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Purpose: The sensation of fatigue experienced at a certain point of the race is an important factor in the regulation of pacing. The rating of perceived exertion (RPE) is considered one of the main mediators utilized by athletes to modify pacing. The aim was to analyze the relationship between pacing and RPE of elite open water swimmers during national indoor pool championships. Methods: A total of 17 elite open water swimmers (males, n = 9; females, n = 8) agreed to provide RPE every 500 m during the finals of the national championships 5-km indoor pool race. Time splits, stroke rate, and RPE were collected every 500 m. The Hazard score was calculated by multiplying the momentary RPE by the remaining fraction of the race. Athletes were placed in one of two categories: medalists or nonmedalists. For all variables, separate mixed analysis of variances (P ≤.05) with repeated measures were used considering the splits (ie, every 500 m) as within-subjects factor and the groups (ie, medalists and nonmedalists) as between-subjects factor. Results: Average swimming speed showed a significant main effect for split for both males and females (P <.001). A significant interaction was observed between average swimming speed and groups for females (P =.032). RPE increased in both groups (P <.001) with no difference observed between groups. However, the female nonmedalists showed a disproportionate nonlinear increase in RPE (5.20 [2.31]) halfway through the event that corresponded to the point where they started significantly decreasing speed. Conclusions: The results of the present study show different pacing strategies adopted by medalists and nonmedalists despite a similar RPE. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: To analyze the pacing profiles of the world's top 800-m annual performances between 2010 and 2016, comparing men's and women's strategies. Methods: A total of 142 performances were characterized for overall race times and 0-to-200-m, 200-to-400-m, 400-to-600-m, and 600-to-800-m split times using available footage from YouTube. Only the best annual performance for each athlete was considered. Overall race and split speed were calculated so that each lap speed could be expressed as a percentage of the mean race speed. Results: The mean speed of the men's 800-m was 7.73 (0.06) m·s−1, with the 0-to-200-m split faster than the others. After the first split, the speed decreased significantly during the 3 subsequent splits (P <.001). The mean speed of the women's 800-m was 6.77 (0.05) m·s−1, with a significative variation in speed during the race (P <.001). The first split was faster than the others (P <.001). During the rest of the race, speed was almost constant, and no difference was observed between the other splits. Comparison between men and women revealed that there was an interaction between split and gender (P <.001), showing a different pacing behavior in 800-m competitions. Conclusions: The world's best 800-m performances revealed an important difference in the pacing profile between men and women. Tactics could play a greater role in this difference, but physiological and behavioral characteristics are likely also important. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Context: Although the popularity of open-water swimming (OWS) events has significantly increased in the last decades, specific studies regarding performance of elite or age-group athletes in these events are scarce. Purpose: To analyze the existing literature on OWS. Methods: Relevant literature was located via computer-generated citations. During August 2016, online computer searches on PubMed and Scopus databases were conducted to locate published research. Results: The number of participants in ultraendurance swimming events has substantially increased in the last 10 y. In elite athletes there is a higher overall competitive level of women than of men. The body composition of female athletes (different percentage and distribution of fat tissue) shows several advantages (more buoyancy and less drag) in aquatic conditions that determine the small difference between males and females. The main physiological characteristics of open-water swimmers (OW swimmers) are the ability to swim at high percentage of ...O2 max (80-90%) for many hours. Furthermore, to sustain high velocity for many hours, endurance swimmers need a high propelling efficiency and a low energy cost. Conclusion: Open-water races may be characterized by extreme environmental conditions (water temperature, tides, currents, and waves) that have an overall impact on performance, influencing tactics and pacing. Future studies are needed to study OWS in both training and competition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of the present study was to test the effect of carbohydrate ingestion, simulating a 10-km open water race competition on energy cost (Csw), perceived exertion (RPE), heart rate (HR), stroke rate (SR) and performance. We hypothesized that carbohydrate ingestion would reduce Csw and RPE in elite open water swimmers (OW-swimmers) and improve performance. Eight elite OW-swimmers swam for 3 × 30 min with 20-s of interval necessary to collect data in the swimming flume at a pre-set pace corresponding to their 10-km race pace, followed by a time to exhaustion test (TTE) at 100% of the peak oxygen uptake (V̇O2peak). During the set, OW-swimmers ingested 45-g of carbohydrates (CHO) in 550-mL of water (8% solution) during each of the two intervals or a placebo solution (PLA). HR, RPE, V̇O2 and SR were measured. Shapiro–Wilk test was used to verify the normal distribution of data. Two-way repeated measures ANOVA and t-test was performed (p < 0.05). A significant difference emerged in TTE between the trials (169.00 ± 91.06 s in CHO; 102.31 ± 57.47 s in PLA). HR, RPE and SR increased during the TTE but did not differ between trials. Csw did not show a significant main effect between the two conditions and in time course in both conditions. CHO ingestion significantly increased TTE at 100% of V̇O2peak after 90-min of swimming at 10-km race pace. These findings indicate that CHO intake during a 10-km open water swimming competition should have a beneficial impact on performance in the final part of the race. