Four events in 2.5 hours - HELP!

Don't you do much more than this in ANY practice?

When you have a long enough break, take in some protein. Either a drink or a bar. It will help your muscle recover faster and get ready for the next race. Is protein really going to help in the short term, though? I know protein is necessary to help muscles recovery, but I thought this was more of a long term thing. I would think hydration and carbs would be more important. My advice would be to warm down immediately and thoroughly after each race. Swim very easy and keep going until your breathing and pulse return to very close to normal--and then do another 100 for good measure!

Is protein really going to help in the short term, though? I know protein is necessary to help muscles recovery, but I thought this was more of a long term thing. I would think hydration and carbs would be more important. My advice would be to warm down immediately and thoroughly after each race. Swim very easy and keep going until your breathing and pulse return to very close to normal--and then do another 100 for good measure! I find it helps me even in the short term. Plus if it's a protein shake, with a little sugar thrown in, then I get the energy boost. I did the 400 IM, 200 free and 50 *** at SCY Nationals and they were all back-to-back-to-back events. I believe I started the 400 IM around 9am and finished the 50 *** around noon. So if I can do 3 nationals events, one being the 400 IM, you can do this!! Have confidence.

Next week we have the regionals where they estimate that the first session will be over in 3 hours and I have entered 4 events: 50 fly, 100 free, 100IM, 200 free (in that order). So my question is - how on earth do I recover in between? - particularly from the IM to the 200 free, where there will definitely be a short gap, perhaps only 15 mins :badday:. Also if you have any tips on how to prepare beforehand, what's best to eat etc? I'll Your lineup sounds do-able. I suggest the following: 1) To train for such an occasion Fast Fridays sound like a great idea, but with only a week to go I would refrain from doing a large number of hard swims in any one day between now and the meet. (I did three such days this past week and I was sore and slow at our summer league dual meet today.) Instead, I suggest 2) It sounds like this "regionals" is somewhat of a "focus" meet for you. It is one week from today. That is enough time for a short taper that should give you a good initial "pop". (See Ande's SFF tip #239.) 3) I agree with Ande, stay off your feet between events. 4) I also agree with almost everyone else, warm down gently between events if you can, but if it is like our summer league, this won't be possible. Sometime I do a litlle gentle stretching between events instead. 5) As far as what to eat is concerned, I like Ande'a advise, eat what you usually eat. At least it won't upset your stomach. 6) Are you too old for this? I am 46 and while I am not fast, I do have fun. Good luck! Tell us how it went!

Don't you do much more than this in ANY practice? :lolup: :lmao: Well, yes - just not at full out race speed...and not being much of a sprinter its a shock to my poor body these days. Thanks for the advice - particularly Ande again, I like the idea of the fast friday sets, so I'll plan on throwing a couple into the mix this week. I'm in as good a shape as I'm going to get, for now, but still lugging 10lb extra lard along with me! I have my suit (not a patch on my lovely 2005 model fastskin, but $70 was as much as I could justify right now). I'm hoping they open up a warm-down area in the pool - its a huge outdoor T-shape thing, but if not does anyone have any suggestions for warm down excercises in 96F heat? I have thought about easing off on the IM so I can do an all-out 200 free. Trouble is I'd really love to do them both all out as this is my only foreseeable chance of swimming in a 25m pool in competition. All my previous bests in the UK were done SCM - the time converters are all a bit different, so I think I'm very close....And for some reason the 200 and the IM are the closest.....er.....probably has something to do with me being a rubbish sprinter. :blah: Anyway I'll be thinking on this one over the next week. So protein bars, coffee, a good warm down and a PMA - do not be afraid of the 200....:D

