In the Olympics everyone does flip turns in the 1500m but I was wondering whether many ordinary mortals resort to open turn for longer distances in the pool? I think I am quicker flipping in a short distance race
but it feels as though as I am going slightly into oxygen debt, so I'm not sure they're beneficial over long distances. (I am experimenting but I don't do enough long distance races to have much data.)
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Thanks wookie. Yeah, my dolphin kicks are lame so it was easy to chuck them, and I'm not sure why I didn't think of it sooner for the 200. Yes, since I didn't have to worry about when to start dolphin kicking it allowed me to concentrate on the pushoff a bit more I think.
Comparing the two races, it's tough to glean any info because I paced them very differently. Last year I took it out too slow and had a bunch of energy at the end, while this year I went out fast and tried to survive:
2009 (w/2 poor dolphin kicks off of walls):
34.40; 36.82 (1:11.22); 37.11 (1:48.33); 34.29 (2:22.62)
2010 (w/no dolphin kicks, streamline):
32.27; 34.27 (1:06.54); 35.44 (1:41.98); 35.69 (2:17.67)
Had I tried to stay under and kick the same way this year, I wouldn't have been able to hold the pace on the last 50- I was dying something fierce.
jaadams brings up a good point and made me think about something. If I were doing a 500 fly, I would HATE to have to do flip turns- I think this would make it infinitely harder than doing open turns. So referring back to the OP, I still think open turns are the way to go at this point.
In a 500 fly that is done during a "freestyle" event, I am not sure I would worry about flipturns or a lot of dolphin kicks off the walls. That would really make the last 400 hurt
Thanks wookie. Yeah, my dolphin kicks are lame so it was easy to chuck them, and I'm not sure why I didn't think of it sooner for the 200. Yes, since I didn't have to worry about when to start dolphin kicking it allowed me to concentrate on the pushoff a bit more I think.
Comparing the two races, it's tough to glean any info because I paced them very differently. Last year I took it out too slow and had a bunch of energy at the end, while this year I went out fast and tried to survive:
2009 (w/2 poor dolphin kicks off of walls):
34.40; 36.82 (1:11.22); 37.11 (1:48.33); 34.29 (2:22.62)
2010 (w/no dolphin kicks, streamline):
32.27; 34.27 (1:06.54); 35.44 (1:41.98); 35.69 (2:17.67)
Had I tried to stay under and kick the same way this year, I wouldn't have been able to hold the pace on the last 50- I was dying something fierce.
jaadams brings up a good point and made me think about something. If I were doing a 500 fly, I would HATE to have to do flip turns- I think this would make it infinitely harder than doing open turns. So referring back to the OP, I still think open turns are the way to go at this point.
In a 500 fly that is done during a "freestyle" event, I am not sure I would worry about flipturns or a lot of dolphin kicks off the walls. That would really make the last 400 hurt
