I Hate Swimming...

or at least I did this morning. My plan called for a 2600 yd swim. I was pumped to do it last night. Actually looking forward to it, but then after some early morning work calls (like 3AM early), it pushed me waking up a little later, which meant I got to the pool a little later and set me up for a crap swim.

I got to the pool and I started my swim. After about 10 laps, I just didn't want to swim anymore. So I stopped at the wall after about 600 yards. I was really trying to figure out a way to break up the swim by maybe doing some 250's, or 100's, but nothing seem to get me excited about swimming. I really did not want to log a 600 yard swim, so I decided to man up and give it another go. I felt strong in the pool. It wasn't a problem of being too tired physically, I just didn't want to be there. So I stopped at 1000 yds and headed to the locker room.

So all day I have been wondering what my deal was? One thing I thought might have contributed to my apathy was that I have almost swam as many yards this year as I did last year! In 2011, I swam  84,992 yards and in 4 months of 2012, I have already swam 67, 831 yards, which does explain my swim time improvements. I still have about 2 more weeks of good training, then a taper week, then my Olympic Tri. After that, I start training for my HIM in Sept, so I know I will crush 2011 numbers in the water!

I think that we all have days where we hate a certain discipline of triathlon. I have had spells where I hate to run, or where I hate to bike, today it just happen to be swimming. I really questioned if I should just have made this a mental toughness thing and somehow squeaked out another 1600 yards, but that's not "Bringing It" is it? Remember how I vowed to "Bring it" every work out and all that "Fear The Hat" crap??? Sometimes, I think it is best to know when to not force something, that it is OK to shut it down once in awhile. Now, if this continues, then I have problems, but I have been very close to my training schedule and I have been flexible when I had to be.

I feel like I am in the best shape of my life at 40! (Still no six pack either), and I know that I could go out right now and PR my Olympic triathlon. My confidence is high, so I am just going to count it up as one of those days. My next swim is scheduled for Thursday, it is going to be 2100 yards. I will Bring it!

I Have Not Mastered The Masters Swim Class

Today I went to my first ever Masters Swim Class. I had been wanting to join one for awhile but never wanted to just show up. A buddy of mine that I train with said he was going this week and said I should show up, so I decided to give it a try.

I admit, I was nervous.

I was not sure what to expect. I was told I should bring my fins and goggles only. The more I thought about it, I kept thinking, "I can swim, all we are doing is swimming, I should be able to handle this". So when I got to the gym and changed clothes, I walked out to the pool and talked to the lifeguard for awhile before the class started. I got in and swam some to claim my lane until my buddy got there and we ended up sharing a lane, which was not a problem because he is super fast compared to me. So without further delay, here is how it went:

3 x 100 at 2:00
1 minute rest
3 x 100 at 1:50
1 minute rest
3 x 100 at 1:40
1 minute rest

10 x 25 kick with fins at 30 seconds
1 minute rest

300 yd Pull breathing every 4th stroke

3 x 100 at 1:50 x3
10 second rest

Roughly 2400 yards. It was a killer. Needless to say I did not make all the times. The 1:40 100's were the toughest for me, and I got behind. I also struggled on the 25 yd kicks in 30 seconds. I knew my kick was weak, but this surprised me. I also got left behind on the final sets of 100's.

All in all though, while this workout was tough for me, it was also fun. The coach gave me some useful tips which made sense. He said my stroke looked more like a windmill, which was wrong. So he showed me the right way and even helped me with my push off the wall. (Biceps behind ears hands sandwiched) This was tough for me to get my biceps behind my ears also!

Overall this workout was also humbling for me. I thought I was in a lot better swim shape than I am. I wasn't the last or the slowest swimmer by any means, but it also showed me I need a lot of work on my stroke. I think I will continue this class once a week at least and I expect it to make me a much stronger swimmer.

Laughing at the Water????

About two weeks ago I received in the mail a copy of “The Essential Triathlon Swimming” DVD by Kevin Koskella. Koskella is the founder of http://triswimcoach.comand was also an accomplished swimmer at the college level. Koskella also currently teaches Masters swims classes in California. So, with my upcoming 1st Half Ironman on the horizon, I figured I would check out the DVD and see if I also could “laugh at the Water” also.

Ask anyone who has done a triathlon and I guarantee they would say that the swim is the toughest portion on the race. The reason for this is simple. Humans were not made to swim (unless your last name is Phelps!) I know I struggled in the water and it took me a long time to figure it out without the help of a coach.

So I watched the video.

It was really a great video and I will tell you why. Koskella does an excellent job of explaining the whys of swimming and an even better job at showing you how to do drills. The first 20 minutes or so of the video are all about drills you can do in the pool. Drills for balance, drills for those of us that tend to slap the water and drills to work on how the hand enters the water. The best part is that you actually get to see how the drills are done from an above view and an underwater view. This to me made a huge difference. I have read about one armed swimming drills and swimming with your fists, but to actually see it really showed me what the technique was working on.

The rest of the video concentrates on workouts and OWS (open water swimming). Both of these things are hard to accomplish because when I started swimming a workout plan, I had no idea of what to do, how to design or how to read a swim plan! OWS is a different animal itself, and is very different than swimming in a pool and Koskella does a great job of describing the ins and outs of OWS.

So after watching the video, which really made me want to go out for an OWS, I went to my local pool and tried out a few of the drills he describes. I worked on the vertical kick (freaking hard), the fingertip drag (I am a water slapper), the corkscrew, the hip rotation drill and the sighting drills. All of these drills have already helped my swimming in the week I have been working on them. I am not sure that I am faster yet, but I know that I am becoming more balanced and efficient in the water. This has also helped me get better at bilateral breathing (I only breathe to my left for some reason), and the main reason for this is balance in the water. I have found out how very important it is to have balance.

I still have a lot of work to do in the pool, but now I have some specific drills to work on to help me become more efficient in the water and not come out of the water winded. I am attaching the links to Koskella’s website and how to get a copy of the DVD. Go check it out, it helped me and then we can all get together and laugh at the water!!


To purchase a copy of the Essential Triathlon Swimming DVD, click this link:
http://www.triswimcoach.com/
For more information and free stuff from Tri Swim Coach, click the following link: http://www.triswimcoachonline.com/