Olympian Ryan Cochrane on time management, in the pool
Canadian standout explains importance of clocks in races
By Doug Harrison, CBC Sports
Ryan Cochrane employs different strategies when swimming the 400- and 1,500-metre freestyle events.
The longer race is all about setting a pace and making a charge at the end while the 400 forces the athlete to find a balance as some swimmers will go hard at the start. Cochrane – who has won eight world championships medals – will be eyeing his first Olympic gold in both events in Rio, the Canadian swimmer's third Summer Games.
Cochrane spoke to CBC Sports about how he gauges his speed during a race, keeping pace and the emotions of breaking a swim record.
What are some examples of using numbers that wouldn't make sense to the casual swim fan?
For training, we count our strokes every single lap, so I try to be somewhere around thirty strokes and I count that every time I'm in the water. We count stroke rates taking our times, in and out of the walls, every 50 metres and 100 metres. When it comes to sports science it's also just as important to know your hemoglobin mass and know how, when you go to altitude training, how to improve that and that will make you a better athlete overall.
What do you make of the old saying that "numbers don't lie?"
We're lucky in swimming where numbers don't lie because when you touch the wall, you know what [time] you went. Your times are always going to be relative and I think it's exciting to know that every time you [race] you get a chance to beat your best time.
What sense do you have during a race of how fast you're moving?
Our race is so long that sometimes it's nice we have a clock because when we train we have a clock and you can see your time for your 50 [metre] splits. In a race, it's sometimes hard to tell. We have competitors that like to go out really hard and they can pull you faster than you need to go. If nobody pulls you up faster, then you can be going too slow, and that feeling in the water can sometimes change, depending on who you're racing.
How do you know you're on pace?
We're pretty good at practicing to precise seconds of what we're going. In the 1,500 [metres], as soon as you start in your second, third or fourth 50, you'll pretty much hold that time the whole way. You have to make sure you're right on pace from the beginning.
Please finish this sentence: I don't like numbers when …?
I don't like numbers when they're not in my favour [laughing]. Both Olympics I was ninth in the 400 [metres] and that's [a] first-place [finish] out of the finals. It was by a hundredth of a second in the first Olympics and three one-hundredths of a second in the second Olympics. It's such a [short] amount [of time but] it makes a big difference in sports.
In Rio, what number will you be chasing in the 1,500 metres?
In Rio, I'm chasing first place [laughing]. I'd like to get on the podium twice. I think it will take around fourteen-and-a-half minutes [to win]. It's a bit scary and it gets my heart rate going because it's faster than I have ever been, but I think it's a reasonable expectation.
Can numbers measure everything in swimming?
I don't think numbers come even close to measuring everything. The feelings you have at an Olympics can't be quantified with numbers. The pride my parents have when watching me swim, and me wanting to do well because of their support, can't be put into numbers. … You can't get bogged down in numbers because you can't forget about those bigger things.
Describe how it feels to break a record?
It's so different if it's not your record. Whether it's provincial, national, international, worlds … it's so exciting to know that you're the best that's ever been at that. When you break your own record, I think it's a little more expected because you're constantly trying to better yourself.