Which 200 Swim Race Is the Most Painful?

Hey swimmers! This is coach Milo.

Welcome to another Q&A session where I answer questions from you all on the internet.

Today's question is:

"Which 200 Swim Race Is the Most Painful?"

Summary:

Asked which 200 hurts most across the four strokes, Milo says most people would call them equally painful, but from the top end he leans toward the 200 freestyle as the most intense, partly because it draws the deepest competition. The 200 breaststroke, by contrast, has the least competition, being the least popular stroke and suited to specific body types. He argues that mastering the 200 of any stroke improves all your racing because it teaches you to distribute energy evenly; burning out on the last 50 is a signal you went out too hard on the first two. His personal ranking has freestyle as the hardest, butterfly second, backstroke a bit easier because you breathe so much, and breaststroke arguably the easiest given its slower rate and specialized field.

Answer:

I think everyone would say they're equally painful. But if you had to ask me, from the top end it might be the 100 or the 200 freestyle that's the most painful. It's the most intense, and let's be real, there's the most competition in the 200 freestyle, whereas there might be the least competition in the 200 breaststroke, because, maybe I'm biased, but it's the least popular stroke, and breaststrokers are very specific body types. In any case, becoming a master of the 200 will help all your races, because swimming the 200 teaches you how to evenly distribute your energy. Whatever you're doing, you're going to build lactic acid, and if you're burning out in the last 50, that tells you that you might need to cool it in the first two 50s. Usually a lot of people go out way too hard in the first 50, and that tells you to dial it back a little so you can go even splits on the second, third, and fourth 50. I don't care what race you're doing, that is hard. So when I think about it, freestyle is the hardest, butterfly is second hardest, backstroke might be a little easier than butterfly because you're breathing so much, and the breaststroke, because it's a specific community of body types and it's the slowest in rate, I think might arguably be the easiest.