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March 20, 2005
swimming progress
On Monday, Mary, our swim coach, held a wetsuit clinic where we tried on our wetsuits again while she gave us tips on how to put them on, how to take them off, and how they should fit. After donning our neoprene we hopped in the pool to do about 40 minutes of swimming. This was the first time we’ve had a chance to swim with them on.
All I have to say is wow! It’s crazy how buoyant the wetsuit makes you. It’s like giving you a few percentage points of body fat all over you body. For a natural sinker like me, it makes all the difference. And to sweeten the pot, the wetsuits are super slippery when wet, allowing you to glide through the water. I was able to complete the swim with out nearly as much difficulty as usual. The wetsuit will definitely be a boon for me in the water come race time.
After swimming around in the neoprene for a while, we took them off and did another 10 or so minutes of normal drills. As has been the case for the last couple of practices, Mary has watched me swim for a few minutes and offered some tips on how I might become more efficient. (Actually, that last statement would imply that there was some efficiency in my stroke, which is a lie if I’ve ever heard one.) Usually when she offers me some advice, I’ll try it out, but it has never been the silver built that will make it all click for me. I fell like in swimming, it’s all or nothing. You have to have a pretty solid package of stroke, breathing, body position, etc. in order to swim effectively. If you’re missing just one of those elements, it seems like the whole system breaks down. Of course that’s just my thoughts on the subject.
Anyway, back to Mary’s advice. She really wasn’t suggesting anything new, just the same tips for arm entry in to the water, but this time it seemed to click. Which helped with my body rotation in the water, which in turn cut down on my resistance and helped my breathing. I was pretty tired because of the swimming we had down earlier, so I didn’t have my energy to try out the newest addition to my swimming toolbox, but needless to say, I’ve very excited about our swim tomorrow. It’s been a while since I’ve said that.
Posted by ksmith at March 20, 2005 04:08 PM