Jamie's HIM/IM Training Group-CLOSED (Page 33)

Hi everyone!! AQOD: well, being as I'm vertically challenged (5'3.5"), I take a whopping 21 strokes per 25yds! I used to take more, but at least it's coming down.

Our tri club had a symposium last weekend and one of our speakers was a Purdue swimmer/coach and we talked about strokes per length. One thing that I learned is that the number is highly individual. It depends on how long/tall you are, how long your arms are, your reach, form, blah, blah, blah.. the important thing to know is what is YOUR number and then, is there anything you can do regarding your form to improve that number. I will never ever be a 11 stroker. It's physically impossible for me. But, maybe I can get down to 18 or 19?? Just another thing to work on in the pool!!

Hi all,

Had a great 30 minute run this morning. 9:40, 9:02, then 8:35 each for 10 minutes (or there about, depending on how accurate the treadmill was).  Then I walked downstairs, changed and hit the pool. 10x50@1:05 plus a little warm up/cool down. Kicked my butt!

Leaving for Mexico tomorrow. I enjoy surfing the web, but don't know if I'll have any wifi there where we're staying, so might not talk to you all until next Tuesday. Going to be running exclusively every day but Sunday while I am there. Have a good one!

Never owned a pair of Kswiss...

As part of my quest to reduce my stroke count, Ive actually worked on pushing off the wall less.  The reasoning (read it somewhere) is that theres no wall to push off of during an OWS.  Is there some other tri related benefit to a good push off of the wall?  I know with flip turns, you dont do them in a race, but they help develop lung capacity, so there is a downside to not doing them in the pool.  Just wondering if there is some benefit to a hard push off the wall that Im missing out on.

I'm using a BT plan that is based on RPE as well. I've always interpreted RPE 3 as your slow long distance pace. It should feel pretty reserved, like you could stay at that pace all day long. It's even a little slower than my Ironman race pace...think recovery workout pace. I view RPE 4 as just a bit faster than my IM race pace. RPE 5 would be something like a HIM pace. 6 and up is Sprint or Oly pace - pretty damn fast. I think it is based on a scale of 1-10 but I don't recall any of the workouts going much over RPE 6 or 7.

That's just the way I've used the scale - hone in on what works best for you and you'll be fine.

Okay folks...I got brave last night at the pool and asked the lifeguard to record a couple short videos of me swimming. I THINK I'm a decent swimmer only because I've been doing it since I was 4, but in reality it has been ages since I've had a coach and it's highly likely that a lot of bad habits have crept back into my stroke.

So I uploaded two short clips to youtube here and here. I did 200 warm up before doing this...and just went nice and easy.

First impressions:

• Holy crap I look S L O W! My turn over just seems VERY slow. I know my kick is pretty much non-existent but my arms look really slow. Good god.
• I can see there's room for improving my high elbow but all things considered, I don't think it's too bad.
• On the head-on angle, you can see my right arm comes up higher on the recovery than the left arm...I think this is due to my non-bilateral breathing. I'm always a little cocked to the right of center. I think this is making me bob up and down just a bit, and glide just a little longer on my right side than on my left.
• Position in the water is actually not too bad - I think my hips are near the surface, head position is good, etc.

So I'm open to criticism - what say you?

First I must say stop showing off that you get to swim outside after I just got 3" of snow this morning and had a horrible commute into work.  Now, as far as the stroke, I say it looks pretty fluid and solid.  The only minor thing I would comment on is your reach looks like you get get a little longer, but knowing how fast you are Dave, I wouldn't be too concerned.  Keep up the good work.

I have been sneaking in workouts inbetween a 3 day company conference.  Running late at night and swimming before dinner... quite a challenge.  Did 40min on bike trainer tonight.  Bike is off trainer and headed to shop for maintenance and probably a new chain/cassette...  I will get it back after my trip to Germany next week...

AOTD1: 18-20 strokes

AOTD2:  swimming outside looks damn nice...

Dave, thanks for posting the videos.  Nice stroke.  Looks real smooth and relaxed.  I'm no expert, but I noticed a few things related to the items you focused on that my swim coaches at Gold's always tell us.   (1) to get your left elbow higher, think about keeping your left hand closer to your body on the recovery.  I noticed it swings a bit wider than your right hand.  We do the "zipper drill" for that, and it tends to get the elbow up a bit more...but I must say, it's not much lower than your right, so I think just a little tweak will get it where you want it.  (2) IMO, your kick rate is right on.  The only thing I saw is that your left knee appears to bend more than your right knee, so the left side is a bit of a cycle kick, which, as you know, is less efficient.  That may also be caused by the unilateral breathing...you might be using that leg for some balance. That's all my untrained eye can see.  Like I said, nice stroke.

I think you see it right.  Your left elbow is way out to the side when your right elbow is nice and high.  I try to remind myself to drag my fingers up my rib cage every once in a while.

I do agree with Jamie (i think it was him) that said turnover is a liitle slow - fine for the pool - but in OWS and mass start???

Looks nice and smooth!

I miss you sun! More rain here today and then some flurries.

Sorry you guys are having much worse weather than I am on the west coast. =(

I'm hitting the pool tonight so I'll definitely be paying more attention to things 1. faster turnover 2. more even arm recovery 3. kick efficiency. Thanks for the help guys!

Last night I tried for a 90 minute run but only made about 75 minutes until I was bored to tears (it got dark and I was doing loops around the parking lot) and just decided to pack it up and head home. The first 20 minutes was rough. My stomach was out of sorts...I think I ate a yogurt too late in the day and hadn't digested it fully. Here's a picture from the run along the Bay Trail as the sun is setting...I PROMISE I'm not trying to rub in the nice weather!!!

QOTD: How many hours of sleep do you usually get? Is it pretty consistent? Do you notice a big difference in your energy levels if you get a poor nights sleep?

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Ok, that picture is just not nice. I am convinced that the sun has burned up and moved away here in IN.

AQOD: I require lots of sleep!! I sleep between 7-9 hrs/ night. I shut off my light around 9pm and get up around 5:15am. If I don't get the sleep that I need, by about day 3, my b*!ch meter is pegged and I don't have the energy to do a good workout and I find that I make it's easier for me to make poor eating decisions too.

Well, I'm off to go swim. Have a good day everyone!!

First...I concur that the picture is NOT nice!

Second, AOTD = More is better with me.  It seems I often get 7 and that isn't quite enough for me.  I function best with 8hrs of sleep.  Furthermore, my wife and I have known to, on occasion, do a 10 hour sleepathon on the weekend and it really does make me feel like a new man.  If you ever have some extra time, give it a try.

I generally get 7hrs a night.  My back doesnt like me to sleep more than that.  I definitely need a new mattress.

good run today.  Off to Germany tomorrow.