About 7 swim sessions in, at the new stroke rate (67.5 spm).
Now at 57 min though Still 3-4 min off my old time.
Managing to keep up the stroke rate almost throughout the swim.
Fatigue levels still very high, almost to the point of failure towards the last few laps! Mini rests still there every 1 or 2 laps, and tumble turns are still a no no!

Fascinating insights there Gutzy! And 5 seconds off a lap ain't nothing to sniff at either!

Came across this fascinating analysis (at this link: http://www.swimmingscience.net/2015/10/race-analysis-how-ning-zetao-won-the-100-m-freestyle-at-world-championships.html) a few weeks back which is related to this thread and thought I'd share:

Race Analysis: How Ning Zetao Won the 100-m Freestyle at World Championships

In the 10-m freestyle final, Ning Zetao became the first Chinese male swimmer to win the 100-m at a World Championship competition. Now, understanding the differences in race strategy provides insight into where the race was won.

https://youtu.be/FXKHGPYry9Q

Start

Ning Zetao and McEvoy both have elite reaction times, coming off the block at 0.67 and 0.61 seconds respectively. They both entered the water at 1.2 seconds at an estimated distance of 3.69 m. This puts their entry velocity at ~3.1 m/s. Ning finished his first dolphin kick at 2.3 seconds and used 4 dolphin kicks off the start, compared to McEvoy who ended his first kick at 2.2 seconds and took 3 dolphin kicks. These differences resulted in Ning breaking out ~0.4 seconds after McEvoy. Despite this difference, they both hit the 15-m mark at ~5.35 seconds.

15-25 m

From the 15-25 m mark, both swimmers completed the distance in 8 strokes in 4.7 seconds. This put their distance per stroke at 1.25 meters/stroke and their stroke rate at 102 strokes/minute.

25-35 m

Both swimmers maintained their distance per stroke, taking 8 strokes from 25-35 m. However, Ning had a slightly higher stroke rate and completed this distance ~0.07 seconds faster than McEvoy.

35-50 m

Into the wall, they both took 12 strokes over the past 15-m and finished this distance in the same time, ~7.73 seconds.

First 50 Analysis

Both swimmers utilized very similar first 50-m strategies. They both took 31 strokes and only 0.07 seconds separated the two.

50-65 m

McEvoy had a slightly longer turn, going 7.6 meters off the wall, compared to Ning's 7.1 meters. This resulted in a longer breakout by 0.5 seconds and one less stroke. Moreover, he completed this distance in 0.07 seconds faster than Ning.

65-75 m

Over the next 10-m, McEvoy once again took one less stroke than Ning and swam ~0.4 seconds faster. Their distance per stroke was 1.11 and 1.25 meters/stroke, respectively.

75-85 m

Over the next 10-m, a slight shift occurred. Ning took one less stroke and swam ~0.04 seconds faster than McEvoy. Over this distance, Ning maintained his distance per stroke, where McEvoy reduced it by ~0.25 meters/stroke!

85-100 m

The last 15-meters into the wall, Ning slightly reduced his stance per stroke, but still maintained a higher rate than McEvoy. Ning also took 1 less stroke over this stance and completed it in ~0.09 seconds faster than McEvoy.

Analysis

Overall, Ning Zetao and McEvoy had similar 100-m race strategies. However, Ning Zetao was able to maintain his distance per stroke and likely his biomechanics better than McEvoy over the last 25-m. Can't wait to see the re-match (plus Adrian, Magnussen, and other superstars) at the 2016 Olympics.


Written by Dr. John Mullen, DPT, CSCS. I’m a physical therapist, strength coach, and swimming researcher in Santa Clara, California. I personally love the sport of swimming and started this website while receiving my doctorate at the University of Southern California (USC). At USC, I came across scientific articles on the sport of swimming which I found fascinating! After finding these, I decided to start a blog and share them online. Since then, the website has expanded and now we have an amazing group of contributors from all over the world, which all have the love of swimming and wish to improve the swimming community! I swam my whole life, starting at the age of 4. I was lucky enough to receive a swimming scholarship to Purdue University. At Purdue, I started in Chemical Engineering, before switching to General Health Sciences. After swimming at Purdue, I coached shortly in North Carolina, before starting my Doctorate program at USC. At USC, I did some research on lung capacities and worked with many high level athletes. After graduating, I moved to Santa Clara, CA to be with my current wife (who is also a swim coach) and began doing dryland programming and physical therapy. I currently have my own physical therapy and sports performance center in Santa Clara, CA (www.trainingcor.com) and consult with numerous college and club swim teams.

fishgutzy wrote: »

Personally, I have found that when my strokes/length count goes up my speed goes down.
I've finally recovered from my last China trip and now stay around 18/19 strokes per length in 25 yard pool. Sometimes I get it down to 17. Time is about 55 seconds per lap. 1:50 per 100. But by the end of 4 miles I sometime fall back a few seconds, but still better than 2:00 per 100.
No where near competitive speeds. But fast enough to get 4 miles in before work

Yep that is often the case because an increase in stroke rate often results in a deterioration in form.
It has personally been a very challenging, difficult and exhausting process to up my stroke rate and regain form. I'm about 8 months into my switch and its only now really that I can consistently maintain the rate while working on lengthening my stroke to where it used to be.
This is a long term switch/process that is also very exhausting and not for everyone (over 55 mins I know take 800-1000 more strokes then I used to over the same distance).

That said, the eventual rewards are good too! My body can now handle a high tempo turnover for sustained periods which was impossible before. I am able to tap into speed as needed much more easily so long as I'm also ensuring long strokes as well.
I'm still not there yet as I still am not doing tumble turns which i could do at old stroke rate. But this is a good thing as it means faster times are still possible, with the aerobic adjustment that would enable me manage tumble turns throughout, and the drops in time that come with that!

My focus is now lengthening the stroke (distance per stroke) and revisiting the catch and body position, even as I wait to get strong enough to tumble turn again!