I started with this swimming thing in late September. I was slow, and struggled to do any more than 50 meters at a time. Fast-forward four months ...
This morning was the first test set of the season. After an all-too-brief warm-up, we looked at the big board and saw: 1x2000. That's far. On a clear day, that's about as far you could see towards the horizon. And now I have to swim that far. That's even a bit further than I'll have to do at Muskoka (1.2 miles=1932m). We're given the option at the 1000m mark to switch to pull, but we should keep moving.
Somehow I was called upon to lead our lane. I have some trouble here, because when it's called upon as EZ, EZ for the first swimmer can end up being too easy for the followers in the draft, so the leader can end up pushing too hard to set a decent pace. Like a team TT, I traded off pulls every few hundred meters with another swimmer. We kept up a good, but manageable pace. At 1000m, she switched to the pull buoy, so I let her most of the leading from that point on. Other than these switches (each lasting 3-5 seconds), the swimming was non-stop.
We finished in about 44 minutes. Obviously, we weren't blazing. I feel like the pace could have been higher in the last 500 or so meters, but that may be due to me being in the draft for much of that. Even with that, I feel good that accomplished such a long continuous effort. My pace will need to go up, but there's over seven months for that. In a race where I can catch a legitimate draft, and wear a wetsuit, I think I can handle getting to a sub-40 pace for 1.2 miles. I'd love to be able to do 35 minutes, but that may be a stretch.
One thing that felt really good was catching the water. I put a real emphasis into the "forearm flop" and could feel myself catch a lot of water from wrist to elbow with each stroke. As I continue to get stronger, hopefully that will get me even faster.
Swim: w/u 100m each free, back, pull, breast
1x2000m free
2x50 breast/50 back, 15"
2x25 sprint/25 ez free, 30"
c/d: 1x50 breast/50 back
Total: 2800m
Tonight when I get home (and finish shovelling the driveway), I'll do a short run.
Run: 3 miles @ 7.0 mph
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2 comments:
Right on! The thing that always nails me with distance swimming is my technique. As I fatigue, it goes right down the toliet which means that I'm getting tired and less efficient at the same time... not good.
Good job not taking the pull bouy... keep those legs workin'!
I really tried to focus on keeping my technique together. I could live with being a bit slow at this point as long as my form was good.
I wouldn't say my legs were workin'. I should use a bit more kick than I do, since some times I'm just kind of dragging them.
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