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What is my problem? . . . (swim question)
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 2009-06-25 12:21 PM |
Member 46 |  Subject: What is my problem? . . . (swim question)I am a beginning, self coached, self taught, one triathlon experienced triathlete. Since completing my first triathlon 2 1/2 weeks ago I have focused my sights on a second "A" HIM race in late September. Being an experienced triathlete now (sarcasm) I have chosen the silver intermediate HIM training plan to prepare for this second race. I did not follow any type of training plan preparing for my first HIM and did OK despite some very rookie mistakes. What I have noticed in the intermediate plan is a lot of drills and interval/speed training in all three disciplines. I am not accustomed to drills but recognize the importance in developing prolonged speed. The Bike and Run drills are fine, but the swim drills are kicking my butt! I taught myself how to swim beginning back in August of 2008 and am a slow swimmer (avg 2:30/100m over 2000m). My weekly swim training to prepare for my first HIM consisted of a long swim of 1 hour and short swim of 30 minutes and one day of 50m speed work. I welcomed more speed drills as I really need to improve my speed on the swim, but since starting the speed drills (and yes I recognize that it has only been a couple of weeks) my speed has decreased. I did a "Breakthrough" workout today that included a 500m time trial to determine T-Pace going forward and my average was around 2:37/100m. Why would I have slowed down? I focus on swimming on your side drills primarily as this is what I interpret will be the most beneficial to me. What am I doing wrong to have slowed down on the swim and what should I do to gain speed? Please keep in mind that my schedule is very erratic and is not swim lesson or coach friendly. That is of course the most obvious solution. Thanks |
| 2009-06-25 12:36 PM in reply to: #2242749 |
Master 1996    Woodbridge , Virginia | Subject: RE: What is my problem? . . . (swim question) Well you could be thinking about it too much... we all tend to overthink things, especially when it comes to the pool. actually a coach would be awesome to have.. but if you have friends(fellow triathletes to swim with), they can tell you what you are doing wrong.. most times. or you can get them to tape you while swimming.. so you can see it yourself.. Speed work.. i tend to do, 8 x 50 race pace, 10s recovery, 200 meter negative splits, swim 2nd 100 faster that first. Speed workouts are have there own day, not mixed with anything else..(for me anyways). hope this helps a little. |
| 2009-06-25 12:45 PM in reply to: #2242749 |
Champion 10471 Dallas, TX | Subject: RE: What is my problem? . . . (swim question) krypt - 2009-06-25 12:21 PM I am a beginning, self coached, self taught, one triathlon experienced triathlete. Since completing my first triathlon 2 1/2 weeks ago I have focused my sights on a second "A" HIM race in late September. Being an experienced triathlete now (sarcasm) I have chosen the silver intermediate HIM training plan to prepare for this second race. I did not follow any type of training plan preparing for my first HIM and did OK despite some very rookie mistakes. What I have noticed in the intermediate plan is a lot of drills and interval/speed training in all three disciplines. I am not accustomed to drills but recognize the importance in developing prolonged speed. The Bike and Run drills are fine, but the swim drills are kicking my butt! I taught myself how to swim beginning back in August of 2008 and am a slow swimmer (avg 2:30/100m over 2000m). My weekly swim training to prepare for my first HIM consisted of a long swim of 1 hour and short swim of 30 minutes and one day of 50m speed work. I welcomed more speed drills as I really need to improve my speed on the swim, but since starting the speed drills (and yes I recognize that it has only been a couple of weeks) my speed has decreased. I did a "Breakthrough" workout today that included a 500m time trial to determine T-Pace going forward and my average was around 2:37/100m. Why would I have slowed down? I focus on swimming on your side drills primarily as this is what I interpret will be the most beneficial to me. What am I doing wrong to have slowed down on the swim and what should I do to gain speed? Please keep in mind that my schedule is very erratic and is not swim lesson or coach friendly. That is of course the most obvious solution. Thanks Uh, you may not want to hear this... but your problem is that you are a beginning, self coached and self taught swimmer. That's why you are slow. Your form is probably incorrect which affects endurance and speed. Not sure why you slowed down. Was it in the same pool as you swam in before? Are you sure you timed each one properly? Just throwing some ideas out there. Maybe you also changed your stroke by doing those drills incorrectly and now you are swimming worse than you before?  |
| 2009-06-25 12:48 PM in reply to: #2242749 |
