How To Pace Your Race

To some degree, every officially sanctioned race in the sport of swimming requires pacing. Even the 50-meter swims, which are not true sprints, require self-control and discipline in order to be done well. Most of those 50’s are won or lost in the last 10 meters.

So how does a swimmer learn to pace correctly? Practice. One needs to train in a similar way that one wants to compete. Swimmers that tend to get slower through a set will tend to do the same in a race. Swimmers that learn to hold their pace on sets, or even descend them, tend to pace much more effectively.

The Right Tempo

There are many training modalities and tools that can help teach pacing. One of the most effective is called the Tempo Trainer, by Finis. I consider it to be the most valuable tool in your swim bag. Like a metronome for music, one sets the beep of the trainer to the desired frequency and places the device under the cap behind the ear or on the goggle strap where it can be heard easily. The Tempo Trainer has three modes, one for stroke rate, another for cycle time and a third for pacing interval. All three modes help with pacing, either by enabling the swimmer to keep the stroke rate constant, or letting him/her know if he/she is ahead or behind the desired pace.

One of my favorite training sets for pacing is negative-split sets, that is swimming the second half faster than the first half. In order to do this effectively, swimmers have to learn to control their efforts going out and learn how to step up the effort at the midway point. Another effective training set is descending intervals. For example, swimming 20 x 100 starting out at a 1:30 interval and decreasing the send-off interval by one second each time. By the 20th 100, the interval will be down to 1:10.  By trying to hold the same time on descending intervals, the effort must increase with each 100, similar to pacing a race effectively.

Good pacing not only requires training effectively, but also demands excellent fitness. One cannot pace a 1500 effectively if one is not in shape to sustain the pace, whatever it might be. One needs to train properly for the distance one is racing.

Fueling Up

Finally, one cannot overlook the importance of breathing in proper pacing. Oxygen is not over-rated. We produce about 15 times more ATP, the gasoline for our muscles, with oxygen as opposed to without it. Plus we produce less lactate, a molecule that causes our muscles to function less effectively.

In the butterfly, for example, in any event over a fifty, most of the elite male swimmers of the world are turning to breathing every stroke in order to finish faster. In the men’s 1500, Sun Yang breathes 3 successive breaths in a row into and out of every turn, plus often at least once or twice in the middle of the pool. One cannot sustain the pace well nor finish fast without providing enough oxygen to the body.

At The Race Club, we will help you learn how to use your Tempo Trainer effectively and correctly and help you with your breathing patterns. Both are vital to learn good pacing. We will help you learn the important art of race pacing.

Yours in Swimming,

Gary Sr.

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THE RACE CLUB

Because Life is Worth Swimming, our mission is to promote swimming through sport, lifelong enjoyment, and good health benefits. Our objective is for each member of and each participant in The Race Club to improve his or her swimming performances, health, and self-esteem through our educational programs, services and creativity. We strive to help each member of The Race Club overcome challenges and reach his or her individual life goals.

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