Swimming the 400m freestyle?

Question

So yeah, i have my second meter meet coming up in a few weeks. Last time i did the 400, my time was really bad. I usually swim in yards and i just can't get the hang of the meter pool. Could someone tell me the best way to pace myself?

I am a good distance swimmer, but i cant just sprint the entire thing.

Answer 1

My suggestion is to swim it at the same pace that you would swim the 500yd. It's the same distance, so if you swim it at the same pace you should get a similar time.

Answer 2

just get a good beat going in your head...and just think about it compared to the 1650 and it'll seem easy as pie

Answer 3

im a distance swimmer too, and you do not sprint the whole entire race, because eventually in the end, you will be wiped out. Kick and pull at a steady pace, that's not slow, but not sprinting, a little like swimming hard. Take fulll long storkes, and keep a steady kick going on. 50 meter pool is different, and you way result in slower times, because you loose the flipturn in the middle. To make the best of it, streamline and dolphin kick out of the walls and make fast flip turns when you get to. Alot of swimmers gain or loose time is due to their flipturns

Answer 4

im a swimmer too, and my coach has talked about this nonstop.  When you start tell yourself that you STILL have 400 m to go and to take it easy, as the race goes on, pick up your speed every 50 or so, then adreniline will bring you the rest of the way.   :)

Answer 5

Best way is to start quite fast but relaxed and just try and get into a rhythem, you should not have to try too hard to keep your arms moving in a regular pattern, just control your breathing and try and keep your breaths to a minimum of every 3-4 strokes, tires you out if you breath every stroke, try not to kick too fast (say 3 beat for the first 300) until the last 100 then bring your kick in and go all out the last 100.

Answer 6

After 30 years of coaching swimming and earning a Masters degree in exercise physiology, I can assure you that you should avoid the advice given by the previous replies.  

The guide for all races of 100 yards/m or greater is that at no time should you be going faster than you can maintain for the remainder of the race.  Do so ensures that you will not build waste products in your muscles.

See, you don't really run out of energy when you exercise for a period of less than a couple of hours.  So, in the 400 m free, you don't run out of energy.  Instead, if you go too fast, you build waste products that interfere with the RELEASE of energy.

So, based on my statement about never going faster than you can maintain for the remainder of the race, you will always be speeding up as you go.  That also means that each part of your race is faster than the previous part and, as do most great runners and swimmers, you'll end up negative spliting your race.

So, you need to determine a goal time ... let's say 4:30.  That would mean that each 100 is around 1:07.5 and each 50 is around 38.8.  Before the meet, do a pace 50 as if you're going out on your 400.  See if you can RELAX and hit that time target.

In your race, keep in mind that during the first 50 you're excited.  So, you must work extra hard to NOT go too fast and to relax.

Then, as each 100 goes by, you must slowly speed up.  Your goal should be to be even at the 300m mark.  But, again, you speed up slowly and catch the other swimmers slowly..  

Good luck ... and let me know how it goes.

Answer 7

Find a good 50Meter split time that will be a good pacing time. You can do this at warm up or preferably during practice. Say your time is going to be 39 sec. Tell the person doing you cards, that you your first 6, 50 meters to help you pace them at that time. Tell them to sway the care Left and right for To Slow and up and down for To Fast. Then really push it for you final 150 meters.