I received this comment on this portion of my post from earlier today.
the winner is the person who can maintain the highest percentage of their maximum speed for the duration of the race. This is not true. Basic physiology, since the main components of speed and endurance are different energy systems.
This is the basic problem, until we get past thinking about energy systems, we will not produce the middle distance and distance runners we are capable of producing. If you are still basing your training on energy systems and letting that dictate everything then you are not up with current thinking. Same school of thought says you should not mix energy systems in a workout, totally unrealistic. You mix all energy systems in a race, so you should mix them systematically in a workout. Energy systems are not little switches that turn on and off as needed. Forget energy systems and think about neural drive and coordination. Learn how to run fast efficiently. Then learn how to carry that speed and efficiency for longer distances. For you swim coaches, the same goes for you. Stop depending on those neat color coded charts and train for the race.