Racer or Pacer?
Leonard_Jansen
Charter Member
In a longer swim race (let's say at least 4 hours), do you tend to be a "racer" - i.e. focus your effort on those around you - or a "pacer" - i.e. focus your effort on maintaining a certain pace/effort regardless of the other swimmers around you? This question assumes that you are among, or close to, people of approximately your ability and haven't done anything stupid, like go out with a much faster group that you don't belong with.
I am definately a pacer as I will start slowly and then try to just grind my way past people. I especially try to not have to race anyone in the last 200 yards or so as even a dead fish can out-sprint me.
-LBJ
I am definately a pacer as I will start slowly and then try to just grind my way past people. I especially try to not have to race anyone in the last 200 yards or so as even a dead fish can out-sprint me.
-LBJ
“Moderation is a fatal thing. Nothing succeeds like excess.” - Oscar Wilde
Comments
1. I am capable of swimming faster than I think can for long distances
2. The primary motivation for achieving (1) is presence of another swimmer.
Last year at Swim the Suck I swam to the left of another swimmer for ~90 minutes and it really lifted my pace. The funniest thing was that she breathed exclusively to her right and never noticed me (our feed stops were a couple of minutes out of sync so we were never together during them), despite the extended amount of time we spent swimming sometimes only a couple of yards apart.
http://notdrowningswimming.com - open water adventures of a very ordinary swimmer
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Tides that I tried to swim against
Have brought be down upon my knees
Oh I beg, I beg and plead..."
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I have a single speed, 20 min/k, the first K is the same as the last. I watch the younger crowd go past then I reel them back in. I don't think anyone plans to go off too hard and cling on do they, they just overcook it. So aren't we all pacers? Or we're all racers with different strategies. It's a grey area!