I swim like %$@! (Page 2)

H20: Had you actually read my comments you would have seen that she is a professional swim coach for a Division I school. The reason she works with me is that I teach there and we have friends in common.

I hope that everyone else on this thread knows that I appreciate their assistance and advice. In general I've felt very welcome by the tri community, both online and off. I'm hooked.

Right now I am swimming 4 days a week, 2 days with the coach. Since it's a college pool and summertime their weekend hours are terrible, plus that's when I either run/bike long and spend time with the kids.

She follows along the side of the pool the entire time I swim and critiques every lap. Her favorite phrase seems to be "That wasn't so bad, now do it again, but make sure you _____ (fill in the blank)."

I have almost an identical background - came from running, did my first tri on only a few weeks swim training, except it took me FIFTEEN minutes to cover the 400 meters (included a panciked moment or two of hanging on to the kayak).

Getting coached is a definite step in the right direction. When I came to a standstill with that, I found that the greatest gains were doing 5-6 short sessions a week in the pool as opposed to the more traditional 2-3 long swims. Your schedule of two coached/two non-coached sessions looks pretty good to me - I think you just need to give it time.  It took me a year and a half to see serious form improvements (and I'm still BOP).

Just my opinion.  I'll let all the fish of the group give the real advice.

Thanks P.P.

My coach is back from her honeymoon and we pick up where we left off today at noon. I'm sure she is happy, full of energy, and well-rested while I'm perpetually slightly sore from the two-a-day workouts.I expect a good old fashioned a**-kicking from her today

And to think I pay for this!

Don't worry about H2O, he/she is always like that if you didn't start stroke drills in the womb.

Without seeing you, I can guess that you probably kick from your knees and don't have much toe point. This robs you of a LOT of propulsion and body stability in the water. Add to that a new stroke that you are still learning, and it's not surprising you sink a bit.

Take a look at TJFry's avatar photo. the line that goes from his shin down through his toes is what you want for a good foot position. Then work on letting the kick originate from your hips, rather than your knees. That will help propel you forward, get your legs into a more horizontal position, and drive your breathing/arm strokes.

http://www.beginnertriathlete.com/discussion/forums/thread-view.asp?tid=248520&posts=32&mid=3457684&highlight=swim&highlightmode=1&action=search#M3457684

There's a thread that tj posted in for his avatar photo.

Add to that kicking the good advice above to look more towards the bottom of the pool rather than the far end, and press your chest more towards the bottom, and things will start to work a lot better for you.

Give it patience, swimming is VERY much a skill driven sport, it takes time to smooth out.

John

Yes, it was VERY encouraging when she told me I should get the hang of it...in about a year. Actually she said pretty much everything you said, head down, stop bending the knees so much, kick from the hips, etc.

Running came so easily to me, swimming is somewhat difficult. I am hoping someday to enjoy swim practice as much as I enjoy a long run. Or at least have it not feel like work.

I'm in a very similar position (minus the coach - I've got to fix that). Swimming is *hard*, and there's a small part of me that regrets it every time I go to the pool. I could be out on a nice long bike ride, but no, here I go floundering along for my 1500 meters...

Get video if you can. I swam competitively for years, and then quit for years. Add 20 years of not swimming to a 1970's era learning phase, and my stroke was...not so good.

You see a lot on video that you will be surprised at, and it's easy for a coach to say "See that? Don't do that, do this."

John