I think it was Ande that said "it's not how fast you swim, it's how fast you slow down." I read that a few years ago and keep on coming back to it as I have watched my kids grow in their USA Swimming careers. When kids are around 8-10, many of the races are 50s. Lots of kids can swim relatively fast 50s compared to other kids even when their stroke technique is truly awful. But then once the clock strikes 11 (years old), all of the 50s go away (less one) - and magically many of the kids with bad technique who seemed fast start losing to kids in the 100s and 200s with superior strokes. My question is at what age are we masters swimmers when we start thinking 50 backstroke, 50 butterfly and 50 breaststroke are OK to race again? It is not OK. It brings our sport down to a level where people who train only 100s or less and focus on 25s are taking over our pools. No more I say!!! I think USMS rules should only allow these races for people in their 70s and older. Who is with me?!!!
:worms: :bolt:
10x50 stroke of your choice on 2:00 interval - goal on each is best time +5s (from a push) or best time +2s from a dive.
Distance swimmers could make this set going on a 1:00 interval.
Come on, Kirk. I doubt a distance swimmer even knows their best 50 time unless they happened to have peaked at their 50 split going out in their 500!
USMS troll: 50s are fun, exceptionally hard to do and allow virtually no room for error.
Come on, Kirk. I doubt a distance swimmer even knows their best 50 time unless they happened to have peaked at their 50 split going out in their 500!
That's certainly part of it. Add five seconds to my fastest 50 time and that puts it darn close to my 500 pace!
I don't necessarily think 50s are bad, but they do seem to be completely different beasts from "longer" distance races. Sprint 50s is almost like its own (fifth) stroke. For example, I've seen lots of guys with terrible technique (including guys that never move their heads vertically) muscle through very fast 50 breaststroke races that stink up the pool in the 100 and wouldn't even dare swim the 200. I don't consider those folks to be real breaststrokers. They're just sprinters. Nothing wrong with it and I wouldn't eliminate those races from Masters swimming.
USMS troll: 50s are fun, exceptionally hard to do and allow virtually no room for error.
You've obviously never seen my 50s. I allow plenty of room for error.
Do you feel the same way about the 100m dash on the track?
A good point!
Some very exciting racing happens in both swimming 50s and track 100s--and while (as a runner myself) I don't do the 100 often, I'm all for having it, because those who enjoy it and do it well deserve to have their training rewarded with success just as much as the distance people. It's a different kind of training, but it's still training. At both swim and track meets, when finances permit, I try to enter as many events as I can--offers a great opportunity to (a) get a workout and (b) enjoy some variety in types of events I do.
I'm no star athlete, just someone who likes to work out and stay fit. When I first began to do swim meets, I chose the 50 because, knowing I was slow, I wanted something that I could start and finish the same day. :D As I found more confidence, I went into longer events, but I was grateful to have that short distance to start with. In a Senior Games meet, I talked to a man who had not ever been in a swim meet but wanted to try one--so he signed up for the 50 free--had a slow time but was proud of having gotten past his fear of competing in the pool.
Besides being a good starting point, the distance offers opportunities for someone who has a lot of sprint speed, and what's wrong with that? Should Usain Bolt feel inferior to Haile Gebresellasie--or vice versa? Both have achieved a lot in their sports. Both have generated excitement and shown what was possible in their distances, stretched boundaries.
And they will capture the imagination of different people. Nothing wrong with that. The more opportunities people have to try a variety of events, the greater their chance of enjoying the experience and reaching fitness goals.
And one suggestion: I was recently in a track pentathlon that involved EVERYONE running 3000, 800, 200, 1500, and 400. So distance people and sprinters mixed it up, some excelling at the longer races, others the shorter distances. Everything was age graded, and person the highest overall age grade percent over five events won. How cool would it be if there were something similar in swimming! Wouldn't have to be five events... maybe 3-4, maybe more... They could range from, say, the 50 to the 800. It would give everyone a chance to appreciate the challenge offered by others' distances. (And everyone would be in equal need of pain relievers, lol!).
What this also offers is the chance to discover abilities at events one hadn't thought were "strong" ones. Just a thought.