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this study is to investigate whether the change in (sub)maximal heart rate after intensified training is associated with the change in performance. Thirty subjects were recruited who performed cardiopulmonary exercise tests to exhaustion 2 weeks before (pre), 1 week after (post) and 5 weeks after (follow-up) an 8-day non-competitive amateur cycling event (TFL). The exercise volume during the TFL was 7.7 fold the volume during the preparation period. Heart rate and cardiopulmonary parameters were obtained at standardised absolute submaximal workloads (low, medium and high intensity) and at peak level each test. Subjects were classified as functionally overreached (FOR) or acute fatigued (AF) based on the change in performance. No differences between FOR and AF were observed for heart rate (P =.51). On total group level (AF + FOR), post-TFL heart rate decreased significantly at low (−4.4 beats·min−1, 95% CI [−8.7, −0.1]) and medium (−5.5 beats·min−1 [−8.5, −2.4]), but not at high intensity. Peak heart rate decreased −3.4 beats·min−1 [−6.1, −0.7]. O2pulse was on average 0.49 ml O2·beat−1 [0.09, 0.89] higher at all intensities after intensified training. No changes in ⩒O2 (P =.44) or the ventilatory threshold (P =.21) were observed. Pearson's correlation coefficients revealed negative associations between heart rate and O2pulse at low (r = −.56, P <.01) and medium intensity (r = −.54, P <.01), but not with ⩒O2 or any other submaximal parameter. (Sub)maximal heart rate decreased after the TFL. However, this decrease is unrelated to the change in performance. Therefore, heart rate seems inadequate to prescribe and monitor intensified training. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Different aspects of pacing in endurance events have been investigated, however, there are very limited information on pacing strategies during open-water swimming. The aim was to describe and compare the pacing profile used by male and female open-water swimmers (OW-swimmers) during the 5-, 10- and 25 km races in the main international competitions. Methods: A total of 438 performances were analysed for 5 km, 579 for 10 km and 189 for 25 km, from 2012 to 2017. Swimmers were divided into four groups based on finishing time. G1 whose finishing times were within 0.5% of the winner's time, G2 between 0.51% and 1% slower than winner's time; G3 between 1.1% and 2% slower than winner's time; G4 over 2% of winner's time. Kolmogorov-Smirnov test was used to verify the normal distribution of data and repeated measures ANOVA was performed. Results: G1 adopted a negative pacing and significantly increased the speed in the last split compared with the other groups during the 5-, 10- and 25-km races in both males and females (p < .001). During the 5- and 10-km race, the last split speed of G1 was significantly faster compared to the other groups in both males and females (p < .05). Conclusions: OW-swimmers that used a conservative approach remaining in G1 until the finish of the race, increase the possibility to win a medal in the main international competitions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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The article presents a case study that employed heart-rate monitoring and pacing strategy to describe the regulatory and physiological processes in an elite race-walker. Results indicated that a more even distribution of effort throughout a five-kilometer race might produce better results than a fast-start strategy.

In 2009, the International Triathlon Union created a new triathlon race format: The World Triathlon Series (WTS), for which only athletes with a top 100 world ranking are eligible. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to analyze the influence of the three disciplines on performance within all the WTS Olympic distance races within two Olympic cycles, and to determine whether their relative contribution changed over the years. Methods: For each of a total of 44 races, final race time and position as well as split times (and positions), and summed time (and position) at each point of the race were collected and included in the analysis. Athletes were divided into 4 groups according to their final race placing (G1: 1st–3rd place; G2: 4–8th place; G3: 8–16th place and G4: ≥17th place). Two-way multivariate ANOVAs were conducted to compare the main effects of years and rank groups. For females, there were significant differences in the swim and bike segment only between G4 and the other groups (p range from 0.001–0.029), whilst for the run segment each group differed significantly from each other (p < 0.001). For males, there were significant differences in swim only between G4 and the other groups (p range from 0.001–0.039), whilst for the running segment each group differed significantly from the others (p < 0.001). Although we found running to be the segment where there were significant differences between performance groups, it is apparently important for overall success that a good runner be positioned with the first cycling pack. However, bike splits were not different between either of the four male groups or between the first 3 groups of the females. At this very high level of performance, at least in the males, the bike leg seems to be a smooth transition towards running. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of the present study was to test the effectiveness of carbohydrate (CHO) feeding supplemented every 2.5-km, as in official races, on the performance, rating of perceived exertion (RPE), and glycaemia during a 10-km intermittent training workout in elite open-water swimmers. A randomized crossover design was used. Participants completed two 10-km intermittent training sessions (20 × 500-m). The relative velocity was expressed in percentage of a single 500-m. Glycaemia was monitored by continuous glucose monitoring. Participants had to ingest either 1 L of tap water (WAT; 0.50 L·h−1) or 120 g of CHO in the form of 8% solution (60 g·h−1). The 15-point RPE scale was used during the trials. A two-way ANOVA for repeated measures was performed (p < 0.05). The relative velocity of each 500-m was not significantly different between the two trials. No significant differences emerged in the relative velocity of the last 500-m between trials. Average RPE was not statistically different between the two trials (11 ± 3 in WAT and 12 ± 3 in CHO). In the last 500-m, glycaemia was significantly higher in the CHO trial (5.92 ± 0.47 mmol·L−1 in CHO; 5.61 ± 0.61 mmol·L−1 in WAT). CHO ingestion did not improve performance or affect RPE during a 10-km intermittent training in elite open-water swimmers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]