Total Immersion head coach and founder Terry Laughlin looks at the importance of knowing your time for 100 metres

Terry Laughlin

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Terry Laughlin is founder and head coach of Total Immersion and winner of six national masters championships since turning 55. The Total Immersion 2.0 Freestyle Mastery Self-Coaching Course teaches ‘Expert’ Pacing/Tempo Training and three other Mastery skills for freestyle.

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Do you know your time for 100 metres? Not your time for a single all-out time trial; the time you record at a relatively relaxed pace. A pace you could repeat three to five times, resting less than a minute between trials. I would guess that fewer than half of those reading this column would answer in the affirmative.

My guesstimate is based on a survey we conduct each January with a group of 20-odd participants in Total Immersion’s annual Open Water Experience programme. Each year, about 75 per cent report that they’ve participated in a triathlon or open water swim. But fewer than 50 per cent know their time for 100 metres.