The Backstroke Lane

You would destroy me in any breaststroke event though Ya think? Your race times are way faster than mine in everything you have listed. Have you timed yourself in breaststroke? The way I have been swimming breaststroke lately, I'll bet you would beat me. My leg has been too :toohurt:to get a decent kick and my times have been :censor: . I'm looking forward to my next PT appointment where I will get a lower body evaluation and exercises to correct those imbalances. Meanwhile, I will keep practicing my backstroke; no pain on that stroke. :D

My LCM 50bk is 43.10, which places us close in seed, but my recent SCY is 36.something for the 50, I will convert that one to LCM and use that as seed (If I do the 50bk). However, I never completed a 100 back before, and Athens (if I can make it there, 80% sure) seems like a good time to try a new event, so long it does not interfere with target events. I can seed whatever for that one.

habu987, I think you were swimming pretty well. You already criticized yourself and know what you need to do. I'm not sure what your splits were but it looked good.

50m probably in 55 seconds. Cant seem to get my kick working - feet don't catch water. I can make a kick-only work, just can't add it to the stroke. When the pool is clear and I have my camera I plan on consulting with Dr Frog on this issue via youtube to get it resolved. (sorry about hijacking part of your signature font) Hope you get your frog legs back in tune. Have you tried lifting weights? Signature font? Steve, you can use this font anytime you would like! :banana: Good idea to get your stroke on video. Dr. Frog (aka King Frog) is the BEST when it comes to evaluating other frogs! :applaud: But, I digress; this is the "Backstroke Lane" after all... :hijack: :blush: But, before I return to the thread topic, I will answer your questions: Yes, and, that was part of the problem. I was using the abductor/adductor machine (under the advice and supervision of our resident trainer), but it was adding to the muscle fatigue factor, making me more susceptible to injuries in the pool. My abductors are quite strong compared to my adductors, so I am looking forward to receiving more of a skilled evaluation of a PT (and USMS competitor), rather than just the advice of a less-educated trainer who doesn't swim. When I described the problem to the PT while she was reviewing my medical history, she hinted that she thought the origin of the problem was my back. I am guessing she will be prescribing some lower back strengthening exercises to balance out my stronger abs.

habu987, I think you were swimming pretty well.I agree (for what it's worth), those were some sharp swims on youtube Have you timed yourself in breaststroke? 50m probably in 55 seconds. Cant seem to get my kick working - feet don't catch water. I can make a kick-only work, just can't add it to the stroke. When the pool is clear and I have my camera I plan on consulting with Dr Frog on this issue via youtube to get it resolved. (sorry about hijacking part of your signature font) My leg has been too to get a decent kick and my times have been :censor: . I'm looking forward to my next PT appointment where I will get a lower body evaluation and exercises to correct those imbalances. Meanwhile, I will keep practicing my backstroke; no pain on that stroke. :D Hope you get your frog legs back in tune. Have you tried lifting weights?

Amen!

Pacing 200 back Check out this race, from the recent Albatross Open: Splits in lane 2 conform to the ideal formula N, N+2, N+2, N+2, very nearly perfectly! An excellent race! Splits in lane 1, not so much! More like N, N+2, N+4, N+4. Now, I'm not complaining! That was a good race & time for me! I have been working on and improving my splitting in the 200 back for the last year (yes, the above represents an improvement). The question is, beyond the obvious advice to get in better condition, how to learn better splitting in this race? I probably need to take my foot off the gas a bit in the first 100. How do you learn this? Are there sets or other training methods for learning to split 200s correctly? Thanks! Good swims! In training, do repeats where you sprint the second half of the swim with low to medium rest. For example, 50's where you sprint the 2nd 25, 100's where you sprint the 2nd 50, and so on. Only having low to medium rest will mean that on the first half of the next repeat, you will still be somewhat tired from the preceding sprint, so your foot will naturally come off the gas. But then you must sprint again! That will teach you to crank it up, over and over again.

Pacing 200 back Check out this race, from the recent Albatross Open:Event 20, 200 Meter Backstroke 1 Swimosaur M55 GAJA 2:38.93 2:39.95 37.08 1:16.93 (39.85) 1:58.50 (41.57) 2:39.95 (41.45) 2 SwimmieAVSFan F32 TERR 2:32.72 2:35.50 37.47 1:16.95 (39.48) 1:56.61 (39.66) 2:35.50 (38.89) Splits in lane 2 conform to the ideal formula N, N+2, N+2, N+2, very nearly perfectly! An excellent race! Splits in lane 1, not so much! More like N, N+2, N+4, N+4. Now, I'm not complaining! That was a good race & time for me! I have been working on and improving my splitting in the 200 back for the last year (yes, the above represents an improvement). The question is, beyond the obvious advice to get in better condition, how to learn better splitting in this race? I probably need to take my foot off the gas a bit in the first 100. How do you learn this? Are there sets or other training methods for learning to split 200s correctly? Thanks!

Good swims! In training, do repeats where you sprint the second half of the swim with low to medium rest. For example, 50's where you sprint the 2nd 25, 100's where you sprint the 2nd 50, and so on. Only having low to medium rest will mean that on the first half of the next repeat, you will still be somewhat tired from the preceding sprint, so your foot will naturally come off the gas. But then you must sprint again! That will teach you to crank it up, over and over again. Thanks for the suggestion! But I confess I'm confused. The first time I read it, I thought, when doing a set of 100s as 2x50s, put low rest between the two 50s. Then I read, "Only having low to medium rest will mean that on the first half of the next repeat, you will still be somewhat tired ...", and I thought, maybe the low rest is after the 2nd 50, before starting the next 2x50? It could be, (50, low rest, ) ... high rest ... (50, low rest, ) ... high rest ... (50, low rest, ) ... Or it could be, (50, high rest, ) ... low rest ... (50, high rest, ) ... low rest ... (50, high rest, ) ... Or I guess it could be, (50, low rest, ) ... low rest ... (50, low rest, ) ... low rest ... (50, low rest, ) ... Also, what do you consider low rest? Thanks!

Thanks for the suggestion! But I confess I'm confused. The first time I read it, I thought, when doing a set of 100s as 2x50s, put low rest between the two 50s. Then I read, "Only having low to medium rest will mean that on the first half of the next repeat, you will still be somewhat tired ...", and I thought, maybe the low rest is after the 2nd 50, before starting the next 2x50? It could be, (50, low rest, ) ... high rest ... (50, low rest, ) ... high rest ... (50, low rest, ) ... Or it could be, (50, high rest, ) ... low rest ... (50, high rest, ) ... low rest ... (50, high rest, ) ... Or I guess it could be, (50, low rest, ) ... low rest ... (50, low rest, ) ... low rest ... (50, low rest, ) ... Also, what do you consider low rest? Thanks! None of those. I mean repeats of 100's wherein you sprint the 2nd 50 of each 100. Then take low (5-10 seconds) to medium (10-30 seconds) rest before the next 100. Have a mental cue like "ok GO" when it's time to sprint. It'll come in handy in competition.