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Swim sprints

Douglas SutherlandDouglas Sutherland
in General Training Discussions
Today the swim prescription was

50 sprint 150 easy
100 sprint 100 easy
200 sprint 50 easy
X3

My understanding of the word sprint is go as fast as you can - increased stroke cadence and kick hard. I cannot hold a sprint pace for much longer than 75y, and definitely by 100 I bonk or slow down. So my 200y sprint starts to look a lot like my T pace basically, maybe a smidge faster.

Do we have a different "Tri" definition of sprint? Is the idea to not kick hard during a"tri" sprint?

And how easy is easy supposed to be? I can slow down to a drift, which I do after trying to sprint for 200!

Comments

  • Chris DavisChris Davis
    I looked at those like I would running sprints on a track. On a track, when I'm running, my 100 meter sprint speed is very different than my 400 meter sprint speed. Both are still sprints, but the 400 meter is slower.

    On the 50 yard swim sprint, I put it all out there, like I would with the 100 meter run. The 200 yard swim sprint was more like my 400 meter run, in that it wasnt an all out sprint at the beginning, but by the end, I had to grit my teeth and struggle to hold the speed.
  • Al TruscottAl Truscott

    I interpret those "sprints" as "go as fast as you can while holding a constant speed for the distance indicated." So EG, I find myself going @ (using 100 yd pace for easier comparison) 50>1:26, 100>1:33, 200>1:37, etc

    As to how slow to go? I find myself e.g. doing 100sp/100easy @ 1:33/1:47. But the "easy" speed, IMO, should meet two requirements: (a) slow enough to allow you to complete all the intervals in the set as prescribed while (b) maintaining proper form.

  • Coach RichCoach Rich
    What Al said, that's how you should be doing these. Sorry, "sprint" may not be the best descriptor here but the intent is to use the active recovery between each hard effort to allow you to go very hard/fast on the hard efforts.
  • moetai@gmail.commoetai@gmail.com
    my understanding of a 200m sprint is swim that 200 as fast as u can on a steady pace
  • Emily BrinkleyEmily Brinkley
    200 are imo the hardest distance to sprint because it's not quite long enough to pace, and not quite short enough to sprint all out. I like to build my 200 and focus on neg split rather than just go balls to the wall. Pace out 100, and build to all out in the 2nd 100. I will also grab my pull buoy on recovery 50s -- keeping in mind not to be a hero on the first set and a zero by the end. I'm good at the zero part sometimes.
  • Coach RichCoach Rich

    Posted By Emily Brinkley on 04 Mar 2015 02:58 PM


    200 are imo the hardest distance to sprint because it's not quite long enough to pace, and not quite short enough to sprint all out. I like to build my 200 and focus on neg split rather than just go balls to the wall. Pace out 100, and build to all out in the 2nd 100. I will also grab my pull buoy on recovery 50s -- keeping in mind not to be a hero on the first set and a zero by the end. I'm good at the zero part sometimes.

    I'm a big fan of 300's, personally. Long enough that you need to pay attention to pace and have a plan in the first 100 but short enough as to not be boring. When I'm doing 400s and up, I'm definitely in that long distance, grind it out mindset. 

    I know I've said this elsewhere, in podcasts, videos, and the swim ebook: I was a distance swimmer, from age 14 through 22, specializing in the 500, 1000, and 1650, with the odd sacrificial 200 to fill a lane or relay spot, or 400 IM. Basically, I was the guy swimming solo in lane 1 or lane 8 that they'd make the sprinters or breast strokers (shiftless, lazy, morally suspect lot, both of them) swim with as punishment. Standard yardage for a 2hr workout was 8k. I can count on two hands the number of workouts I did with repeats longer than 500-600. Everything I did was 200-500 repeats, with the odd just dumb workout like 12 x 1000, 3 x 3300 and other stoopid stuff. 

    My point is that real swimmers put up lots of yards by swimming usually much faster than race pace, for shorter intervals, and with active rest vs waiting on the wall. You're always moving. 

    I swam at lunch today and the master squad got in the pool after about 15'. I was amazed at how much time they spent just hanging around. I was going to give myself a month of solo swimming before joining them, but now not so sure. 

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