Cesar Cielo is fastest swimmer in the world -- 25 yards in 8.88 to the foot -- he was just trying to "maintain" on the second 25...
There are 3 ways to swim faster in any given race:
1) Improve your technique -- if you become more effecient in your technique, your times will drop across the board
2) Maintain a pace as close as possible to maximum speed -- You can hold your maximum speed for 6-8 seconds. There are no swim races of that length - so when training for any swimming race (50 up the mile), you are trying to maintain a pace as close to your maximum speed as possible.
3) Get Faster = improve your maximum speed
I would say on average, Masters swimmers (and age-groupers) spend their in the water workout season according to the following breakdown (rough guess):
1) Improving technique = 20-30%
2) Maintaining close to max = 65-79%
3) Improving Max Speed = 1-5%
Think about it -- if you swim 4-5 times per week, that equals about 20 hours a month. Did you spend more than a full hour in October on maximum speed ?
This Thread is all about Category 3 -- Improving your Max Speed --
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Long Break in the Speed Zone --- the reason is somewhat simple -- Distractions
The usual Masters swimming distractions are work, injury, family, time commitments and so on --- but for me you can another one to the list -- all those other events are actually a distraction.
I swam some great times in December in the 50 Free --- but I also swam some good IMs (100, 200 and 400 -- I don't know why ?? and 50 Fly ). So that got me thinking about other events like IM, or maybe a 200 Back. Add all the longer Free events to the list, and it creates some very mixed workout goals. I admit it, I look at the top times and the records in my age group and I get tempted. I could probably do very well and all these events - but I would have to train for it. Maybe Phelps and Lochte can do it all -- but I have to pick and choose. Training for speed means letting go of training for a 500 or a 400 IM. That does not mean you can't swim these events at the end of a meet -- but you can't train for it without sacrifycing your sprint training.
So here is the new question to ask myself and yourself before every workout and set:
How does that make you faster in the 50 and 100 Free ?
If you have to think to come up with an answer, you are probably not doing the right thing.
Long Break in the Speed Zone --- the reason is somewhat simple -- Distractions
The usual Masters swimming distractions are work, injury, family, time commitments and so on --- but for me you can another one to the list -- all those other events are actually a distraction.
I swam some great times in December in the 50 Free --- but I also swam some good IMs (100, 200 and 400 -- I don't know why ?? and 50 Fly ). So that got me thinking about other events like IM, or maybe a 200 Back. Add all the longer Free events to the list, and it creates some very mixed workout goals. I admit it, I look at the top times and the records in my age group and I get tempted. I could probably do very well and all these events - but I would have to train for it. Maybe Phelps and Lochte can do it all -- but I have to pick and choose. Training for speed means letting go of training for a 500 or a 400 IM. That does not mean you can't swim these events at the end of a meet -- but you can't train for it without sacrifycing your sprint training.
So here is the new question to ask myself and yourself before every workout and set:
How does that make you faster in the 50 and 100 Free ?
If you have to think to come up with an answer, you are probably not doing the right thing.
