SBR "U" (Page 84)

Could be but early in the season I was using my road bike primarily and I was worried it was reading high as my numbers on it were up quite a bit from last year.  When I switched bikes after Alcatraz, the numbers dropped quite a bit.

Been a very rocky week.  Lots of small corners turned only to run into a brick wall.   Pain was better in some ways, but worse in others.   Finally able to get off the painkillers except one for bed, maybe in the next couple days try just tylenol, which is what I am using otherwise

Still unable to sleep in my own bed and sleeping in the rented recliner.   Thank god for it but I hate that f***ing thing.  But my ribs still won;t let me lie down flat, how long do these things take to heal anyway, I thought 4 weeks would be able to do that.   Still have not been to work, probably Tuesday is the first day back, so a month off

Starting to deal with and clean up the financial side of things.   All told, including everything, this i going to cost me in the tens of thousands between out of pocket and lost income (not to mention my wife now having to work weekends to make up the time she spent bedside).  Thank god for decent insurance, I am facing my max out of pocket which is not that bad, but certainly could find better places to spend that several thousand dollars.   At my ER bedside the guy that caused the crash said he was going to help take care of some of the financial side, not sure what that means and remains to be seen whether he'll live up to his word.  I was texting with a mutual friend who said she was asking the LA Tri Club membership to buy him a new helmet (he's a coach and perhaps founder).  I didn't even think of it until last night, the guy whose mistake caused me to crash gets sh** paid for to replace it.  WTF.  A little bitter about that.  I used to be a member of that club but let membership expire as I wasn't getting much out of it.   Wish I had a club to bail me out of this sh**.   Anyway, that's just my bitter Saturday morning rant.  I'll get over it.

Hang tough Chris, it'll keep getting better and better!  How will the USAT insurance play into all those costs?

and just to confirm it all.  I did a duathlon relay today where I was the biker - it was a very low key event with no real rules so I knew there would be drafting (no one says not to so everyone does) and therefore I was on my road bike.  27:11 on 304w - so almost a 20 watt difference between the two bikes (same PM).

https://www.strava.com/activities/353887575/overview

 edit to add: ever wonder how many watts you can save sitting in on someone's wheel?  Tab did the same ride as me this morning and sat in the draft and only needed 208w for the same route (and then dropped me on the last little hill to the finish - LOL).  If we ride together, side by side, I typically end up 5-10w higher than her so she saved around 90w - I was surprised it was that much.

Remains to be seen, it's all excess after a deductible

Okay, so I'm sort of hesitant to post this in all its embarrassing glory, but I finally got some video of my stroke and I can see a few big things I need to work on, but I know there are some in here who will be able to pick more things out and hopefully explain how I can make these changes.  I think it's less than 10s video for each clip (from the left, from the right, and from the front), but it was slowed down to 12.5% speed (for someone else who will be doing analysis as well), so it turns out to be nearly three minutes of video.

IMO, the most telling is video from the right side where you can see my left pull, as well as from the front.  Those start at 1:00 and 2:01, respectively.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QfpqjgcwSJM 

I can swim a 1:35/100m pace pretty much all day long, but it's rare if I can do 3x100 on 1:30.  I've been stuck here for over a year now and I'm sick of it!  Ready to break through this plateau and hoping you guys can help.

Hey Nicole, do you have the video available at regular speed as well?  Great to see it in slo-mo but seeing how it works at speed helps too.

Here are two of the clips (the third one wouldn't upload for whatever reason and I'm too lazy to try again at work):

https://youtu.be/TNdO_ff1VW8

https://youtu.be/FUY4e6SAR1E

First, I'll say that I probably won't be much help with suggestions on how to fix anything.  I can tell someone what's wrong but not the solution.  

You do a LOT of things right - pull/catch is very good and so is your rotation.   The big thing that I see is that you seem to ride low in the water.  For lots of people their hips and legs ride low but for you it's your whole body.  There are times when your entire head is submerged and there is probably a few inches between the back of your head and the surface.  As a result, when you want to breathe you have to put in a lot of vertical movement to get your mouth high enough for air.  You can't just turn your head and breathe in the pocket under your armpit (or maybe that's what you need to try to do?).  When you breathe left, your right arm does a bit of a stabilizing flair out to the side (because your head is coming up so much) and you also point your hand up in a bit of a braking motion.  Your left arm doesn't do it at all when you breathe right.

