The other day I had a long conversation with my dad about swimming. See, he used to swim. So, if you are keeping track, my father, who theoretically should have passed down a good portion of his genes, was a good swimmer, and also a good runner. And now he is a 62-year old cyclist kicking the butts of guys half his age. My dad definitely passed on his nose and his smile. The athletic ability, apparently, he kept for himself.
So my dad called me randomly to share some swimming tips. (This is normal. Sometimes we have 20-minute conversations at 10 pm about the fueling merits of Jelly Belly Sport Beans vs. GU.) What he told me was to try something called the s-curve pull technique when swimming. I don't think he actually called it that, but when he described it I recognized the concept as something familiar. It turns out one of my favorite bloggers had mentioned it on her blog (Fitnessfatale.com), where she said she had originally been taught that method, then later learned it was wrong. My dad said when he was taught that method he got significantly faster. (Before he learned that method he was already about 15 seconds per 50/yards faster than me!) I told him that was pretty much the opposite of everything I have read. But I also said I would give it a try because I really have nothing to lose at this point.
I looked up the s-curve pull on youtube and Google and found out it is actually one of those "controversial" things in swimming. People seem to be divided about whether it is effective. On swimsmooth.com I found this:
These days all great swimmers enter with a flat hand and pull straight back to the wall behind them. It's faster and has a much reduced risk of shoulder injury.
Read more: http://www.swimsmooth.com/contentious.html#ixzz2TrJpoDC8
However, I also found a clip on youtube of Michael Phelps (maybe you've heard of him?) swimming freestyle and he was clearly using the s-curve pull technique. So obviously not ALL great swimmers have abandoned this technique.
Of course, all of this may be irrelevant, because during my long swim today I attempted the s-curve and...I CAN'T DO IT! I realize that "can't" is not a word one often hears among Ironmen (and Ironman wannabes) so let me clarify. I CAN do the s-curve, if that is the only thing I am doing. And I mean only thing. As in, while doing the s-curve pull I am not completing my stroke with the other arm, I am not breathing, and I am, in fact, not moving. It takes so much concentration (and it just takes a really long time) to perform the s-curve that nothing else is getting done! My other arm is just lying there waiting for its turn. I cannot breathe and do the s-curve at the same time (this may be because I can only move one arm at a time while performing the s-curve, which means I am not rotating which means I am not breathing), so I come up sputtering for air. Thus, I am moving one arm wildly while not breathing and not moving anything else effectively. Consequently, I am moving a great deal, but not in a forward direction! I have never been so frustrated (and if you have read my other posts, that is saying a lot).
What attracted me to endurance sports in the first place is that they reward hard work almost more than natural ability. As one who clearly has no natural ability, except for the ability to work hard, endurance sports have always seemed like a natural fit. In high school I was known as the one who didn't run that fast, but who could run forever. As I described it to my sister, if I work really, really hard, I can be an average runner. I love running races even though I will never win anything. I can work and see progress. I have always only been "racing" against my previous self. I enjoyed working hard and seeing results and that has always been enough.
But something shifts when you find yourself devoting so much time to something. When you are training for an Ironman, training becomes pretty much the main focus in your life. And even though I have always known I am a "middle of the pack" athlete, and have been fine with it, it is difficult to spend so much time and effort in pursuit of something and not allow yourself the expectation of ever being "good" at it.
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| Nose and smile I got from Dad |
So my dad called me randomly to share some swimming tips. (This is normal. Sometimes we have 20-minute conversations at 10 pm about the fueling merits of Jelly Belly Sport Beans vs. GU.) What he told me was to try something called the s-curve pull technique when swimming. I don't think he actually called it that, but when he described it I recognized the concept as something familiar. It turns out one of my favorite bloggers had mentioned it on her blog (Fitnessfatale.com), where she said she had originally been taught that method, then later learned it was wrong. My dad said when he was taught that method he got significantly faster. (Before he learned that method he was already about 15 seconds per 50/yards faster than me!) I told him that was pretty much the opposite of everything I have read. But I also said I would give it a try because I really have nothing to lose at this point.
I looked up the s-curve pull on youtube and Google and found out it is actually one of those "controversial" things in swimming. People seem to be divided about whether it is effective. On swimsmooth.com I found this:
2. the s-shape pull
These days all great swimmers enter with a flat hand and pull straight back to the wall behind them. It's faster and has a much reduced risk of shoulder injury.
Read more: http://www.swimsmooth.com/contentious.html#ixzz2TrJpoDC8
However, I also found a clip on youtube of Michael Phelps (maybe you've heard of him?) swimming freestyle and he was clearly using the s-curve pull technique. So obviously not ALL great swimmers have abandoned this technique.
Of course, all of this may be irrelevant, because during my long swim today I attempted the s-curve and...I CAN'T DO IT! I realize that "can't" is not a word one often hears among Ironmen (and Ironman wannabes) so let me clarify. I CAN do the s-curve, if that is the only thing I am doing. And I mean only thing. As in, while doing the s-curve pull I am not completing my stroke with the other arm, I am not breathing, and I am, in fact, not moving. It takes so much concentration (and it just takes a really long time) to perform the s-curve that nothing else is getting done! My other arm is just lying there waiting for its turn. I cannot breathe and do the s-curve at the same time (this may be because I can only move one arm at a time while performing the s-curve, which means I am not rotating which means I am not breathing), so I come up sputtering for air. Thus, I am moving one arm wildly while not breathing and not moving anything else effectively. Consequently, I am moving a great deal, but not in a forward direction! I have never been so frustrated (and if you have read my other posts, that is saying a lot).
What attracted me to endurance sports in the first place is that they reward hard work almost more than natural ability. As one who clearly has no natural ability, except for the ability to work hard, endurance sports have always seemed like a natural fit. In high school I was known as the one who didn't run that fast, but who could run forever. As I described it to my sister, if I work really, really hard, I can be an average runner. I love running races even though I will never win anything. I can work and see progress. I have always only been "racing" against my previous self. I enjoyed working hard and seeing results and that has always been enough.
But something shifts when you find yourself devoting so much time to something. When you are training for an Ironman, training becomes pretty much the main focus in your life. And even though I have always known I am a "middle of the pack" athlete, and have been fine with it, it is difficult to spend so much time and effort in pursuit of something and not allow yourself the expectation of ever being "good" at it.
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