16 Ways to Do a 1650
by Cheryl Wagner

The 1650 is an ugly beast. I like to compare it to watching paint dry, while holding a bag over your mouth to restrict your breathing and pinching yourself. But since it’s such a long race there’s a lot of interesting potential for improving your time, without much extra effort. And it’s very forgiving, unlike the 50 and 100 where a slow start and a bad turn or two, will sink you. For example, there are 65 flip turns in the 1650. If you speed up each turn by .25 second and focus on getting a little extra glide (another .25 second gain) you could decrease your total 1650 time by 32.5 seconds. That’s a significant gain for such a small effort. Here are some ways to train for the 1650. While I can’t tell you how to swim it like an Olympian I can give you ways to increase your 1650 conditioning without losing your mind from boredom. And it is important to practice swimming the whole 1650. It’s very much a mental race.

1. Swim 1650, focusing on swimming fast into the wall and speeding up your turn and glide.
2. Do 4x400 (broken 1600) noting your times, plus a final 50 sprint.
3. Swim 1650, alternating 25 fast with 25 drill (finger tip or catchup).
4. Do 16x100, trying to maintain the same time for each, with a final 50 sprint.
5. Swim 1650, relaxing your body, focusing on a relaxed arm recovery with high elbow.
6. Do 3x500 (descend) plus a final 150 sprint.
7. Swim 1650, focusing on kicking and body position in the water.
8. Do 5x300 (middle 100 of each 300 = backstroke) plus a final 150 sprint.
9. Swim 1650, focusing on exhaling slowly using your diaphragm.
10. Swim 1650, alternating 50 fast with 50 easy.
11. Swim 1650, focusing on streamline and reaching when taking a stroke. Imagine reaching for a bowl of Ben & Jerry’s.
12. Do 8x200 alternating easy/fast plus 50 sprint.
13. Swim 1650, count strokes on alternate 25’s. (Think about your favorite movie star when not counting strokes.)
14. Swim 1650, focusing on getting a good hold on the water (no slipping) and finishing your stroke.
15. Swim 1650, focusing on hip rotation. Sing your favorite Rock ‘n Roll songs. Rock those hips!
16. Timed 1650. (Pick a day when you’re in a good mood.)