total immersion

Since incorporating some of the drills and techniques of TI and swimming regularly, my times have gone from 2:10 min per 100 yds to 1:40 sustainable and 1:20 for a 100 TT.  Thats over 6 mos of swimming 2-3 times per week for only 1000 - 1800 per session.  I'd say it's 2/3 improved technique/position and 1/3 improved swim fitness.  

I really liked total immersion, and still do some of the drills. Some people say it's 'slow' swimming, but it all depends on the individual. The formula for swimming faster is simple, swim faster! I don't do the long 'skate' hand touch hand stroke anymore, but a quicker turnover (I know, Terry Laughlin is cringing now). When you feel comfortable with your stroke, pick up the pace. Don't sacrifice form for speed. Try some repeat 200, then 100s, then 50s.

But in the book there are drills for improving speed by swimming speed intervals and pushing yourself. I don't know how you can do that without increasing your turnover.  When I started I was over 3:00/100yds now I'm at 2:30. I'd be thrilled with 2:10/100 yds or meters. Still slow, but definitely better. I started with no swimming background in March, so I have lots of room for improvement for a long time to come.

Edited by msmogreen 2009-08-03 11:54 PM

I think the point of TI is not to worry about your time, at least for the first few months. I bought his book on triathlon swimming and he talks about TI RPE and splits it up into 6 categories: literally effortless, warmup-warmdown speed, cruise speed, brisk, fast, and absolute maximum. He says that 'literally effortless (about 50% max hr) is best for learning new skills (and when adopting TI way of swimming most likely you will be learning a lot of new skills), and warmup-warmdown speed is good for imprinting, which is super important if you want to be able to be efficient when you are going at higher speeds.

When I practice lately I only do about 1000m for cardio/gauging my speed and the rest for imprinting and balance practice, where I don't even check to see how fast I am going. I'm super concentrated on achieving the best form possible and being most comfortable in the water, which, like Terry says, are two of the main goals of TI.

Having said that my times are similar if not a bit faster than what I was swimming 3 weeks ago before trying TI, but I think the catch with comparing your results to others is that some people just have better instincts and / or balance in the water than others. If you are not particularly inclined in this way, it means that it will probably take more time for you to get faster, but YOU DEFINITELY WILL GET THERE. Balance is soooo important, as you know. Just from practicing balance drills with no forward progress I've found that I'm becoming more and more comfortable after even 20 minutes of drills.

I hope I wasn't too roundabout, but what I mean to emphasize is try not to compare yourself with others. If you aren't improving at a great rate now, it just means that over the next few days and weeks and months you will see more improvement than in the past week, assuming you are doing the drills correctly.

Good luck! TI is amazing

Thanks for the advice. I think the big question is am I using good form. The closest ti trainer lives 8 hours from me. Maybe I can send them a video of me swimming.