Getting your swim pace awareness dialled in!

[Paul Newsome]

Hi everyone

Many of you may own or have had chance to use the little beeper we call a "Wetronome" during your training sessions. The Wetronome is a great little product designed to help you work on two aspects of your freestyle stroke:

1. Stroke Rate Development
2. Pace Awareness*

*this new feature was added to the Wetronome MK II in June 2009.

In this post we are going to discuss the merits of consistent pacing in your training sets. You can obviously try to do this without the use of a Wetronome as it is a fundamental skill to aspire to whatever your level of swimming. We simply find that the Wetronome is a great tool to really enhance your ability to develop this in a very effective manner.

We have been using the Wetronome recently in our squad sessions to help the swimmers pace out their efforts a little more effectively than normal. We do this by giving the leader of the lane a target 100m pace. For example 1'40" per 100m breaks down simply to 25 seconds per 25m. We therefore set the Wetronome to beep at the swimmer every 25 seconds, setting off on the next available "beep-beep". The aim is to swim at a consistent pace such that you swim through each and every 25m mark at EXACTLY the same time as when the beep goes. This is the most efficient way to swim an interval (of any distance) and is interestingly how most world records in the pool and on the track are broken (i.e. either perfectly paced or faster in the 2nd half, also known as "negative splitting").

If you monitor your split times effectively you may have noticed that you actually start your efforts way too fast and as a result, be ahead of the Wetronome significantly at the 25m, 50m and even 75m markers, but then finding that the Wetronome is "catching you up" by the end of the interval. This is a very inefficient way to swim a series of intervals. You might ultimately hit the same target time (1'40") but if you've done that with the first 25m in 22 seconds, the 2nd in 24 seconds, the 3rd in 26 seconds and the last in 28 seconds, you are seriously hurting your performances over a longer distance swim compared to holding consistent 25s.

We have heard comments such as "the Wetronome is broken, it keeps getting faster!" and "I need to get ahead of it in the first half of the interval in order to make it to the end in time!" - both of these statements are incorrect. The next time you use one in a session, don't be afraid to set off a bit steadier and meet that first 25m beep spot on - it will really help and you'll feel much better at the end of the session! It's almost like having the World Record red-line from the Olympic Games TV coverage follow you up and down the pool ensuring you are swimming at a consistent pace. Consistency breeds excellence in your swimming development and you'll soon see how you can knock chunks of time off your next swim!

In fact, I personally used the Wetronome for my 2009 Rottnest Channel Swim campaign. I knew I had to be really efficient at swimming 1'30" per 100m for two hundred 100m 'intervals' continuously (!). I have a habit of going off too fast, so the Wetronome ensured that in my training sessions I was pacing myself appropriately and therefore developing the correct energy systems to be successful in the marathon swim.

To use a final example, Don recently had a 1-2-1 swim session with me. This was a follow-up after a previous video analysis session. Don's stroke was looking much better, but he was still finding it hard going in some of the longer sessions, often blowing up by the 60% point. As in the first example, Don was swimming way too quick in the first 25m (~21-22 seconds) but then actually averaging closer to 27-28 seconds per 25m for the remaining markers. All of this was at a high stroke rate of ~72 strokes per minute (essentially "fighting the water"). We used two Wetronomes to control Don's pacing strategy - one to keep him at a steady 60 strokes per minute and the other to keep his 25m splits at 26 seconds. As a result, he has made a tremendous improvement in his pacing ability...something which we can all do quite easily!

You can read more about the Wetronome at http://www.swimsmooth.com/wetronome

Let us know about your own pacing strategies and where you feel you could improve in this aspect!

Cheers

Paul

[JulianC]

I find that I start off much to slow and then have to speed up. I mainly do 10k swims so it always seems to take me a k or so to warm up - yes, i know I should probabaly warm up before hand
At the moment I am quite frustrated with my swimming as I am not sure what I am doing wrong and would love to get a bit quicker - make that a lot quicker. Need to get someone to take a look I think.

[Paul Newsome]

Whereabouts are you based Julian?

[JulianC]

I am in London Paul.

[Paul Newsome]

We're going to be back there in December and January for some Clinics if you can wait until then Julian? If not, I'm just compiling a list of recommended coaches in your area which we will soon publish and then continue to add to going forward.

Do you have any video footage you could post here?

Cheers

Paul

[JulianC]

That would be brilliant Paul - I have some footage of me in a wtsuit - it was 10 degress! but it is not very good and I have made a few adjustments (body roll, head position etc) I will try and find it though. Will see if I can get someone to film me in the pool this weekend.

[Paul Newsome]

Excellent Julian, please post it on a new thread under something like "Critique my Technique!"

