“Long Distance Freestyle”
Dear Wayne,
I am 13 years old and train four times each week. My best results have been in 50’s and 100’s but I love to swim long distances in training like 400’s and 800’s. What can I do to get better at swimming faster for longer?
From,
Ashlee Kent
Derbyshire
Dear Ashlee,
Thanks for writing.
When I first read your letter I got really excited. Swimming desperately needs talented young female swimmers with the desire to train for the longer events (400, 800 and 1500 freestyle), and the opportunities for success in women’s distance swimming have never been greater.
In recent years however, women’s distance swimming has been in a decline all around the world. The world records for women’s 400, 800 and 1500 meters freestyle (all held by sensational USA swimmer Janet Evans) were set around 10 years ago! Indeed Australian Tracey Wickham’s outstanding national records over the same distances are still very competitive today and her best times would win most major national and international competitions almost 25 years after her retirement!
Coming from a sprint background Ashlee, you should have plenty of speed. The trick is to learn to extend that speed over longer distances.
There is no easy way – being a distance swimmer means more sessions and more time in the water. However, here are some ideas that might help:
1. As you will be swimming longer sessions and putting more stress and strain on your body, you should see a sports physiotherapist and ask for a MUSCULOSKELETAL SCREEN. This is a series of simple tests performed by a qualified sports physiotherapist to identify the physical characteristics that my limit your dream of getting to the top of women’s distance swimming. The physio will look for things like strength, flexibility and abnormal movements around your joints to identify possible and potential problems before they happen. With swimming injuries, PREVENTION is definitely better than CURE.
2. In the early stages of your distance program, work on swimming long, slow easy, kilometres. Concentrate on relaxing in the water, swimming with a steady, even, constant, flowing rhythm with controlled breathing. Some swimmers find it helps to sing or hum under the water to develop the skill of holding a set rhythm. Get comfortable with swimming long steady swim sets like 8 x 400, 12 x 200, 4 x 800, 1 hour swim for distance, 5 kilometre swim for time etc. at slow speeds with short rests.
3. Learn to swim at an exact pace. For example, in a training set like 20 x 50 meters, aim to swim an exact time (pace) for each 50. If your target pace is 40 seconds, you must swim each 50-metre effort between 39.8 and 40.2 seconds (no more than a point 2 of a second variance). As you get fitter and learn to hold an exact pace over 50 meters, try “doubling up”, i.e. if you can swim 40 seconds for 50 meters, hold exactly 1:20 for 100 meters, 2:40 for 200 meters and so on with the same precise pacing skills. Try the same thing with stroke count – hold a steady even stroke count for the 50 metre repeats then aim to hold the same stroke count over longer distances. Remember that the overall goal is MAXIMUM SPEED with MINIMUM STROKES and MINIMUM BREATHS.
4. Learn to even split. This means swimming the first half and second half of your training efforts at precisely the same speed. If you are aiming to swim 2:40 for a 200 metre training swim, even splitting means swimming the first 50 meters in 40 seconds, the first 100 in 1:20, the first 150 in 2:00 minutes and finishing in exactly your target time of 2:40. This helps develop the ability to maintain speed when you get tired and is a great way to develop mental toughness. As with all distance swimming, control your breathing throughout your training swims.
5. Try to fit in some “resistance pull” every workout. Aim to complete around 20-25% of your workout with a pull buoy and band. Try to develop rhythm and efficiency with your upper body by doing pull with BAND ONLY, ie no pull buoy. Use paddles occasionally, but keep it to less than 5% of your total pull work. As with all distance work, control your breathing throughout your training pull sets.
6. Increase your training distance slowly and methodically. Aim to increase your training volume by no more than 2% per week. In this way, you should be able to develop the capacity to cover 7-8 kilometres in a two-hour training session within a time frame of two years.
7. Be consistent. If school or other commitments make you miss a workout, find time on the weekend to make it up. Target 10 sessions per week, 44-48 weeks per year.
8. Stay healthy. With increased training comes an increased need for good nutrition, a balanced diet, plenty of rest and sleep, regular stretching and a sensible strength training program targeting particularly lower abdominals, and upper and lower back stability. Get plenty of sleep – an extra hour sleep each night is an extra night’s sleep each week!
9. If you can get to the pool a little earlier or can stay a little later, get in the water and swim a kilometre or two extra. Take every opportunity to develop a winning edge in your fitness. Run or cycle to the pool instead of getting a lift from Mum and Dad.
10. At all times focus on the four T’s of distance swimming:
TECHNIQUE-Keep your stroke long and strong and smooth, with a constant flowing rhythm at all times.
TIMING-Swim with a balanced even timing.
TOUGHNESS-Train hard and maintain great technique and speed no matter tough things get. For example, ask your coach if you can do time trials at the end of your workouts and aim to even split plus swim within 2 seconds of your best time per 100. Challenge yourself to do everything faster, with fewer strokes and fewer breaths. Distance swimmers are PHYSICALLY FIT, TECHNICALLY PERFECT and MENTALLY TOUGH.
TEMPO- (another word for rhythm)- The key to success in the longer races is to develop a pace clock “in your head” and to be able to swim with a constant tempo and stroke rhythm. Distance swimmers love their own company and spending time in their own heads thinking, singing, counting, doing mental homework and other brain stuff.
Being a great distance swimmer means being very, VERY physically fit. If you can’t get to the pool, keep fit by playing team sports, running, cycling, rowing etc. Join a dance, martial arts or aerobics program. This will not only help keep you fit, but will help you develop a sense of timing, balance, co-ordination and rhythm, just the thing for great distance swimming.
Thanks again Ashlee. Who knows? A year or two from now the record books might read JANET EVANS, CLAUDIA POLL, BROOKE BENNETT and ASHLEE from DERBYSHIRE !!!!! Anything is possible.
Dream it.
Believe it.
Work hard for it.
Go for it!!!
Wayne Goldsmith
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