SBR Utopia ~~~~ Permanently OPEN!! (Page 99)

I'll gladly turn it in...along with this snow shovel I never seem to use.  

Thanks James - great to be settled down enough to jump back in (to training, BT, other stuff).  I have a triple Oly distance at the end of June.  So far, it's the only tri on my schedule, but I'll find a few others in TX over the season.  Have a HM lined up in January (that I'm late in starting training for, so it'll be a slower race, but good to be back at it). Looking for interim/warmup races...

Still have to find a way to cycle around here, but there has to be a way to solve for that.  Thinking of getting a coach, too, as I am in new territory going over HIM distance (and I was hardly on solid ground there!).

Interesting reading all the posts here on the 100/100 challenge.  Funny thing is that I'd like to do it, but now that I'm thinking tri for next season, I have too much work to do on the bike and in the pool after my extended off-season that I think it'd limit my ability to do what I think I need (not going to add any more stress than necessary to my life!).

Matt

I'm as guilty as anyone with slacking on my pool time.  But I agree when he says:

So I don’t know how I can convince the average age-group swimmer that the ability to regularly put in the miles and enjoy swim training is the biggest ‘technique’ one must acquire.

But then in all his examples he talks about sub-hour IM swimmers.  Sorry but *of course* they aren't hurting themselves using the pull buoy all the time.  They already have great position in the water.

A wetsuit is buoyant but not really the same.  The pull buoy is good for a couple of specific things.  If you're using it, you should be actively working on one of those:

1) Sinking legs.  The buoy puts your hips on the surface so you can feel how to swim "downhill".  I'd recommend alternating sets: with buoy, then without.  Try to make them the same.  Occasionally add in the dreaded ankle-band drill.

2) Out-of-control or unbalanced kick.  The buoy takes your legs out of it.  This not only eliminates the kick but frees up your rotation, forcing correct hand entry, proper breathing and use of your core.  To really clean up the kick, you also need to learn the rhythm from a coach, or by watching a good swimmer.  When you do more sets without the buoy, focus on keeping the legs together like you're still holding it.  And maintain the timing to assist your rotation.  It's not just a random flutter.

So anyhow, yes, do what makes you happy and get in the pool more often.  And I wouldn't even be opposed to someone using it for, say, half their workout.  But sometimes we have to suck it up and work on something difficult to improve.

I saw another interesting comment on ST that caught my attention... because my opinion differs:

I've noticed triathletes often reach for the pullbuoy when they start to get tired, when what they should be doing is focussing on trying to keep a similar body position, whether they are kicking hard or just doing a 2 beat kick.

Well, guess what, if you start getting tired you can't pull as hard and you slow down.  Imagine dragging a rope through the water fast... it stays level.  Slow down and the end of it drops.  The same thing can happen to your legs.  It causes a vicious cycle (arms tired -> slow down -> legs drop and cause drag -> slow down more -> etc).  So if the problem is arm fatigue and you're trying to build up your endurance, then I don't have a problem with some buoy sets towards the end of the workout.

The PB debate is an interesting one to me.  It has been a crutch for me for a long time.  When I swam in University I was just pack fodder, nothing remarkable at all but give me a PB and suddenly I was swimming sets with the guys going to Olympic trials.  My coach was very anti-PB though and we almost never used them.

Mark's last comment about going to them when tired is very applicable to me as well, it's like a drug calling my name when I'm part way though a tough set and starting to struggle.  Even more so when I'm only swimming once or twice per week and not in good swim shape.  If I get in a few weeks of 3x then the reliance tends to be less.

For Jim, I agree that a PB could be a big help to get used to getting in a good position to improve your pull and body position.  You are losing a lot of power transfer because you don't get a proper rotation and catch that would let you engage your lats and core.  The comments from the others on head position etc are spot on as well.

Wasn't the tired issue one of Filliol's bullet points as well? Seem to remember something like not going for it just because one is tiring, but do use it if one would otherwise be swimming with poor form. The tipping point there is something I've struggled with, as in how much form loss before reaching for it.

Thanks to everyone for comments on my videos.  One thing the PB does is that it makes me much more aware of that side to side swaying of the hips (serpentine motion) that is typical of the Arnie type swimmer like myself (although my upper body is not muscular like some of the description, Jorge puts me in this category)

I am really wanting more peanut butter ...

So, do your legs sink or are you kicking pretty hard to keep in the right position?  Even when I do catch-up drills (similar to what you suggest, but maybe with less of a pause?), I find that I have to up the strength of my kick or I start to get lower in the water and waaay more draggy.  Seems that would defeat the purpose?

Just trying to understand the particulars, as I might try this tomorrow.

As for the PB, I don't often use it.  For me, it's usually planned as the second half of a long workout on a day when I knew my fatigue would be so high that if I did the workout without it, my form would $uck by the end (and from the group's discussion over the past couple years, I now work very hard to keep my form as tight as possible in the pool.  If only it were better to begin with!).  So, usually only PB during a big build week.

Matt

I've heard small fins (like zoomers) may be of help here to help get something going. More so with other drills that don't have a more regular pull going on, but maybe here too?

I was thinking just to get through the drill or other skill work where the pace would otherwise fall off significantly without a decent enough kick to keep it going. I never actually did use fins of any kind during a drill and was curious of other's thoughts. For actual kick development, yeah, that's another thing.

Jumping back into the conversations as I went MIA with some other interests and projects over the past number of weeks.  Finding that training has really dropped off lately, likely it's lowest level for a while, but needed to focus on other things + lost a bit of desire.  Trying to claw my way back, and I'm going to race an indoor tri on Saturday with my 10 year old.  15min swim/15min bike (electronic stationary bike)/15min run (200M indoor track) - gonna get my a$$ handed to me, but that's ok.  It's a good testing point, and they will have another one in Feb and I'll see if I want to race it or not.

For those interested, here is my race report for my marathon

Welcome back, Neil.  I was a bit MIA and am making my comeback today as well

Right after Thanksgiving, I came down with a nasty sinus infection.  I had a vacation to NYC planned, where we were planning to do much of our sightseeing by running, but that sinus infection really did a number on me.  I felt as miserable as I can remember for Sunday through the following Sunday (with the trip being Wednesday through Wednesday).  So between feeling as miserable as possible and actual freezing temperatures [once again -- no idea how those of you who deal with real winters do it!!], I decided to try to be smart and recover by not running.

And then after a week of not running (coming off a disappointing race) and being sick, I've found it difficult to be motivated to start back up.  I'm planning to run tonight....and actually meeting with a running coach tomorrow to see if we can work through this stagnant phase....and then using ST's 100/100 challenge to try to find some motivation.  I haven't any plans to ride or swim for the rest of the month....hoping this will help the running and allow me to get over being burned out and unmotivated.