What is considered a fast/avg 100 yard swim? (Page 4)

So, let me try and redirect this thread.  I just started training again.  I did two sprints about 5 years ago and want to get back into this for the long haul.  I've been training and have no idea what I'm doing in any discipline.  I bought some books and will have some sort of clue in the next few months.  But:

I just got out of a swim workout where I thought I did pretty well.  I averaged 2:00 per 100 over a 400, slightly under 2:00 per 100 on a couple of 200's, and about 1:50 for a couple of straight 100's.  Good for me way slower for you.  I was having fun so for my cool down I put my flippers and paddles on just to see how fast I would go.  I did a 100 in 1:30.

My point of this post is how the hell can you guys average less than 1:30 for a mile or more?  You guys are ridiculous.  Do I need to just cycle through my arms faster, get better form (obviously), grow bigger hands, give up and live with a 2:00 or what? 

Man everyone just went crazy.  I guess to a swimmer a 6:00 500yds swim is doable but to a runner you think they are crazy.  Just like to a decent marathoner 3:15 may seem achievable to everyone.   Personally a 6flat 500 by the numbers is extremely fast and to say this is an achievable goal is probably a little crazy to say the least it is doable but would take a lot of work by many and in a tri the extra few minutes you might save by that amount of training could be used elsewhere to help out more. 

Badnews was strickly stating pool times and that is it.  I have heard the runners on this board basically claim the same thing about a certain time being achievable (sorry I have no references but I know I have seen them) and noone jumped on them nearly as bad.  Now  saying that I should be able to swim that just because some 70yr old did is not a valid arguement by anyways.

In one sense, swimming is like the other disciplines in that the more you've got under your belt, the faster you will be. I'm sure the vast majority of consistent sub-1:30ers here have done many, many total swimming miles.

But swimming is unlike the other disciplines in that yes, form is first. It takes months (perhaps years, if you don't swim a lot) to really master and solidify the form. Then you add the bulk yardage, and the times drop. 

I did 1000m at about 2:10/100 last night and can only flirt with 18mph on a road bike for any substantial distance.  And my fast runs are in the 7:30/mi range for a 10K.

I'm REAL slow. 

Hillarious thread.  Started in 2008 and some of these people are long gone or banned from posting on this site.  I even think that it's comical that in one post Bryan Dunn has a hard time wrapping his mind around 6:00 minutes for a 500 yard free.  Which is pretty much my warm up pace these day!  

Swimmers are at their fastest coming off the wall. That's why swimming has different standards for 25-meter pools and 50-meter pools. 25-meter times are faster, because the swimmer gets two additional push-offs per 100 yards.

A swimmer with a good flip turn is probably a second or two faster than a swimmer with an average open turn. However, a fast flip turn can be a second or two faster than a slow flip turn. So the open turn one does today is probably not that much slower than the flip turn one would use instead.

Also, the extra oxygen you get in an open turn can help you through the length you are about to swim.

Just a side comment - If you are getting extra oxygen during an open turn, you aren't doing a very good open turn.  A good open turn is only a couple tenths of a second slower than a flip turn, and the opportunity to grab a breath isn't significantly different than a breath while swimming front crawl.  Either way, the push off from the wall should include a tight streamlined position that carries you at least to the area of the backstroke flags before you come back up to the surface.

Not me, when I swim open water I KNOW i'm changing directions at least 50 times!  

Yeah, that's the flip side of what I was trying to say - the point being flip vs. open doesn't make as much difference as well executed vs. not.

Re-reading this thread makes me miss Rick, Bryan & Fred's posts...

Mark

You completely contradicted yourself here. In the first sentence you stated that triathletes should focus solely on swimming for 4-6 weeks.  Then you admit that the swim has little to no bearing on the overall outcome on the race. So, by your own admission, triathletes would be better served to focus solely on cycling and running in the off season.  Swimming incredibly fast is not necessary to make one comfortable in the water.  I've gotten faster, but a few years ago, I was still swimming 1:50/100's for long distance and while it's not really fast, I certainly didn't "struggle" in the water.  It was my focus on cycling 2 offseasons ago and running last off season where I finally saw big overall improvements in my overall times

No worries on the late post.  Most people never search forums for info.  They just repost thing 8 million times. Hence the how do you count laps while swimming threads.  Sigh

You are in a tough spot being almost an hour from a pool.  I'd say keep getting to the pool when you can and possibly get yourself some Stretch Cordz with paddles on them and do that when you can't get there.  Good luck...

Edit link to support a better online option!  Ha! 

http://www.swimshops.com/nz-stretchcordz-with-paddles.html

Just a side side comment - If you are doing an open turn, you aren't doing a very good open turn.

 Carry on.

I wouldn't expect an response back anytime soon, seeing as this person hasn't logged in about five years. Kinda like talking to yourself....

Mark

never mind