200 Breaststroke time

original poster here - Just wondering what you guys have done in practice. SwimStud said he didn't swim the 200 BR in practice. I didn't do any 200's BR in practice either, I rarely did 100's. I did mostly 50's BR. Although I did do a lot of 100 IMs and 200 IMs. I'm thinking I should start swimming 200s BR in practice. Any set ideas? I doubt I can manage 5 x 200 BR.

I find it very helpful to swim the occasional 200 *** in practice, if for no other reason than to get more comfortable with the pain and oxygen-debt that it causes. Mostly I do 50s and 100s ***, personally I think repeat 100s are the best thing for my 200. 50s are good to practice going faster and doing full 200 race pace. But that said I try to do at least a couple full 200s a week, never more than one in a row and very rarely more than one in a workout. Like Ande has said often, I think you really need to practice the actual event to get fast at it. There's no other way to simulate those last few turns and pullouts on the 200 which are so painful. If you really want to get hardcore and work on oxygen-debt comfort then you can start doing flipturns and/or double pullouts when you do 50s and 100s ***. Also what I try really hard to do is follow Brendan Hansen's advice to really concentrate on technique when you're at your most exhausted. It's so easy to let your stroke fall apart at the end of a 200, in practice try to make the last 50 or 100 of your 200 be the best, long pullouts and perfect stroke. If you can't hold it together in practice you probably won't be able to in a race.

original poster here - Just wondering what you guys have done in practice. SwimStud said he didn't swim the 200 BR in practice. I didn't do any 200's BR in practice either, I rarely did 100's. I did mostly 50's BR. Although I did do a lot of 100 IMs and 200 IMs. I'm thinking I should start swimming 200s BR in practice. Any set ideas? I doubt I can manage 5 x 200 BR. When I trained for the 200, we did a lot of straight 200's, and a lot of pace work for the 200. Maybe try 4x200.....1) 100 fr/100br 2) 75fr/125br 3) 50fr/150br 4) 200br you can also do it opposite with more fr then br...set it up as a ladder set. Broken 200 hundreds are always good, you can learn how to swim the event that way

Here is my 200 *** time from Zones. I might have went out too fast in the first 100. 34.52 1:12.35 (37.83) 1:51.64 (39.29) 2:31.99 (40.35)

I swim some free/*** 200s sometimes in addition to the occasional 200 ***. If 4 x 200 *** is a bit much (yes it is for me) - swim 4 x 200 - where each 100 is 100 free/100 ***. That puts the breaststroke at the end - where you are at least somewhat tired cardio wise but your breaststroke muscles are more fresh. You still have to work for oxygen on the breaststroke pullouts. For variation reverse the order - or swim 50 free 100 *** 50 free. I also find the ***/free sequence is useful practice for the last half of IMs.

OK to keep the thread going. I did my 200 at Zones thusly: 37.90 1:19.05 (41.15) 2:02.92 (43.87) 2:45.47 (42.55) My 50 was :34.2 I didn't feel dead enough after the 200. Breathing was normal very shortly after climbing out. I think climbing out should be a bit tough. Happy to PB but felt I left some in the pool and want some input on the splitting. Something odd happens in the 3rd leg with me, and then I roar back. Look at the below from January...same thing. Leg Cumulative Subtractive 1 39.32 39.32 2 1:24.17 44.85 3 2:10.18 46.01 4 2:54.49 44.31 You're relaxing too much on the third 50. Gotta keep the pressure on and try to descend from the 2nd 50 to the last 50.

Thanks Jim Think maybe I'm subconsciously gearing up for the big push? Should I take first 50 out a bit harder? Yeah, you might be. If the first 50's comfortable, I'd leave it alone until you can achieve what you need to do on the last three 50's (descending them). Sometimes you gotta learn how the race the race correctly before you can race it fast. Get my drift? You have to consciously swim the race and not let the subconscious take over. It can be hard to concentrate for 2-3 minutes but you'll get there by practicing "focus".

Stud, as someone who has similar issues on the 3rd 50 for the 200, I would recommend that you really focus on keeping your stroke strong on the 3rd 50. If you do that, you will carry more speed thru that 50. Easy speed is the goal.

I'll try to adopt the 200 BR model I want on that race. "Do or do not; there is no "try". Attitude, dude. Speak what you want. Say it: I WILL ADOPT THE 200 BREASTSTROKE RACE MODEL I WANT! Repeat...

Here is my 200 *** time from Zones. I might have went out too fast in the first 100. 34.52 1:12.35 (37.83) 1:51.64 (39.29) 2:31.99 (40.35) From my eye Tom I don't think it's too bad...a fast start may be due to the dive and momentum....you didn't drop off by 2 or 3 seconds each 50. If I could get my swim to go down by 1 sec per 50 I'd be happy...