MANHATTAN MARLINS

Missouri Valley Swimming
Level 2

Summer 1, Week 5 Technical and Conditioning Focus: Pacing, Tolerance, Turns, and Finishing Speed

Reid Carlson

Summer 1, Week 5 Technical and Conditioning Focus: Pacing, Tolerance, Turns, and Finishing Speed

  • Macrocycle: Summer 1: March 23 – June 1
  • Mesocycle: April 13 – May 3: IM Build-Up
  • Microcycle: April 21 – April 27
    • 200 IM: Pacing, Tolerance, Turns, & Finishing Speed

 

Hello swim families!

 

Welcome to week 5 of Summer 1! This week, we will focus on the 200 IM, particularly, how to pace it, how to build endurance and both aerobic and lactic acid tolerance, the many turns/transitions of the IM, and how to finish the race fast.

Good racing strategy in the 200 IM goes as follows:

  • Butterfly: Fast and relaxed; don’t swing the arms around too hard, rely on the natural rhythm of the stroke to whip the arms foreword utilizing momentum from the kick and snap the head down when finishing the breath. Save the legs! Underwaters are your friend, but don’t deplete your blood-oxygen levels.
  • Backstroke: Fast arm with a steady but not overly strong kick. Still saving the legs. Underwaters are your friend, but don’t deplete your blood-oxygen levels, just like on fly. At least on backstroke swimmers get to breathe every stroke!
  • Breaststroke: Fast hands and fast feet! Kick hard. Keep all the momentum going forward, avoid bobbing up and down. Hit those pull-outs!
  • Freestyle: Burn those legs and resist the temptation to spin the arms too quickly and slip water. Swimmers must return the face to the water before taking the next stroke!

For the turns:

  • Butterfly-to-backstroke: Standard drop-back turn. Stay low!
  • Backstroke-to-breaststroke: Bucket or cross-over turn.
  • Breaststroke to Freestyle: Standard drop-back turn. Stay low!

 

Please let me know if you have any questions, and I’ll see you at the pool!

 

-Coach Reid