Did 6 sets of 50 yard drills in the pool after my warm up. Originally thought I might do 8 to 10. I did one drill then the next. After 6, I decided to stop drills because I wanted to get 400 yd without stopping and arm fatigue was setting in.
Both Drills worked the way they were suppose to.
Drill #1 Buoy (has a longer name, for this will call it the Buoy). Swim 25 yd without twisting body in water. Essentially this causes your chest to be driven down and you absorb a full frontal amount of resistance. Designed to cause you to raise your hips and legs in the water. Very effective, tiring but not killer. The second 25 you swim regular freestyle focusing on good form. Then rest 30 sec to a min.
Drill #2 PUNCH IT. Swim freestyle 25 yd. Instead of opening your hand to get an effective pull/push, you clench your hand into a fist and focus on using your whole forearm as the paddle. Designed to increase efficiency of stroke by making you use your whole arm. Works, works well. Secondary effect is you tend to sink more because your arm stroke is not helping you maintain buoyancy. Hence, I had to kick harder. The second 25 you swim regular freestyle focusing on good form. Then rest 30 sec to a min. Killer! I have felt comfortable in the water until now. Half way down the pool on the first 25 I felt uncomfortable. Panic is not the word I would use because I knew I could stop doing it at any point. Really caused me to focus on the stroke, mainly because I was not getting a good rhythm to breath, which I believe was the real problem. I was not getting enough breathe when my face was out of the water. I will continue this drill, hopefully next time it goes better.
I will take a second to say this format has really inspired me to work harder. I would say the last two years this early in the spring I would not have gone this hard this quick. I also have planned well to get to the pool, which is always a hassle, mainly to keep up with Matt. Also Eric is logging some time on the bike which makes me want to get on mine, which I am going to do this weekend.
Thanks, keep it up. The information has also been great.
1 comment:
Good post! I agree that all the training ideas and information are very helpful.
I think I was able to improve my running largely because of the structured CD training. I need to design better training sessions all the way around now. You seem to be doing this nicely.
Also I thought I'd mention that Genine has been working out. She hasn't been listing her workouts online but she has a journal. Her biggest concern about the triathlon was the swimming. We hit the pool this week and she surprised herself, it no longer seems completely impossible to her. We will keep working at it for sure.
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