Champion 5117 Brandon, MS | Subject: RE: What is my problem? . . . (swim question) 1. You're 2 1/2 weeks out from your first ever tri, and it was a HIM. You might not be fully recovered. 2. Per your logs you aren't swimming near enough to get an accurate T-pace for a 500 yard swim. With a weekly high of 4200 yards, there's just not enough swimming there to start feeling your paces. I'd almost expect a 5-10 second swing in pace, either up or down. |
| 2009-06-25 12:52 PM in reply to: #2242749 |
| Member 46 | Subject: RE: What is my problem? . . . (swim question) You make a valid point. I did take a tri-specific two week (4 session) swim class, but did not get much out of it. Perhaps it was the instructor and I should not let that experience skew my thinking on the value of a "good" coach. |
| 2009-06-25 12:53 PM in reply to: #2242749 |
Elite 4048 Gilbert, Az. | Subject: RE: What is my problem? . . . (swim question) krypt - 2009-06-25 10:21 AM I am a beginning, self coached, self taught, one triathlon experienced triathlete. Since completing my first triathlon 2 1/2 weeks ago I have focused my sights on a second "A" HIM race in late September. Being an experienced triathlete now (sarcasm) I have chosen the silver intermediate HIM training plan to prepare for this second race. I did not follow any type of training plan preparing for my first HIM and did OK despite some very rookie mistakes. What I have noticed in the intermediate plan is a lot of drills and interval/speed training in all three disciplines. I am not accustomed to drills but recognize the importance in developing prolonged speed. The Bike and Run drills are fine, but the swim drills are kicking my butt! I taught myself how to swim beginning back in August of 2008 and am a slow swimmer (avg 2:30/100m over 2000m). My weekly swim training to prepare for my first HIM consisted of a long swim of 1 hour and short swim of 30 minutes and one day of 50m speed work. I welcomed more speed drills as I really need to improve my speed on the swim, but since starting the speed drills (and yes I recognize that it has only been a couple of weeks) my speed has decreased. I did a "Breakthrough" workout today that included a 500m time trial to determine T-Pace going forward and my average was around 2:37/100m. Why would I have slowed down? I focus on swimming on your side drills primarily as this is what I interpret will be the most beneficial to me. What am I doing wrong to have slowed down on the swim and what should I do to gain speed? Please keep in mind that my schedule is very erratic and is not swim lesson or coach friendly. That is of course the most obvious solution. Thanks How did you teach yourself to swim? At 2:30/100, along with the time you say you are putting in the pool, I'd say you have some basic stroke flaws. You say your schedule is erratic, but I would put a little time/effort into finding an instructor that can work with your schedule. Remember, drills done wrong are just as bad (or worse) than no drills at all. John |
| 2009-06-25 12:57 PM in reply to: #2242861 |
Champion 10471 Dallas, TX | Subject: RE: What is my problem? . . . (swim question) krypt - 2009-06-25 12:52 PM You make a valid point. I did take a tri-specific two week (4 session) swim class, but did not get much out of it. Perhaps it was the instructor and I should not let that experience skew my thinking on the value of a "good" coach. Was this a group class or one-on-one? A group class is great for getting the basics on how to move your arms and breathe. But it's not going to refine your stroke, especially not with just 4 sessions. 4 sessions is just learning the bare basics. You don't have time to work on the mechanics and exactly what you need to do to improve. Even if you had one-on-one lessons... 4 sessions is not enough. People who are great swimmers... got there typically by being on a swim team (5 days a week, 2 hours a day or more in the pool- coaching- for years)... to be an OK swimmer it takes more than 4 lessons and a few thousand yards in the pool. Keep at it. Try to see if you can get someone to look the mechanics of your stroke. Edited by KSH 2009-06-25 12:57 PM |
| 2009-06-25 12:58 PM in reply to: #2242749 |
Master 1651 Breckenridge, CO | Subject: RE: What is my problem? . . . (swim question) krypt - 2009-06-25 11:21 AM Please keep in mind that my schedule is very erratic and is not swim lesson or coach friendly. That is of course the most obvious solution. Thanks Your schedule is not going to be friendly to fast swim improvements either. Swimming is very technique dependent. It's not natural and you can't tell if you're doing it right or wrong. Without a good instructor teaching you the technique, and giving you feedback on whether you're doing it correctly or not, your progress will almost certainly be slow regardless of how much training you do. |
| 2009-06-25 12:59 PM in reply to: #2242882 |
Elite 4048 Gilbert, Az. | Subject: RE: What is my problem? . . . (swim question) KSH - 2009-06-25 10:57 AM Try to see if you can get someone to look the mechanics of your stroke. If you can get someone that has a vid cam to take photos of you (coming head on, from the side, and going away), post it on youtube and link it here, a lot of us can give you some basic drills and reasons for doing them. If you can get an underwater vid as well, that would be awesome. John |
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