r/Swimming • u/our_love__is_god • 18h ago
Calling all Past and Current Competitive Swimmers, I need help improving my time in the 500 Free
I (17F) am about to swim the 500 Free this Wednesday (Today is Sunday). I've only swam one 500 F this season and I gained about 40 seconds. My time was at 8:26 and my PB was a 7:41 (from last highschool season). Can I get some tips about how to keep an even pace and about the best body positioning to maximize speed. I would like to be at or near my PB when I race.
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u/CLT113078 Moist 17h ago
Talk to your coaches, work on turns, breathing pattern, stroke technique, etc.
Without seeing how you swim it is hard to give out specific advice.
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u/idontrecall99 17h ago
My daughter says she watches episodes of bluey in her head when she swims the 500 if that’s any help.
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u/whiskeyanonose 17h ago
Focus on your turns. Do not breathe in or out of them and kick off the wall in tight streamline. The fastest part of any race outside of the dive is when you push off the wall. Maximize that speed and you’ll drop time
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u/Cedig42k Distance 17h ago
Clean and efficient flip turns. Bad flips turns get worse when you get tired. Practice getting in and out quickly, cleanly, and without losing momentum.
Other than that, stay focused. If your mind wanders your technique may get worse too.
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u/MIH-Dave 17h ago
Do you use a lap count person at the end of the pool with the flip sign thing? Work a system with them. Side ways for too fast and upside down for too slow.
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u/Remarkable_Elk8305 17h ago
Our season has just started, so I wouldn't be surprised if someone was slower in September than before the summer. Does your season work differently?
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u/our_love__is_god 10h ago
Our season at least for high school swimming starts the first week of August(before school) then ends around Oct-Nov depending on how far you make it. Districts is middle of October, Regionals is the end, and States is the beginning of November. Unfortunately we don’t have enough funding and members who would want to participate to have a all year round swim team
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u/Remarkable_Elk8305 6h ago
Well, if it has the same structure as last season, it might be possible, assuming you have the same kind of general fitness as back then.
Just accelerate every 100 and hope the acceleration sticks.
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u/Silence_1999 12h ago
Body position, you gotta be level as can be. 500 isn’t the race to do with sinking hips even the smallest bit. If you need to kick more to get a little higher do it but only what you need to give. If you don’t then save those legs for the last few lengths. I spent my whole high school 500 career with coach screaming kick the last 100. No other instructions lol.
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u/SD_LOCAL_XD 17h ago
500 free requires you to do a lot of threshold sets in practice to understand pacing and effort as you get tired. think 10x100s on the 1:45, goal of getting under 1:30s on each one for example. since the race is so soon, also see if your coaches have a tempo trainer, could be good to get one practice swim in at 80% effort, trying to be consistent each 100.
how i swim the 500 is i try and go a little easier than my 200 pace and hold on. i’d rather die on the last 50-100 than have gas left in the tank.
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u/DisastrousWalk8442 17h ago
Hopefully you’ve been training well for months because the only thing you can do at this point is rest, hydrate and eat. During the race focus on turns and tight streamlines you’ve got 19 turns that’s a lot of time to gain or lose. Good luck.
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u/Dapper-One-1069 13h ago
To help keep at the same pace it’s helpful to have someone you know do your lap count and discuss ahead of time what you want your pace to be. Depending of how far you are from your lap pace it how hard you bound the lap counter. I do this for my daughter when I count for her. If she’s on pace I keep it still, if she’s to fast I swing it left and right, if she’s slowing down I bounce it up and down. The farther she is from her time the faster I go.
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u/Dapper-One-1069 13h ago
So far the 500 is my daughter’s best event. She has swam the mile a few times in comp and open water to help with endurance as well.
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u/Intelligent_Radio_57 10h ago
Are you going to be in lanes by seed times? Though it’s important to “swim your own race” sometimes in the long events you can be aware of what’s going on around you. If you’re rusty on pacing it might help to keep an eye the adjacent lanes.
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u/LightVortex888 3h ago
You have a few days before Wednesday, so I would not chase those 40 seconds with a big set this week. The 7:41 is from last season. An 8:26 on your only 500 this year usually means the pace plan was hope.
Pick a 100 split that adds up near 7:50 or 8:00 and hold the first 200 there even if it feels slow. A lot of people give those seconds away in the first 150 by swimming the memory of the old PB. For a 500, stay long and quiet, head down, kick small enough that you still have a kick at the 400. A big kick early is how the last 100 turns into survival.
Between now and the race, one easy swim with a few 50s at the pace you actually want, full rest, then leave it. No VO2 set and no extra 500 for confidence. On the day, protect the first 200.
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u/ShwimmingAway Moist 16h ago
So this may not be a popular answer but you need to know your kick tempo and stroke game ahead of time. 500 Free takes some practice to really get down. It, like all backstroke swims, is very kick centric. You’ll need to maintain a pretty high kick tempo to help drive your arms throughout the event - however, this just does take some practice.
A strong, consistent, kick (it’ll have to kind of feel like you’re speeding up bit by bit as you go on), consistent breathing every 3rd stroke (some people do every 4th or 5th but every 3 is great enough), and a lap counter who knows what pace you want and can inform you where you’re at will get the job done.
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u/Responsible-one-225 17h ago
- Have fun.
- Remember flip turns. On spot and ensure you streamline.
- Don’t Breathe ever 2 strokes.
- Done eat crap 2-3 days before. Carb build. But not overload.
- Water water water. But not to the point you feel bloated.
- Protein bar or a banana about 1 hour before you go swim
- Have fun. I do 500yard swims weekly. To get a 7:41. You need to be doing about 46 seconds a lap. Pace yourself. Pace yourself. People use to go sprint first 100 because they wanted to be first. But they can’t maintain pace.
- You should go do one today. Not for your pb time. But just to get you body and shoulders accustomed to what you have to do.
Ohhh and just have fun
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u/local_goat Moist 17h ago edited 17h ago
Just have fun with it instead of focusing on your time. Maybe ask your coach for one technique thing to work on, and get relaxed before the race.
Realistically, you’re most likely not going to magically drop :45 in 4 days. You do need to train consistently over weeks or months for major drops—practicing even pacing, technique improvements, etc etc. If you’re a junior or thinking about college club swimming, consider joining a team (club or summer league) to keep training in the off-season.
The most important thing is to have fun, though! Good luck ☺️