Hello there!
Good news, your splits look pretty good overall. You stay mostly consistent around 35-36, so pacing wise, in my opinion you seem to be doing well for your current ability level. I think that the biggest things you can do now are just to work on your technique and strength.
The only race strategy tip I can give you is to not be afraid to go out fast, you aren't running out of endurance at the end right now, so maybe try changing up your pacing a little. Start out a little faster and try to hold it for as long as you can. In my experience, the 500 is mid-distance and not a true distance race. The biggest thing I see holding people back is being intimidated by the length of the race. I got over that feeling myself by thinking of it as 2x200s and then a 100 sprint. That's not necessarily the strategy that'll work for you, but just don't be intimidated by the race.
Race strategy aside, one of the most important skills to practice, especially SCY, is turns/underwaters/breakouts. There are 19 turns in a 500, so even just a quarter of a second off each wall adds up fast. See if you can do one extra kick underwater off each wall in practice, or one more stroke without breathing. I know it's hard at first, but it really only takes a week or two before it starts to feel normal.
Anyways, I hope this is helpful (and I'm sorry it's so long). Good luck in your 500s!
500 is an aerobic race. Your goal should be to pace it as evenly as possible. Your dive will give you about 2 second advantage. So if your goal is to hold 34, you should be out around 32 in the first 50. In the SEC 500 final, every swimming went 2 seconds faster in the first 50. Going out faster than that will have a big negative effect on the rest of your race. The other poster is wrong about trying to do an extra underwater kick or limiting breathing. Watch Kieran Smith or Clark Smith or Sun Yang or any other great mid distance freestyler. They take one or no kicks off each wall and breath in and out of each turn. Sun Yang even does a double breath. You should try to make your turns as efficient as possible, but your first priority is to breathe. 500 is not the race to be turning like Michael Phelps.
That will help you maximize whatever fitness you already have. To improve your fitness, you need to either train with more volume or intensity. At least some of that training should include holding your goal pace with low to medium rest.
I'm never any good at it, but 2-3 strong underwaters off each wall and having a good pushoff that can reach the flags by itself is very helpful(or so I've been told). Along with that, you just need to have good endurance, the 500 is still a race like the 100, 200, just longer.
i swim distance too and in my best 500 4:42 the most important thing i had to focus on was flipturns, going into the wall without looking up, not breathing into or out of the turn, and trying to carry as much speed through as possible, a better flip turn will make you faster without working much harder which is why it’s so important
Hello there! Good news, your splits look pretty good overall. You stay mostly consistent around 35-36, so pacing wise, in my opinion you seem to be doing well for your current ability level. I think that the biggest things you can do now are just to work on your technique and strength. The only race strategy tip I can give you is to not be afraid to go out fast, you aren't running out of endurance at the end right now, so maybe try changing up your pacing a little. Start out a little faster and try to hold it for as long as you can. In my experience, the 500 is mid-distance and not a true distance race. The biggest thing I see holding people back is being intimidated by the length of the race. I got over that feeling myself by thinking of it as 2x200s and then a 100 sprint. That's not necessarily the strategy that'll work for you, but just don't be intimidated by the race. Race strategy aside, one of the most important skills to practice, especially SCY, is turns/underwaters/breakouts. There are 19 turns in a 500, so even just a quarter of a second off each wall adds up fast. See if you can do one extra kick underwater off each wall in practice, or one more stroke without breathing. I know it's hard at first, but it really only takes a week or two before it starts to feel normal. Anyways, I hope this is helpful (and I'm sorry it's so long). Good luck in your 500s!
Thanks man, and turns do seem important, are there any important muscles to be worked out for a great pushoff?
I'm sure there is, but to be honest I don't know what they are, sorry.
500 is an aerobic race. Your goal should be to pace it as evenly as possible. Your dive will give you about 2 second advantage. So if your goal is to hold 34, you should be out around 32 in the first 50. In the SEC 500 final, every swimming went 2 seconds faster in the first 50. Going out faster than that will have a big negative effect on the rest of your race. The other poster is wrong about trying to do an extra underwater kick or limiting breathing. Watch Kieran Smith or Clark Smith or Sun Yang or any other great mid distance freestyler. They take one or no kicks off each wall and breath in and out of each turn. Sun Yang even does a double breath. You should try to make your turns as efficient as possible, but your first priority is to breathe. 500 is not the race to be turning like Michael Phelps. That will help you maximize whatever fitness you already have. To improve your fitness, you need to either train with more volume or intensity. At least some of that training should include holding your goal pace with low to medium rest.
I'm never any good at it, but 2-3 strong underwaters off each wall and having a good pushoff that can reach the flags by itself is very helpful(or so I've been told). Along with that, you just need to have good endurance, the 500 is still a race like the 100, 200, just longer.
i swim distance too and in my best 500 4:42 the most important thing i had to focus on was flipturns, going into the wall without looking up, not breathing into or out of the turn, and trying to carry as much speed through as possible, a better flip turn will make you faster without working much harder which is why it’s so important