Can speed practice alone help long distance endurance?
Former Member
If I only practice to improve the speed in short distance, will it help increase the endurance needed for long distance? In other words, say I have trained for several months for (only) speed, could I, one day, suddenly find myself swimming long distance without feeling tired?
(Obviously the opposite is not true: simply being able to swim slow long distance doesn't help improve the speed.)
Parents
Former Member
My thought on this is: if you know what an efficient stroke feels like, you will also know when it is not: usually when the waves and currents mess with your stroke. Assuming you're not dealing with very isolated & rogue conditions, a well-aware swimmer should have ample time to adjust their technique to make it as efficient as possible given the conditions.
You got it right Muppet, for I'm just relating my experiences as a swimmer and my observations as an ESCORT on a kayak. When the current and tide are working against you, then an adjustment has got to be made. If not, then you're not going to make it, and have to be picked up. There have been races, where it has taken me more than twice the normal time to finish. And in one race (which I didn't do), about two thirds (700 out over 1000) swimmers were yanked. So in a race that takes me 2 1/2 hours to finish, which I normally can do in just a little over an hour, you bet my technique will be shot. But the main thing is to have fun, laugh, and wonder about what happened to my technique that I worked so hard on in the pool after the race?:bed:
My thought on this is: if you know what an efficient stroke feels like, you will also know when it is not: usually when the waves and currents mess with your stroke. Assuming you're not dealing with very isolated & rogue conditions, a well-aware swimmer should have ample time to adjust their technique to make it as efficient as possible given the conditions.
You got it right Muppet, for I'm just relating my experiences as a swimmer and my observations as an ESCORT on a kayak. When the current and tide are working against you, then an adjustment has got to be made. If not, then you're not going to make it, and have to be picked up. There have been races, where it has taken me more than twice the normal time to finish. And in one race (which I didn't do), about two thirds (700 out over 1000) swimmers were yanked. So in a race that takes me 2 1/2 hours to finish, which I normally can do in just a little over an hour, you bet my technique will be shot. But the main thing is to have fun, laugh, and wonder about what happened to my technique that I worked so hard on in the pool after the race?:bed:
