OK... now I'm suddenly lost with my swimming.

Disclaimer:  Not a coach or a pro ....  but thoughts anyways

1.  Phelps and Thorpe are swimming different races than you are.  I'm betting if they swam a 1500m race while they would still win but their stroke would be a little different.

2.  The head down thing is to keep your hips up.  When I started swimming with a coach my head was very down to get the body position correct.  As my form got better I could pick my head up a little and not lose it.  You're not going to see where you're going in a lake anyways so I'd say just swim what's comfortable as long as the body position is good.  I prefer my head up a little more than straight down.  But as you can see on youtube there's more than 1 way to skin a cat.

Again, just my thoughts..

1 - You are not Phelps and you never will be, so forget about watching what he or any other top swimmer does.

2 - One thing at a time.  Focus on one aspect of your swim at a time and spend at least 8-10 sessions working on it.  Then move on to another aspect.  It can take years to truly develope a "good" stroke/rotation/body position/etc.  IOW, you are trying to do too much too fast.

3 - 600 minute 400 is solid.  Improvements from this point will be fractional and take lots & lots & lots of time.

Yeah, I'd be pretty satisfied with a 6:00 400 as well.  It's early, and I'm no math major, but I think that comes out to 1:30 per 100.  Not bad in my book.

As for the stroke specifics, if you're confident in your coaches, I'd listen to what they have to say and not worry too much about the on-line videos.  Your coaches presumably know what they're doing.  They've seen you swim and are offering tips specific to your stroke.  That, in my mind, is worth far more than the YouTube instructions you're relying on. 

Thanks. Number 2 makes sense. Right now I have not been concentrating on keeping hips up. I mean I try, but figured wet suit will help that aspect a bit so been working on others. I certainly tell a difference when I work on it.

I'd disagree to an extent.  You can learn a lot from watching the best.  I wouldn't necessarily try to emulate their stroke perfectly, what works for them may not work for you, but you can still pick up some good pointers here and there from their technique.  Like any other technique sport, such as golf, for example, you can learn a lot by watching the pros.  They all have different styles, but there are a lot of common points that you draw off of to better your own technique. 

Although, you also run the risk of doing something completely wrong by trying emulate them.  Just because you feel/think you are moving your body in the same manner they are, doesn't mean you actually are.

Certainly not the first time I heard that. I'm not special or gifted, but I have always been at home in the water and can pick up stroke pretty easy. Right now I think I have the gross movements down to be "comfortable". It isn't "natural" yet and things can easily fall apart.

Sounds like you're overwhelming yourself with information.

Trust what instruction your coach tells you and follow that. You will muddy up your thinking and stroke by throwing in different elements from outside sources. There could be different circumstances as to why one top level swimmer swims the way they do compared to what you have been taught (body type is one, uniquely fast but odd/poor technique is another).

Listen to what you've been taught. For now, to clear your mind, shut out the rest of the noise. If you still have doubts about what your learning, find another coach.

I only had the coach for 8 weeks. Of course she is a professional coach, but selling the house has tied up money and the rest goes to gear and races.

That puts some perspective on it. Perhaps I'm not as lost as I thought. I have no doubt I have room for improvement, but I have just been working on getting comfortable, getting stronger, and getting the basics down. Probably have plenty to work on in the Winter and might look for a coach then.

OK... I'm a shift worker. I love nights, but recently got a day job. Had to cover nights this week and have had about 16 hours of sleep in the last three days because of house showings. Perhaps watching you tube at 3 in the morning is not the best idea

I just figured fast was the most efficient... but ya, different strokes for different folks. PLENTY of basics out there that are the same, and that is what I have been working on. Friel gives them, my coaches gave them, and plenty of other triathletes use them. So I will stop melting down and go to bed.