Today at the pool I had a swim technique breakthrough! Okay, brace yourself for some swim technique jargon. I was reading an article about stroke length (how far you go in one swim stroke) and stroke rate (how many strokes you take to cover a given time or distance). Everything I have ever read says the key to increasing swim speed is technique, technique, technique; so I am always trying to figure out what I am doing wrong (because it is very clear that I am doing something very wrong). Based on the video Karin took of me swimming it looked like I was hitting most of the points of good technique, with the very obvious exception that I allow my legs to sink, which causes drag and slows you down. You still with me? Okay, so here are the things I try to focus on when I swim:
High elbow catch (This means keeping my arm close to a 90 degree angle after my hand enters the
water as I pull it back through the water.)
Torso rotation (rotating torso toward the side with the hand that is pulling through the water)
Horizontal legs (keep legs high for streamlined position on top of water)
Chin tucked into chest* (helps keep your legs up)
*This is nearly impossible for me because it makes me feel like I am choking, drowning and close to dying. So, still working on this one!
What I have not payed that much attention to, I realized, is my breathing. I mean I breathe every 3rd stroke, alternating sides, which is good. But I often forget to focus on keeping my face close to the water and rolling my head to the side rather than lifting it up, so as to use as little effort as possible to breathe. In fact, just yesterday I noticed that sometimes when I am tired and going fast (by my standards) I take longer to catch what I feel is a full breath and I almost pause mid-stroke, to make sure I have enough time to get enough breath. Well this article I was reading mentioned this very thing, this gap, or dead space in a swim stroke. It's referred to as not "swimming smooth" and it is obviously very important to swim smooth. (In case you haven't already drawn this conclusion, it can be very hard to focus on every little thing when every little thing is apparently so important.) Apparently many swimmers often take their head too far out of the water when they breathe, which causes this break in their stroke, which then causes drag and is almost like hitting the brakes, slowing them way down. (And by them, I think I mean me.) The key is to rotate your head just enough that your mouth clears the surface and you get a breath. It doesn't need to be a deep breath, and without lifting your head you can keep your stroke smooth.
Still with me???
So, today, I tried this. Well, the truth is I tried to do everything. But for several laps I focused specifically on breathing and...IT WORKED! My stroke stayed smooth! I seemed to have enough air. It immediately felt faster! BREAKTHROUGH! I was composing my victorious blog post while I swam. But I wasn't timing it. So I rested for about 20 seconds, then did 100 yards timed. I couldn't believe how different it felt! I felt like I was (comparatively) flying through the water! Here, finally, was the missing link. I couldn't wait to look at my watch!
1 minute 58 seconds.
If you noticed my last blog post, you will see that is, in fact, 3 seconds slower than my 100 yard intervals yesterday.
So, not exactly the breakthrough I had hoped for. But I suppose all this technique tweaking doesn't necessarily make me amazingly faster right this very minute. So I will add the breathing to the 3 million things I have to focus on while swimming, and I will keep working on it and I truly believe (because really what choice do I have?) that eventually it will make me faster.
High elbow catch (This means keeping my arm close to a 90 degree angle after my hand enters the
water as I pull it back through the water.)
Torso rotation (rotating torso toward the side with the hand that is pulling through the water)
Horizontal legs (keep legs high for streamlined position on top of water)
Chin tucked into chest* (helps keep your legs up)
*This is nearly impossible for me because it makes me feel like I am choking, drowning and close to dying. So, still working on this one!
What I have not payed that much attention to, I realized, is my breathing. I mean I breathe every 3rd stroke, alternating sides, which is good. But I often forget to focus on keeping my face close to the water and rolling my head to the side rather than lifting it up, so as to use as little effort as possible to breathe. In fact, just yesterday I noticed that sometimes when I am tired and going fast (by my standards) I take longer to catch what I feel is a full breath and I almost pause mid-stroke, to make sure I have enough time to get enough breath. Well this article I was reading mentioned this very thing, this gap, or dead space in a swim stroke. It's referred to as not "swimming smooth" and it is obviously very important to swim smooth. (In case you haven't already drawn this conclusion, it can be very hard to focus on every little thing when every little thing is apparently so important.) Apparently many swimmers often take their head too far out of the water when they breathe, which causes this break in their stroke, which then causes drag and is almost like hitting the brakes, slowing them way down. (And by them, I think I mean me.) The key is to rotate your head just enough that your mouth clears the surface and you get a breath. It doesn't need to be a deep breath, and without lifting your head you can keep your stroke smooth.
Still with me???
So, today, I tried this. Well, the truth is I tried to do everything. But for several laps I focused specifically on breathing and...IT WORKED! My stroke stayed smooth! I seemed to have enough air. It immediately felt faster! BREAKTHROUGH! I was composing my victorious blog post while I swam. But I wasn't timing it. So I rested for about 20 seconds, then did 100 yards timed. I couldn't believe how different it felt! I felt like I was (comparatively) flying through the water! Here, finally, was the missing link. I couldn't wait to look at my watch!
1 minute 58 seconds.
If you noticed my last blog post, you will see that is, in fact, 3 seconds slower than my 100 yard intervals yesterday.
So, not exactly the breakthrough I had hoped for. But I suppose all this technique tweaking doesn't necessarily make me amazingly faster right this very minute. So I will add the breathing to the 3 million things I have to focus on while swimming, and I will keep working on it and I truly believe (because really what choice do I have?) that eventually it will make me faster.
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