I've traditionally been more of a sprinter, but I've decided to give the 400 free a try next weekend. I'm interested in ideas of how I should pace the race since I just have some vague thoughts on how to do this (e.g cruise the first 200, then slightly decend the last 2 100s). But I really don't what pace I can sustain for 5min, and I'd rather not have any pianos falling. I haven't done any testing regarding this, but I'm pretty familiar with sendoffs that I can make in practice.
I also have 50-100-200 times that may give some perspective- I suppose it depends on the individual to a large degree, but is there some general rule that can be applied (e.g your first 200 should be your best 200 time +10sec) based on your times from shorter races, or should I be looking at this differently?
Thanks in advance.
My best advice on a 400/500 is this.......You can't win a 400 in the first 100, but you can lose it in the first 100. Go easy and build.
I'll second Glenn's advice.
What worked for me was building the 1st 100, to avoid swimming it too fast while also not going out too slow. Then increase the perceived effort a little bit on each of the following 100's, trying to hold the same pace throughout each 100.
My best advice on a 400/500 is this.......You can't win a 400 in the first 100, but you can lose it in the first 100. Go easy and build.
I'll second Glenn's advice.
What worked for me was building the 1st 100, to avoid swimming it too fast while also not going out too slow. Then increase the perceived effort a little bit on each of the following 100's, trying to hold the same pace throughout each 100.
