yesterday I swam a 1500 to get a sign up time. it's been nearly 6 months since i have swam anything over 400m. I had no idea how I should swim it, or how it would feel during. took off way too fast 1:15, then 2:25 at the 200 and 5:20 at the 400. but then averaged about 1:25-1:26 for the rest and ended upw ith 21:10.
it got me thinking about a 5km run. I don't run, but it seems that almost every spring I decide it's time to start and i do run 3-5 times and I always use a 5km as a test/goal distance.
my goal for the 1500 in 3 weeks is to be under 20:00 so I have 3 weeks to learn how to hold a 1:20 pace, as well as to prepare mentally how it feels to swim that long. but I find it funny that my goal for the 5km has also been to run it under 20:00
anyone else have similar times for the 1500 and 5km? (1650yd vs 3 miles)
Here's my 2 cents but keep in mind that I'm not a great distance swimmer. I do swim at about your pace though... perhaps a bit slower. You might get some good feedback posting on the "distance lane".
I haven't competed in the 1650 but we do them in practice frequently. However, we usually break them up into smaller intervals so that we can concentrate on different parts of the race. So, we might do 4 x 400 (yards) on 5:30 + a 50 sprint with the intent of descending each 400. You could do something similar with the 1500. Maybe 5 x 300m on 4:15. You could shoot for descending to 4:00 (your 1:20 pace).
I think a lot of what you do depends on your style. Do you like getting a lead and holding on? That works for some people. I tend to do better building into my distance sets. I go smooth and easy (but not slow) for the first 400 and try to click up a notch each 400. If I go too fast at first, I end up in a world of hurt later on. My better times are when I focus on my own pace and what I'm doing - not chasing the guy swimming next to me - especially for the first 800 yards. I'm always looking for that optimum balance where I'm tired at the end but still have enough to swim hard on the last 50.
As for running, I stay away from that stuff. My knees don't handle it well
Here's my 2 cents but keep in mind that I'm not a great distance swimmer. I do swim at about your pace though... perhaps a bit slower. You might get some good feedback posting on the "distance lane".
I haven't competed in the 1650 but we do them in practice frequently. However, we usually break them up into smaller intervals so that we can concentrate on different parts of the race. So, we might do 4 x 400 (yards) on 5:30 + a 50 sprint with the intent of descending each 400. You could do something similar with the 1500. Maybe 5 x 300m on 4:15. You could shoot for descending to 4:00 (your 1:20 pace).
I think a lot of what you do depends on your style. Do you like getting a lead and holding on? That works for some people. I tend to do better building into my distance sets. I go smooth and easy (but not slow) for the first 400 and try to click up a notch each 400. If I go too fast at first, I end up in a world of hurt later on. My better times are when I focus on my own pace and what I'm doing - not chasing the guy swimming next to me - especially for the first 800 yards. I'm always looking for that optimum balance where I'm tired at the end but still have enough to swim hard on the last 50.
As for running, I stay away from that stuff. My knees don't handle it well