50 fly, 100 free, 100 IM, 200 free (in that order) is not a bad line up the keys are to: 1) be in great shape going into your meet (not much you can do with just a week to go) (I think FAST FRIDAY practices are very helpful because you'd practice swimming fast 4 to 20 times in one practice) 2) SHAVE, 3) wear the fastest 2010 FINA Approaved suit you can afford 2010 Approved Womens Tech Suits . . . 2010 Approved Mens Tech Suits 4) make up your mind that you can do it and you plan to give each race your best effort. 5) properly Warm up & get ready 6) Race Smart split your races well (especially your 200) 7) warm down & loosen up after each race 8) rest & relax between races, stay off your feet 9) get psyched, be determined, get in IPS before each race 10) drink some water or gatorade but not too much & 11) Caffienate There's more in Swim Faster Faster that can help you You could also choose to drop a race or two to focus on your priorities or just opt to swim some races hard & some easy When I last seriously competed almost 5 years ago now, I would attend meets with multiple sessions and do 1 event from each or maybe 2 events - 1 at the start and 1 at the end of the session. I was more a distancer, so over the course of the weekend, would swim 800 free, 400 free, 200 free, 200 IM, 100 fly, or something similar. Fast forward to this summer where I have raced almost every weekend for the last 6 weeks, doing 2 shorter events each time and the meets last up to 6 hours. Next week we have the regionals where they estimate that the first session will be over in 3 hours and I have entered 4 events: 50 fly, 100 free, 100IM, 200 free (in that order). So my question is - how on earth do I recover in between? - particularly from the IM to the 200 free, where there will definitely be a short gap, perhaps only 15 mins :badday:. Also if you have any tips on how to prepare beforehand, what's best to eat etc? I'll

So my question is - how on earth do I recover in between? - particularly from the IM to the 200 free, where there will definitely be a short gap, perhaps only 15 mins :badday:. Also if you have any tips on how to prepare beforehand, what's best to eat etc? I'll I am quite a bit older than you and recovery between races for me is very difficult. I think you have to plan the meet as a whole and concentrate on less than all of the races - ie. pace the 100 IM at 90% effort if you want to have a fast 200 free. Also, active warm down, either in the water (if available) or on the deck has a big effect on lactate clearance. Here is a power point presentation by Genadijus Sokolovas comparing the effect of active vs. passive warm down: www.nisd.net/.../UnderstandingLactateClearance.ppt As a final option, do what I do, either don't enter so many events or scratch events based on how you feel when the heat is called. Good luck.

When I last seriously competed almost 5 years ago now, I would attend meets with multiple sessions and do 1 event from each or maybe 2 events - 1 at the start and 1 at the end of the session. I was more a distancer, so over the course of the weekend, would swim 800 free, 400 free, 200 free, 200 IM, 100 fly, or something similar. Fast forward to this summer where I have raced almost every weekend for the last 6 weeks, doing 2 shorter events each time and the meets last up to 6 hours. Next week we have the regionals where they estimate that the first session will be over in 3 hours and I have entered 4 events: 50 fly, 100 free, 100IM, 200 free (in that order). So my question is - how on earth do I recover in between? - particularly from the IM to the 200 free, where there will definitely be a short gap, perhaps only 15 mins :badday:. Also if you have any tips on how to prepare beforehand, what's best to eat etc? I'll When you have a long enough break, take in some protein. Either a drink or a bar. It will help your muscle recover faster and get ready for the next race.

When I swam 4 back to back events in about 1.5 hours @ the badger state games, I basically did my best before every event to psych myself into thinking that this was the absolute first event I swam today and that I should be ready to go 100%. How well that worked... meh.... I think I did okay considering it was my first set of sprints in an LCM ever.

I did the 400 IM, 200 free and 50 *** at SCY Nationals and they were all back-to-back-to-back events. I believe I started the 400 IM around 9am and finished the 50 *** around noon. So if I can do 3 nationals events, one being the 400 IM, you can do this!! Have confidence. :applaud: I'll definitely be back with an update, I guess I'm just a bit worried as I know how drained I feel having swum just a 200 let alone after 3 previous races! Karl - thanks for the taper advice, I was planning some kind of mini-taper, but the pm gives me a good structure :) I now just need to find someone willing to haul me out of the pool at the end of that 200. (I can see this going the way of my 1 and only 1500m where the finish juge kindly informed me that I could leave the water - erm actually no my arms had completely given up so I was grateful for being in lane 10 and able to kind of "roll" out at the side!)