I'm undecided on your kick.  It seems like the timing is a bit off at times but I think it may be that you sometimes use your legs to help stabilize the vertical movement of your breathing.  When you can kick freely, it's a good kick with a solid down stroke and good ankle flexion.  

To me it looks like a good powerful stroke, you just need to make some adjustments on body position to reduce the drag somewhat.

Big corner turned over the weekend/today.  Things just getting a bit better, slept on the couch Sat night then actually back into my own bed, with the wife and the cat, last night.  Can't say it was the best night's sleep ever, but it's a step forward.   Hard to believe 4 weeks out it still hurts to lay flat on my back.  Most of my discomfort now comes from the ribs, and handling with regular strength tylenol.  And just had my first sneezes this week, THANK GOD i didn't have any in the hospital, based on how much that hurts now,  I think I would have passed out then

Had my surgery post op appt today, saw the nice new little scar I'll have and the xray of the plate.   I had broken this clavicle twice before years back and turns out I had a non union of that break, so this was not a break of the bone but fibrous tissue.  He had to clean all that up and bend the plate pretty drastically to conform it to the new profile.  Because of that though he really emphasized 3 months for no running, too much jarring.  He said trainer/stationary and elliptical would be fine.  Swimming obviously is off the table for quite a while

Still not sure about Oceanside 2016, but I can be running and riding outside by October which gives me plenty of time for training if I choose to do it.

So all in all, just like people said and I doubted them, things do get better.  Lot of PT work ahead of me but will just deal with that as it comes.

Glad to hear it's coming along Chris!  Is the plate staying in or will they go back in and remove it down the road?

Thanks for the feedback -- I didn't even really put together that I ride low in the water, but once you said it, it made sense.  Now how to fix that??  Not a clue!

Full disclosure: I've only just (like in the last few swims, and only one before that video was taken!) started breathing bilaterally.  So the difference in my right and left strokes probably has something to do with the fact that I used to breathe only to the left side -- that's probably where the right arm stabilizing comes from.

The things that I noted (and only noticed on the slow video) are two things that you didn't point out, so I'm going to ask.  First, my left elbow drops significantly more than my right (my right arm stays out away from my body more than the left does).  Second, mid-way through my stroke, my left hand seems to turn and slice through the water, rather than continuing to grab it.  It doesn't feel like that, but that's what I see in the video.  Do you notice those things as well or am I being overly analytical?

Ok...as a weak swimmer, and someone who hasn't swam in nearly 2 years I didn't want to comment, but I noticed the exact same thing about riding low and vertical head movement when breathing.

Staying in (far as I know, it was never discussed).  I think they only remove plates if there is some issue with it or if the plate is hooked and near the outer end  (like Tab had?)

I see things to ask about, but have no idea of importance on any of it. I'm not sure on the riding low either. Maybe looking again at that dopey video Fred posted awhile back. Get the torso up and floating a bit better. Seems like your head might be dropped some too, TT position like, and might come up more easily with the torso position. I don't know, trying to think of something to look at.

Noticed what Arend did on the kick. Generally seems ok as you're able to keep the motion up and have good flexion. They do flair to the side, but this could be from something going on up front. For me, it's been like tjfry has said in that much of those types of issues are a result of counteracting something farther forward in the line. Exactly what, I don't know, but would try to keep looking there more.

To me at least it seems the entry into extension is going well. Nice long rail like appearance on the side going. I wonder some after that though. The arms seem to  go out some before they go down. Like one might with breast stroke or butterfly. The right arm especially goes very wide. Generally, the hands do stay at least shoulder width, but this is all the way out under the elbow. Masters coach had me stop trying to go that wide and pull more straight back. The left does more s-stroke in there. It may not be an issue, but it's more complex to get right with all the changes in direction. Again with the straight back.

