Thanks to Mark for two important pieces of advice/reminders from last week. 1) Until I've gotten enough pool time, there will be good days and bad days, and just get what I can when I can, and 2) If the form has gone to crap, I'm done. There's no point in ingraining bad form. These are the types of things I've told anyone I've coached in running or cycling, but sometimes we all to be reminded.
And with that, a recap of my night in the pool ... but first, my afternoon workout in the weight room ...
Upper body - vertical: medium
Chaosbringer 2x4/75 lbs
Pullups 2x9, 1x7/unweighted (more like 7.5 on the last set, and nice strict reps)
Military Press 3x10/65 lbs (time to bump up the weight)
Then at 9, I was back in the pool. My first couple of laps didn't feel great, but I tried to relax and focus on what I was supposed to be doing. I tried to do some of my drills, but I still can't get moving again using just my kick. I had taken my new flippers, but I admit to being self-conscious, since I haven't seen anyone else use them. I know I should just nut up and do it, and maybe I will. So there.
Even without the drills, tonight was one of the good ones. I felt a lot better than last week, like I was catching more water with each pull, and my hips were floating with a more relaxed kick. My mental cues tonight were to "reach over the barrel" (I read this on a swimming technique website, and I did what I think they were talking about), and to turn my head to breathe last, waiting until my extended arm's shoulder touched my ear. Those points got my improved pull, and I felt like I was rotating my hips a lot better (to the point that I could feel the muscle working. Either that or it was a "don't swim for an hour after eating" cramp.) Also, with my "shoulder in the ear" focus, I noticed I was fully extending my arm on every stroke, which helped with "pressing my buoy" when I was rotated. So things were falling nicely into place.
I did a total of 1200 meters, same as last time, but much more productive. I was able to string together two 2x50m with 5-10 sec rest lengths, so let's say I did 100m continuous twice. I'm not fast, but I'm faster. I don't have much endurance, but I have more than I did. And that's all I can ask for. Baby steps.
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2 comments:
Sounds like a good workout!
A couple of notes:
1) Swimming endurance sneaks up on you (along with form). One day you'll bang out 2k and feel like you only finished warming up.
2) The "wait n hours after eating to swim" thing is bunk. If you're going to swim hard, don't eat too much... but I don't treat it any differently than I do running or biking.
Now I feel like a lazy sack. I skipped my ride today because I'm sick. If Lemond can crap in a hat, I could've ridden with a little virus.
I'll be happy when I can get over 2000m. That's the race distance, so once that's comfortable, I'm set. I pretty happy with my progress considering it's only once a week. Once I start 3x/week, and with a coach, I hope there will be another dramatic improvement.
I've heard the "hour after eating" thing was a myth. Or at least, no different than running or cycling. Except that if you cramp on the road, you can pull over. Cramp in the water, you die. I usually have a light bite before heading out, but not enough to cause a cramp, that's why I felt that it was more indicative of using my obliques and hips to roll.
Lemond crapped in his hat during a race, so he didn't have a choice. Sometimes not training is the best thing. You'll be back at it soon enough.
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