Three steps forward, one step back
After three weeks, I got back in the pool today. Due to the bad weather and the tri season that finished, I hadn’t really bothered much with swimming. Big mistake. I was seriously rusty. My swimming fitness faded just as quickly as it came.
I struggled through the first 600m and decided to take a bit of a break.
Rather than bailing out, I tried a number of new routines. I did a few “fist swimming” laps. I was quite surprised to see how fast I could actually go without using my hands. Proof that my technique isn’t horribly wrong.
I also did a few breast stroke laps. I’ve never done these and weren’t really sure if I were doing them properly, but it seemed to work… who knows? My knee felt a bit sensitive / sore with this new sideways kicking action, so I’m pretty sure some of the supporting muscles are a bit weak. I did around 250m of this. Hopefully this strengthen the muscles a bit.
I always felt that my kicking action was a bit wrong. It felt like my arms were doing 99% of the work and my legs were just kicking to look busy… just in case the boss walked past. Thus, I focussed a bit on my leg work. I turned on my back tried to optimize the kicking action. It went ok, but I think at most it will only contribute 15-20% of my speed.
Finally, I worked on my regular technique and was flying through the water. I tired quickly though and had to slow down every once in a while to catch my breath.
In the end, I was quite pumped and glad that I didn’t bail out. Swimming is truly the best full body exercise. I should make a point to get in the water more often. At least once a week.
Logbook Activity
- Type: Swim
- Date: 03/27/2008
- Time: 17:00:00
- Total Time: 00:50:00.00
- Calories: 378
- Distance: 1500 m
- Average Pace: 3:20/100m
Filed under: Swim |
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