Experior's Group - CLOSED (Page 12)

StlPhil - 2010-01-04 10:22 AM Good morning all. I am such a weak person! Alarm went off at 5:00 am and I just could not get out of bed. It's 4 degrees here in St. Louis. The thought of going to the Y to swim at 5:00 am was like an anchor holding me under the covers.

Well, spinning class tonight. Maybe I can catch a swim afterwards.  I really need to "man it up" with this cold and "just do it".

Experior - 2010-01-04 5:25 AM Good morning everyone.  Kids go back to school today.  I think they're glad.

And today is a big day for me:  the pool FINALLY opens again.  Now I feel like I can start getting on top of my winter swimming goals.

How about everyone else?  What's in line for today?

StlPhil - 2010-01-04 9:49 PM

Ding, Ding, Ding, Ding! Swimming BREAK THROUGH! Had spinning class tonight. After wimping out because of the cold this morning, missing a swim, I thought I would get the swim in after cycling. I got in the pool (no pull buoy mind you) I started to swim. 100m, I feel good I'll go another 100m, still feel good, another 100m, I'm in the zone! Swimming without effort.  I'm thinking I can do a mile! At 700m I hear "Hey BUDDY, can I share a lane"? Uh, what, excuse me? "Can I share a lane"? MY FLIPPIN ZONE BUBBLE BURST! 700 FLIPPIN meters! I stopped swimming and said sure. Oh well, maybe a mile next time.

BTW, I wonder if I need to warm up more during my morning swim. Maybe tha't what has been holding me back.

StlPhil - 2010-01-04 6:49 PM

Ding, Ding, Ding, Ding! Swimming BREAK THROUGH! Had spinning class tonight. After wimping out because of the cold this morning, missing a swim, I thought I would get the swim in after cycling. I got in the pool (no pull buoy mind you) I started to swim. 100m, I feel good I'll go another 100m, still feel good, another 100m, I'm in the zone! Swimming without effort.  I'm thinking I can do a mile! At 700m I hear "Hey BUDDY, can I share a lane"? Uh, what, excuse me? "Can I share a lane"? MY FLIPPIN ZONE BUBBLE BURST! 700 FLIPPIN meters! I stopped swimming and said sure. Oh well, maybe a mile next time.

BTW, I wonder if I need to warm up more during my morning swim. Maybe tha't what has been holding me back.

wplummer - 2010-01-05 11:56 AM ran 6 miles this morning. went to go swim and found out that the pool is closed for "maintenance" until march 1 or so-WTF. i am not happy. yes i know i will have more for (time in the saddle), pounding out lots of miles on the pavement. i like the pool and was making some steady progress. so going forward i am going to try to get four or more bike rides in. that will help to generate some weight loss. and good morning to everyone.

wplummer - 2010-01-05 11:56 AM ran 6 miles this morning. went to go swim and found out that the pool is closed for "maintenance" until march 1 or so-WTF. i am not happy. yes i know i will have more for (time in the saddle), pounding out lots of miles on the pavement. i like the pool and was making some steady progress. so going forward i am going to try to get four or more bike rides in. that will help to generate some weight loss. and good morning to everyone.

slow turtle - 2010-01-05 10:26 AM



That's ridiculous! Is your gym affiliated with another one that you can use for the next 2 months? What a terrible time of year for them to do maintenance.

Experior - 2010-01-05 7:53 PM Scout:

I'm not fast -- my all out 100m sprint PR is around 1:22 (= 1:15/100yd), a pace that a lot of swimmers can maintain indefinitely! -- but I can tell you what I've done to get faster.

1.  Drills followed by swim.  So I'll do something like 3x50 of a drill, then do some swimming to try to ingrain what I've learned doing the drill.  My favorite drills are catch-up, one-arm (both of these revealed serious problems with my breathing that were slowing me down), fingertip drag (helped me to lead with the elbow on recovery, and helps with rotation), and hesitation (or touch your shoulder on recovery, which helped a lot with the timing of my pull).  However, I'd say that which drills really help depend on your particular form problems.  So perhaps what really helped me was to have my coach look at my stroke and tell me what my biggest flaws are.  I haven't seen her in a while, but I'm going to start back up soon and learn about my NEW flaws!

2.  Practice going fast.  So I'll do sets like 10x50 or 10x100 swimming just a few seconds per hundred under my sprint pace, with enough rest in between to be able to maintain that pace on each repetition.

3.  Lately, I've also started really focusing on being streamlined.  I find it easiest to focus on this after a flip turn while I'm just gliding before I start to stroke again -- then I try to recreate that feeling while I'm swimming.  I think it is helping.

What have others done?  Like Scout, I want to get faster, and so to hear what has helped others.

scout21 - 2010-01-05 3:18 PM Since we're talking about swimming....I'm slow and want to be faster.  Let's hear about some of your favorite drills.  I have the endurance to finish 2K yards with no rest breaks.  Now I want SPEED!

Scout