Fred D and Queen Zipp's SWIM, BIKE RUN consistency thread.... CLOSED (Page 20)

Full day today...48 on the stationary bike at the gym; 950 yards in the pool, making it that I have done s/b/r all in the last 24 hours!  Now I'm off to teach--a whole different kind of workout!

Hope everyone has a great day!

The instructor had everyone do a 'fitness test' in the pool this morning.  Basically count how many laps you can do in 20 minutes.  The test will be repeated at the end of the semester to see our improvement.  Hmm, wonder how that affects our grade?    

Anyway, I did 41 laps in 20 minutes.  My time to 40 laps (1000 yds) was 19:29 for a 1:57 pace, which I am quite happy with!  My previous 1000 yard TT (back in April 2010 when I was swimming a lot more) was at a 1:48 pace, so not too much lost.  I'm hoping to get back there by the end of the semester.

I felt like I was run over this morning so the bed won again.  Was thinking about yoga and a spin....my husband wants to go to the gym tonight so I am thinking it will be a swim after all.  Hope I don't have to contend with too many kids and water walkers.

I currently do 6-beat or 2-beat with a 'crossover'.  I get mixed reactions on the latter.  Some very good swimmers say 'no problem'.  Others say 'get rid of the crossover'.  They all agree that 6-beat is OK, but that 2-beat probably best for tri.

I can't get rid of the crossover unless I focus on nothing else.  Arrrrrgh!

Did you have trouble getting to a true 2-beat kick?

I tried to work on the kick per stroke tonight.  Probably 4 beat most of the time.  Hard to really keep track of with all the other stuff going on (like the dude I shared a lane with was not so hot at sharing and beaned me a few times).

One of the things I am working on right now is kicking.  I learned to swim without one because the drumsticks are a huge oxygen suck.  My stroke has gotten much better with a pull, but add the kick and I tend to swim from the shoulders versus the hips.  Any tips on how to get a light, easy kick would be great.

No Offense Ladies, but when the wife give permission to do something like an IM, us men would be crazy not to!!  My wife has made it clear to me (and she truly is very supportive of my sport) that she will have me committed if I attempt an IM. 

Seriously -- Got for it!  

Congratulations on that -- EXCELLENT SWIM!   Here's wishing you the best on making that 1:48!

I've never really learned all the swimming terminology, but I do know that I kick very little, mostly enough to keep me in balance in the water.  My theory has been that I want to save my leg strength (what little I have anyway) for the bike and run. 

I do need to improve my kick though.  Even doing a small amount of kicking for me tends to be very inefficient.  I know I'm not getting a lot of power out of my kick...

The person who is teaching me better technique says that the kick is not so much about propulsion as it allows for better rotation.  I am a single minded thinker.  If I have to think about that kick, I forget about my pull!

Swam yesterday and ran this morning.  I can't believe how many workouts I have done this month.  It has been a long time since I have put this much effort in.  

I know that this group's emphasis on consistency has really helped me. 

GREAT JOB!   It's helping me as well!

Keep up the great work.

Sounds a lot like me -- too many things to concentrate on at the same time.   Got to work on the muscle memory in the swim.

I may need to hit the library to find Shiela T's book.  I also want to find the one by Noakes that Michael mentioned to me....sounds like a good read for someone whose preference is the run.  

Finally got my run in tonight, it was much needed stress relief after a crazy few days at work.

I loved the LORE OF RUNNING, but it took me quite a while to read through the whole thing.  I started using it just as a reference guide.

May have missed it, but what is Sheila T's book?  

I read a bunch of the Total Immersion stuff when I was learning to swim a few years ago, I personally found it immensely helpful.  It got me from ready to give up, to being able to swim more or less nonstop.  Maybe not fast, but it definitely helped with confidence.  More helpful was having a swim coach actually watching me, and giving me individualized pointers.  I'm still slow, but feel like I'm improving.  

As to my kick, it's somewhat nonexistent.  In fact, when I just push off the wall in a 'superman' position and kick, I come to a stop!  When racing with the wetsuit on, I really have no kick at all.  Just enough to be 'in sync' with my body rotation, but certainly no propulsion comes from it.

I've got the same queston.. what is Sheila T's book

X whatever on Sheila T's book.  As I'm getting back into swimming, I'm doing a combination of things I find in that book, the Finding Freestyle program, and things posted by Gary Hall Sr. here and elsewhere.  The people behind those three 'programs' are all very successful, and there is a remarkable degree of consistency in what they say.  I find that encouraging.

The Noakes book that Judi mentioned is a classic, and should be in your library if you like to read books on endurance sport.  It is a bit dated in places, but you'd be far better off reading that than reading adverts about the latest running craze on the internet.