Cheers

Paul

[skiingtrumpeter]

This might seem an obvious question but how do you swim at a pace less than your optimum? If I want to do an easy swim which element do I change? Do I decrease stroke length or rate? I have real difficulty swimming at less than full out and so can usually only manage 100m before I need to rest. ( I fall in intermediate category- 100m in 1:45)

[Paul Newsome]

This might seem an obvious question but how do you swim at a pace less than your optimum? If I want to do an easy swim which element do I change? Do I decrease stroke length or rate? I have real difficulty swimming at less than full out and so can usually only manage 100m before I need to rest. ( I fall in intermediate category- 100m in 1:45)

Hi ST, I suppose the real question here is "optimum for what?" If your goal is 1000m but you can only swim 100m at a pace of 1:45, then 1:45 is not your optimum for 1000m, its simply too fast. Therefore your "optimum" pace for being able to swim consistent laps for 1000m might actually be 2:00 per 100m or even 2:05. How do you do this? Sounds like the way you approach the 100m currently is like you "just have to get to the end". My bet is that you are very tense and possibly holding your breath when you swim like this. Chances are your stroke rate is too high as well.

Try some of the exercises at:

http://www.swimsmooth.com/exhalation.html

http://www.swimsmooth.com/highsr.html

Let us know how you get on.

Cheers

Paul

[Meowws]

Hey Julian, Warm up is such a burden eh. I just learned my lesson recently of not doing warm up and always stuck at my average continuous swim speed of 10 laps.

[stevesstyle]

warm up is crucial.
I find i need a good 800m before I attempt any pace work.

With regards to racing strategy, I like to go out quick so as to get in front off the "false quick starters"....one can lose precious time having to go around or through a bunch of swimmers who sprint the first 50-100m and then almost come to a complete stand still....or worse revert to breast stroke!!

The 25m sprints in the swim smooth training sets have helped me to condition to being able to go flat out the first 25-50m...and in so doing break away...I then swim just slightly above threshold till the first bouy..about 300m. I suppose then all the training with the wetronome comes into play as I automatically find the ideal pace which I can maintain..once one finds one rythym any lactate from the first 400m of the race is levelled out...one is then ready for the last 500m of the race which I swim just above threshold..keep a rythym but up the tempo and dig deep.

and most importantly....get back into the water as soon as possible to have a nice easy cooldown...the longer the better.
try even swim the distance you raced.

ready then for the next session!

[JulianC]

I have had a bad week in the pool. 30 of the longest toughest and slowest miles I have ever done. Maybe I am thinking too much and trying to concentrate
on too many issue. Having a rest tonight and doing a 10 k sea swim tommorrow where I am going to completely relax and just enjoy swimming outside.
My wetronome is ordered so I will hopefully have some accurate data to share next week. Still have not been able to film my swimming - hopefully soon as i am sure i am getting my catch in the wrong position.

[Paul Newsome]

I have had a bad week in the pool. 30 of the longest toughest and slowest miles I have ever done. Maybe I am thinking too much and trying to concentrate
on too many issue. Having a rest tonight and doing a 10 k sea swim tommorrow where I am going to completely relax and just enjoy swimming outside.
My wetronome is ordered so I will hopefully have some accurate data to share next week. Still have not been able to film my swimming - hopefully soon as i am sure i am getting my catch in the wrong position.

30 miles? Thats a big week! What is your goal this year Julian?

[JulianC]

I cannot run at the moment Paul so taking all my frustrations out in the pool. I do between 20-30 miles a week but that includes some long sea and lake swims.

No real goals - I was suppossed to do the Channel again but that fell through. Got a few smaller swims - doing every wave of the Great Swims over
here in the next few weeks and hopefully doing a race in Lanzarote in October. Looking at a few options for next year - if you have any suggestions let me know, the longer the better.

[Brian]

Hi Guys
I'm buddy swimming with a good friend next week in his first channel attempt www.markscrossing.org.uk I,m allowed in the water for 1hr after his first six hours and then every other hr. Looking forward to it but I'm not sure that stroke technique will be the first consideration I'll be dodging the jelly fish and other English Channel obstacles Pace Awareness is very important though

[Andre]

Swam my first 1500m for time with the Wetronome and surprise I knocked 30s of my PB. I did get my splits each 250m and sure enough my first 250m was 12s faster then the rest of my splits (which were all within 2sec of each other). Since I swam consistently to the beat, I firmly believe that I was kicking too hard for the first split. I've always noticed that I swim the first split faster then all the rest, but thanks to the wetronome I could remove one degree of freedom from the equation and figure out what I was doing different.

Next week I'll have to see if bumping up the wetronome a couple of strokes will decrease my split times.

[Meowws]

sometimes, changing a new pair of goggles and swim dresses will help you dial in better. is like rewarding a success. I had 3 pairs of goggles and swimm dresses. they all gives me different feels of the water. psychologically speaking, it did improve my swimming. ^-^

[Adam Young]

Swam my first 1500m for time with the Wetronome and surprise I knocked 30s of my PB. I did get my splits each 250m and sure enough my first 250m was 12s faster then the rest of my splits (which were all within 2sec of each other). Since I swam consistently to the beat, I firmly believe that I was kicking too hard for the first split. I've always noticed that I swim the first split faster then all the rest, but thanks to the wetronome I could remove one degree of freedom from the equation and figure out what I was doing different.

Next week I'll have to see if bumping up the wetronome a couple of strokes will decrease my split times.

Andre - awesome mate, keep up the good work!

[Nat the rat aka nuts]

Meowws
I know what you mean. When I wear my bright red swimming suit I feel heaps faster than wearing my blue.... Funny, isn't it.