 free, 200 for time, 300 ez.
#18 100 free
#26 50 free
#32 200 free
The goal is to get as much true 200 free racing that I can. Any suggestions for alternatives, or is this a decent plan?
Most of my friends and enemies would say this is a lot of events for a 1-day meet. But I happen to think this schedule looks awesome to train and prep your 200 free.
I bet you swim faster in the 2nd go at the 200 Free.
Stay hydrated, loose and warm during the meet.
If you happen to run into DAMM head coach, Jim Montgomery, ask him to give you some "inside expertice" on the 200 Free!!!!
Good luck - let us know how it goes.
