200 Challenge: Goal time, roadmap and status updates

lefty, different people drop different amounts during taper no easy rule of thumb I've seen guys swim close to best times in practice, then not drop much in meets, i've seen others swim slow in practice then drop all kinds of time. I tend to be in the upper middle. Dave Salo posted this set somewhere or another. If you want to go under 1:50 in the 200 then you need to go 1:52 in season. 54.0 / 57.9 is how I would split it (not recommending this, just how I would do it). This means to do the 75's in just under 40.5.

Chris I dont think there is a right or wrong on this but rather what works best for you. And there is real value in understanding what works best for people, especially the more accomplished like yourself! So just to be clear: when you are comparing your 4 x 200's times to your in-season times you are wearing the same suit (I assume racing brief) for both situations. Was it you who said you do 1,000 and a 1650 backstroke in one practice. Your endurance is to be envied! Similar suit in practice and in-season meets. Agreed that there is more than one good way to train! No, I don't do straight 1000 or 1650 backstrokes. Sometimes I'll do overdistance work -- not very often -- but mostly to work on stroke mechanics or "feel" (or just recovery) rather than for real training.

Was it you who said you do 1,000 and a 1650 backstroke in one practice. Your endurance is to be envied! No, that was me, and I didn't mean doing both of those in the same workout. I meant do a 1000 backstroke maintaining your target SDK & stroke counts the whole way, and then in another practice, do the same over a 1650. Sorry for any confusion there. I do these swims a couple times a year each and it's interesting to compare my times to the last time I did it. I also do 500 backstrokes for time a few times a year.

And it isn't as if I'm way off race pace, either: in the 5 x 200 test set I'll average maybe 2 sec slower than I would swim a 200 at a meet at that time. YMMV. I think that you are unique in that regard. When I do 3 or 4 200's on 8 minutes I am atleast 10 seconds off race pace. Do you wear a tech suit when you do it? I sometimes wear an aquablade and come within 3-4 seconds of race pace. Maybe I should wear my new Amphibian Jammer when I do this set. I also tend to agree with Ehoch that doing timed 200's is good training for the 400 (or 500) more than the 200 itself. I like this set for training for 200's: 4 or 5 300's broken up like this: 75 at the pace you want to take your 200 out in 25 easy (like pull on the ropes easy) 200 keeping long smooth stroke. Dave Salo posted this set somewhere or another. If you want to go under 1:50 in the 200 then you need to go 1:52 in season. 54.0 / 57.9 is how I would split it (not recommending this, just how I would do it). This means to do the 75's in just under 40.5.

Chris I dont think there is a right or wrong on this but rather what works best for you. And there is real value in understanding what works best for people, especially the more accomplished like yourself! So just to be clear: when you are comparing your 4 x 200's times to your in-season times you are wearing the same suit (I assume racing brief) for both situations. Was it you who said you do 1,000 and a 1650 backstroke in one practice. Your endurance is to be envied!

For me, the best way to prepare for any 200 is to: 1) swim hard fast 200's for time in practice with plenty of rest, at least a 1 to 1 work rest ratio, preferably more, like 1 to 2 or 1 to 3. ie if you do a 200 in 2:00: 1 to 1 is on 04:00 1 to 2 is on 06:00 1 to 3 is on 08:00 1 to 4 is on 10:00 2) work on even & negative splitting 3) work on finishing strong, 4) work on sustaining a strong kick over the entire race & 5) work on taking 3, 4, 5, or 6 SDKs off each turn

200 free last season 2 26 this year 2 19 ?

Well done Syd!

My warm up meet is half completed. I swam the 200 Free (LCM) this morning. My goal was to go sub 2:10 and get my splits much closer together. This is how it went: 1st 50: 30:32 2nd50: 31:58 3rd 50: 33:30 4th 50: 33:02 Total 1st 100: 1:02:30 2nd100: 1:06:32 (4 second difference between 100's) Have to say, I am quite pleased with this result. It is my fastest Masters 200. 2 seconds faster than last year and probably my fastest 200 ever.(I never really swam the event as a kid and I can't remember any times I did for it anyway). I felt really relaxed at the end of the first 100. In fact, I felt so relaxed, I thought I had gone out too slowly and blown it. I was tired at the end but no nausea (certainly nothing like I feel sometimes in practice). I felt I had quite a lot left in the tank. Strategy-wise I think I made a big breakthrough this time. I had been training a lot, doing 50's, going 31's and 32's until I was certain I could do them at that speed with relative ease and accuracy. I knew just how fast I had to go to do a 62. I doubted myself momentarily because, I suppose, I was more rested than in practice and just was't used to it feeling that easy. On the negative side, I had a slow start. I completely messed up the final turn. My feet slipped, skewing off the touch pad. I was turning onto my tummy before my feet had touched the wall. I didn't do one single SDK the entire race! I also think my final two 50's could have been a bit faster. I lost concentration. You really have to concentrate on that final 100 to keep your stroke long and smooth. The more your stroke goes to pieces, the more tired you get. If those final two 50's had been 32's instead of 33's then I would have got a 2:06 and I would have been really happy with that time. My big shave and taper meet is on October 31st so I have until then to work on my mistakes and build up a bit more stamina. I am now "hooked", more than ever, on the 200!

Well done Syd! Thanks, Guy!