{"id":489287,"date":"2021-10-09T15:08:47","date_gmt":"2021-10-09T22:08:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/?p=489287"},"modified":"2021-10-09T15:08:47","modified_gmt":"2021-10-09T22:08:47","slug":"usms-nationals-day-3-perfecting-the-100-freestyle","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/usms-nationals-day-3-perfecting-the-100-freestyle\/","title":{"rendered":"USMS Nationals Day 3: Perfecting the 100 Freestyle"},"content":{"rendered":"

USMS Nationals Day 3: Perfecting the 100 Freestyle<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

By Daniel Paulling<\/em><\/p>\n

The 100 freestyle is a challenging race that requires swimmers to have top-notch sprinting capabilities but also a level of endurance if they want a great time.<\/p>\n

To help you perfect your 100 freestyle, here are tips from two swimmers who won national championships in the event on Saturday, the third day of the U.S. Masters Swimming Long Course National Championship at the SPIRE Institute in Geneva, Ohio.<\/p>\n

\u2022 More Masters coverage<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2022 More from the meet<\/a><\/p>\n

Always Swim Fast in Workouts<\/strong><\/p>\n

Novaquatics Masters member Melanie Thomas<\/strong> knows a lot about swimming fast. She was part of Team USA\u2019s gold medal\u2013winning 4×100 freestyle relay at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics.<\/p>\n

Now she swims under Dave Salo<\/strong>, the former University of Southern California head coach who has produced multiple Olympians and has his swimmers focus on going fast in every workout.<\/p>\n

Thomas trains with Salo\u2019s group of professional swimmers and does 4,000 to 5,000 yards\/meters a day five or six times a week. They workouts they do include drill, scull, and kick sets but also a set meant to be swum at race pace, no matter what race his swimmers are training for.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s very hard to buy into at first when you\u2019re used to training [by doing a lot of yardage],\u201d Thomas says. \u201cBut I think it really works. It\u2019s not like we\u2019re trying to jam in as much yardage as we can in an hour and 45 minutes. I\u2019ve had two shoulder surgeries, one on each side. I\u2019m not into tons of yardage and all that stuff. We take the time to do things and do them right. I love that, especially as an older athlete.\u201d<\/p>\n

Thomas\u2019s sprint sets might be 1,000 yards\/meters or shorter. One of her favorites is five times through a 25 at race pace, a 50 recovery, a 50 at race pace, a 50 recovery, a 75 at race pace, and a 50 recovery on an interval that provides a lot of rest. She\u2019ll do different things on each round, including doing the swims from a dive or with fins and paddles or with just fins or with no gear.<\/p>\n

Thomas\u2019s training plan helped her swim a 1:01.82 to win the USMS women\u2019s 50-54 100 freestyle. The 52-year-old\u2019s first 50 was 29.58, which she credited to her training at a high speed.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s why when I stand up behind the blocks, it\u2019s not so nerve-racking,\u201d she says. \u201cI\u2019ve done this race-pace stuff every day in practice. I just stand up, and we\u2019re ready to go. I think it works, just as an older athlete. It\u2019s not for everyone, but I think it works.\u201d<\/p>\n

Train Like You Race<\/strong><\/p>\n

When he finished his swimming career at the University of Arizona in 2007, Adam Ritter<\/strong> took some time away from the sport. He tried other athletic pursuits but says he wasn\u2019t very good at them, so he decided in 2012 to return to the sport he grew up doing and loved.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s something about swimming that\u2019s kind of meditative,\u201d says Ritter, who uses Masters meets as an opportunity to spend time with his parents, James and Susan, who also swim.<\/p>\n

The Columbus Sharks Masters member won the men\u2019s 35-39 100 freestyle with a time of 51.45, his second national championship of the meet and a USMS record pending verification. (He also won the 50 freestyle with a 23.72.)<\/p>\n

Ritter, 36, credits one of his favorite test sets for his success: 10 or 12 x 100s on 2:15, alternating one fast and one easy on 2:15. His goal time for his fast 100s is 50 seconds.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen you\u2019re training for the 100, you have to have a degree of intensity in practice,\u201d he says. \u201cYou can\u2019t just cruise up and down and have a good 100. I\u2019m able to simulate how I want to race the 100.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ritter says he leaves early on the easy 100s, doing the first 25 kick before swimming the final 75. The recovery swims, he believes, are vital to a successful set.<\/p>\n

\u201cI like to practice perfect technique when my heart rate is really high,\u201d he says. \u201cThat simulates the last 25 [of a 100] when your stroke is falling important. If you can hold your stroke together when your heart\u2019s beating out of your chest and you\u2019re breathing hard, you\u2019re writing really good habits for when you\u2019re at the end of your race.\u201d<\/p>\n

USMS Records Broken on Day 3<\/strong><\/p>\n