Dear fellow swimmers
Swimmers who want to get faster tend to obsess about two things: their fitness and their swimming technique. But there are other factors that also determine how fast you move through the water. In open water, for example, your navigation skills and ability to cope with rough conditions can make a huge
difference.
Another frequently overlooked and therefore underdeveloped factor among recreational swimmers is pacing. Pacing is the ability to control your speed and optimise it for the length of swim you are doing.
Elite swimmers tend to hold an even pace through their races. Look at the split times per 50m of Bobby Finke when he set a new 1500m world record at the Paris Olympics. Apart from the first 50m, where he benefited from the dive, and the final 50m where he sprinted, he swam every 50m between 28.68 and 29.49 seconds. That’s a difference of less than a second between his fastest and slowest.
He also “negative split”, which means he swam the second half of the race faster than the first (7:14.75 for the second half compared with 7:15.88 for the first).
Getting it wrong can be painful
In contrast, many recreational swimmers start their races fast and finish slower. You might argue that is because they are not fit enough to hold a steady pace for the full length of the race. But even if your fitness isn’t good, you can still have good pacing. You simply have to start at a speed that’s sustainable for you.
The consequences of getting it wrong can be painful and will cost you time. In some races, I’ve tried to keep up with faster swimmers for as long as possible as an experiment. While the first part of these swims was spectacular, the latter was a painful shambles. I ended up swimming much slower than if I’d stuck to a sensible pace.
Pacing, like technique, is a skill that can be practised and improved. It’s easier to do this in a pool where you can accurately measure time and distance.
Read this
on our website along with some suggested pacing practise sessions and additional pacing tips.
Have you ever got your pacing horribly wrong? Reply to this email and let us know.
Simon Griffiths
Founder and publisher, Outdoor Swimmer
p.s. If you would like to put your brand in front of 35,000 swimmers, please get in touch.
