mmlr38,
Curious why you wouldn't use 100 yd as a distance to train for the 500?
I'm 56 and the national record for the 500 yd free is 4:56, so obviously :29 is not a realistic race pace for those in my age group, but holding 1:05 - 1:10 on 100s swam on a 2:00 interval seems like it might have merit. What do you think? Just seems the 500 requires a mind set of pacing longer distances than the 50, but curious what others think.
The pace I can hold for 60 repeat 50s on a 50 second sendoff, is much closer to my race pace for the 200 and 500. When I do 40 repeat 100s, the pace I can hold is closer to my 1000 or 1650 pace.
So swimming 50s at your 500 pace until you break is a great way to train the pace and feel of the race. Some days with longer sets will help with endurance as well, but for the pacing and muscle specific training, I like repeat 50s to train for the 200 and 500.
mmlr38,
Curious why you wouldn't use 100 yd as a distance to train for the 500?
I'm 56 and the national record for the 500 yd free is 4:56, so obviously :29 is not a realistic race pace for those in my age group, but holding 1:05 - 1:10 on 100s swam on a 2:00 interval seems like it might have merit. What do you think? Just seems the 500 requires a mind set of pacing longer distances than the 50, but curious what others think.
The pace I can hold for 60 repeat 50s on a 50 second sendoff, is much closer to my race pace for the 200 and 500. When I do 40 repeat 100s, the pace I can hold is closer to my 1000 or 1650 pace.
So swimming 50s at your 500 pace until you break is a great way to train the pace and feel of the race. Some days with longer sets will help with endurance as well, but for the pacing and muscle specific training, I like repeat 50s to train for the 200 and 500.