On the entry to catch (or downswing area), are you still feeling the water sliding past your hand? I could be off, but looks like you might be pressing down some already instead of going through the water still. Definitely getting the elbow up there early, it's just to me something about it seems a bit snappy for the speed you're moving at. Hence the suspicion of starting the pull early and maybe pushing down a little. That could be part of the torso positioning feeling I can't quite shake too. Though would still look at what was said earlier. That might be harder to see with you as your torso is a fair amount smaller than that of the olympians we're used to seeing the videos of. Well, except maybe Janet Evans, but good luck copying that!

Yeah that makes sense.  The hook plate she had is the only type I have any experience with.

Interesting that you typically only breathe left, it makes sense that the right arm flair is a result of that.  It reinforces my thought that your breathing is something you need to clean up a bit.  As for how, I haven't a clue either - just float better!    How do you do in a wetsuit?

As for your left arm pull, it really doesn't bother me.  I do see the odd stroke where it does what you describe but I see it on the right too, it seems pretty minor to me.  Ben's mention of the wide right arm pull is good too.  It can be a powerful motion but I think you have to be able to do the crazy hyper-extension and rotation of the shoulder joint that the super fast swimmers do in order to not put stress on the joint.   

Been going through the hardware removal discussion with my surgeon. My plate is on the humerus (plus 14 screws) and has minor impingement (of the acromion) that affects ROM. I also still have a fair amount of discomfort from the plate. I waited 12 months to see how much it would resolve or if I was ok with just "living with it"  but have decided to go ahead with the surgery. He's going to clean up scar tissue/adhesions while he's in there. Surgery is scheduled in 3 weeks. It's supposed to be a much easier recovery and rehab. I'll let you know if that's my experience. 

When Tab had hers removed, it was instant relief for her.

edited to defunk the font.

Hmm, all blue caps is weird. 

Re swim kicks....I think we've talked about this before but have no hope of finding it. Board or no board? What % of your workout - or better - what percent of the workout should it be for someone with a bad/non-existant kick? How do you actually work on "timing" for anything other than 2 beat? And I know this is a total rookie question...but what is the proper way to hold board and position body. Swim team kids that I see never use boards. Others that do use them are all over the place - heads up/heads down/arms out/arms back...etc. 

This is how I use it and how I see I see the swim team kids use it most of the time.  No idea who the kid is but I like the cap.    

That said, kicking without a board is probably a better choice for working on technique.  The board is great for just hammering away at a kick set to work the legs.

As for timing, I don't think I've ever really gotten the timing right on a strong 6 beat kick.  It's probably what held me back from being a better freestyler as a kid.  Getting the timing on a 2 beat kick is the only thing I've been semi successful at.

Well, I'm certainly capable of acquiring a cool cap... 

Citing tj again, use the board. It provides leverage/a counterbalance to the kick motion that you lack without the arms being involved. There isn't one way to hold the board, but the idea is to hold it in a way so that your body is in a good position to kick like when you're swimming. So looking at the holding method is looking in the wrong spot. See what happens to your body and adjust the hold to get it where you need. In general though, I think it'll be sort of close to the pick Arend put up with some more minor variations in hand position and bending of elbows.

I don't know if doing a percent of the total all the time is what you want, but if you can see about putting in a few week block where you are kicking more. I certainly noticed a difference in first trying to do a few hundred yards to being able to handle just over a 1,000 at a time a couple times a week though not sure you have to do that much for what you want. Never built up enough to do several thousand like some of the others did. Like with the rest of swimming, do break this into intervals too. And try to push fast, at least at times.

I only tried to do a 2-beat kick, so not sure how to do more. Well, except for sprints, but those would fit better into "chased by shark" than anything else.

ETA: After a little kick-focused period, maybe try for like near 10% a week for kick total. Hear this from some solid triathletes pushing their swims. Some more swim oriented people have said 15-20%. The total isn't 10% every session. Look more at the overall for the week, so it could be like 5%, 5%, 20% if you swam 3 times that week.