A fast 400m!

andissandiss Senior Member
in General Discussion

All, I need some training tips - and yes i KNOW this is a marathon swimmer anything less than 10km is a sprint :)
As I've got involved in the local surf lifesaving club i have also started doing a few races.

And one of the events is a 400m Surf Swim - these are EXCELLENT fun, like the last 2 races involved 2-4ft surf, beach starts and howling winds.

Anyway to the point - im looking to improve my 400m speed. I'm currently just above 6min in a 20m pool. So just looking for a tip. Shall i focus more on shorter reps in training like 20m and 50m sprints rather than doing 100's or 200's?

Comments

  • andissandiss Senior Member

    I meant to say im not looking for a massive gain - maybe 20-30s

    E.g. to do a 400 in 5.45

    IronMike
  • wendyv34wendyv34 Vashon, WASenior Member

    I would break it down to repeating a distance at which you can maintain your goal pace. In the event that you lose steam at the end of your 400, break it down this way:
    200
    100
    2x50
    To start with, give yourself enough rest that you can hit your pace on each swim, then work on hitting your pace with less rest. Push really hard on the 50s, (kick!), because you want to develop a finishing kick that will blow up your competitors.

    It's always a bad hair day when you work at a pool.

  • suziedodssuziedods Mem​ber

    "broken" sets are great.. and kicking.. hard fast kicking..Think about tempo..
    I know I know, tips on how to swim faster from a slowpoke.. but..

  • andissandiss Senior Member

    Thanks! so what about training...more shorter reps in general??

  • JustSwimJustSwim Senior Member

    Get to a beach and practice your water entries and exits. In particularity body surfing techniques to catch waves to drive you quickly into the finish.

  • andissandiss Senior Member

    Thanks, my entry and exit are fine, im more looking to improve the swim speed.

  • curlycurly Issaquah, WASenior Member

    I second @wendyv34 advice. Plus I would do a little over distance sets as well. For example a set of 3x500 with a modest rest between each. Try to pace your first 4 hundreds at a consistent pace per hundred and then hammer the last 100. As you get used to doing this, you should be able to drop your 100 pace. In a few weeks, you should notice that your overall "comfortable" pace is starting to drop, plus you aren't out of gas at the end of 400m because you regularly swim 500m at a pop.

    You will also find when you start this kind of set that your hundred pace drops off (slows down) as you work your way through the set of 3x500. What you want to do is try to get where you can keep the same hundred pace for each set. So every hundred is the same except for the last hundred in each set, which is faster. I hope that makes sense.

    Not only is this a great conditioning set, but it really helps you to learn your pacing. It helps you understand and control your speed. BTW, this is adaptable and modifiable to whatever distance you want to play with. You can swim 5x500 or 3x1500 or whatever using the same general ideas.

    andiss
  • andissandiss Senior Member

    Thanks!

  • curlycurly Issaquah, WASenior Member

    Hey @andiss I thought of one other part that makes the 3x500 set even more fun and better. Before you do the set, do 4x25 with a nice strong quick pace on each. Don't worry about the clock or how much rest. Just knock off a nice quick strong one that makes you feel pretty good and rest a bit until you are ready to do another one. (Not too long because this isn't a sprint set.) Then start your 3x500. Be careful as you get going because you will tend to go out a little too quick. Settle into your nice 100 pace and you will feel pretty good and it will almost feel like you are pacing slow. It sets you up really well for hammering that last 100.

    I'm sorry that I'm so slushy on pacing time, send off time etc. but I have no idea how fast you are and I swim yards not meters, so even giving you my send offs is useless. Plus I figure the basics are there so anyone can use this set and pace it accordingly. Not to mention that all those women with extra body fat will obviously do this workout a lot faster than me... ;)

  • curlycurly Issaquah, WASenior Member

    I've got another one for you. I sort of made this up on the spot today because I didn't know what I wanted to swim and it turned out to be pretty fun. Set is basically a pile of 800's. Do as many as you feel like doing. Here is the fun part. First and second hundred is pace, third hundred is quick, fourth is back to pace. Repeat for the second 400, (so your second to last 100 is quick), last hundred is back to pace. Modest rest after the 800, say 30 seconds or so and then off you go again.

    If you do that workout as a main set you will get some decent yardage (meterage?) under your belt and you will also be building up your tolerance for blasting out a 400m swim. It's an interesting thing to crank it up on the 100 and then settle back to your pace for another 300 and then turn it up again. I knocked off four of them and that was a pretty good set.

    andiss
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