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April 18, 2008
Swimming
So you might have noticed a theme of sorts on my blog for the past several months - that being swimming and my HUGE desire to get better at it.
I'm confident enough to say that I'm not an awful swimmer. I'm okay. But of the three, swimming is definitely my weak link. I need improvement in ALL THREE sports for certain but I need the most improvement in swimming.
Now if I was totally focused on long course races I wouldn't be as concerned. Afterall, when you have 9 or 10 hours to make up for the 5 or 10 minutes you lost on the swim, it's not such a big deal. But unfortunately, I really, really like the Olympic distance, of which swimming is probably the most important compared to all other distances. Go figure.
So needless to say, becoming a better swimmer has been a big goal for me this year. I've gained a HUGE amount of motivation and just general knowledge from the blogging community this year in regards to swimming. We do, afterall, have quite a few swimming gurus and all-stars! And I'm so thankful for that.
I've really been focusing on each swim workout to make sure I get the very most out of it. That's been a big difference for me. I expect more out of myself each time I get in the pool. I work harder, swim harder, focus more on my form. I go to masters once a week to chase faster swimmers than myself. I even did a swim meet. I know all this will help, but probably the biggest factor of all is patience. I can remember talking with my coach last year utterly frustrated with my poor swim performances (I had several!). And you know what he told me? "Patience. You didn't run your very first 5K in 18 minutes. It took time to develop that speed and strength. Same way with swimming. Keep doing the work and you will get there." To which I thought - BA HUMBUG! Of course I knew he was right but I am the most impatient patient person there is. :) Yes, I will be patient. And trust me, I won't give up. I will keep at it until my arms fall off. Perserverence is one of my strengths. But in the meantime I will be VERY impatient for the result to come.
So a while back I decided I needed to swim MORE. I usually swim 4 days/week which adds up to anywhere from 10,000-20,000 yds. I asked my coach if I could add a 5th day. To which he agreed (but of course cautioned that added workouts are only beneficial if our bodies are about to absorb the work - so I had to make sure I wasn't getting overly tired). But the 5th swim had to be a day of drills and form work. So he gave me some ideas and then I asked our superstar blogger swimmers and Jen, Danielle, Eric (the guy who basically taught me how to swim) and some others gave me even more great ideas. Thanks guys!
So I finally got to add my 5th swim of the week in today (and will be doing so on weeks that I'm not racing for the rest of the season). I started off small - only 1500 total this morning but all drills and then at the end no breath 25s. I had to laugh when I read Elizabeth's post regarding breath control swimming. I feel about the same as she does regarding breath control (ie: not my favorite), but I am convinced I can master it. Today I did 8x25 of it and had to take 1 breath on all of them except the very last one where I FINALLY made it the whole way across the pool. Geez! That stuff is hard. And it seems so unnatural to me. Like Elizabeth said, as a runner I didn't practice breathing only every 9th breath on my half mile repeats on the track! :) But I can understand it's purpose and to tell you the truth, if you told me that clucking like a chicken while standing on one foot in the shallow end of the pool would make me faster, I would do it!
I know I still have a ways to go. Lots more form work. And lots more good old hard work. I know running and swimming are different in many respects but I suspect that what helped me to succeed in running will eventually help me reach my goals in swimming. Just keep on keeping on. I need A LOT of practice in open water. I need to master flip turns. I need to swim aggressively in my races. I need to believe in my own swimming.
After my little swim workout this morning I went on my easy recovery run of the week and I thought of how much I love running and how comfortable I am with it. I certainly got a HUGE head start with running but I really feel like I can learn to love swimming just as much and be just as at home in the water as I am on the roads running.
So patience. But don't mind me if I'm really impatient in the mean time... :)
Posted by beth at April 18, 2008 7:44 PM
Comments
Yea Beth YEA! You CAN and WILL do it - I have no doubt. Good for you for the 5th day of swimming with drills. That will really pay off. You inspire ME!
Posted by: marit c-l at April 19, 2008 4:30 AM
Beth!
Great post and SOOO true! I always say the same thing to everyone about swimming: PATIENCE, PATIENCE, PATIENCE. And, you are right! You will not get there by swimming 1-2x/per week! Nope...the more you swim, the better swimmer you are. People spend a TON of time analyzing their strokes, doing this and that - and YES that is important, but swim everyday and that will get your butt into gear. I swim a TON now that I am short course this year. I am NOT a natural swimmer either - I did not swim in college, compared to "purists"...well....so, I swim alot and I need it too! GOOD LUCK. Sounds like it is all paying off! :)
Posted by: Jennifer Harrison at April 19, 2008 8:07 AM
Beth,
I was thinking about you while doing swimming drills the other day. I think you hit it right on the head when you wrote that you need to get aggressive with your swim. Your splits from your 1650 were so incredibly even that you have the pacing down. And we know you have that distance runners' aerobic engine to keep you going too. Plus you are lifting regulary which is great for swimming. (I really should be doing it too!) I am keeping my fingers crossed that it all comes together for you next weekend!
By the way, I am always amazed when I read about how the ITU athletes swim. It seems like they pretty much start every single day with a 5k swim workout.
Have a great weekend.
Posted by: Danielle at April 19, 2008 8:35 AM
Adding that 5th day of swimming will help a lot.
I am not a natural swimmer either. Last November I went from swimming 3 days a week to 4. Then in december from 4 to 5. Now I normally swim 5 days a week and have seen my 100 meter interval times drop 7-10+ seconds on average.
There are some days when I swim horribly because I am tired and there are other days when I have amazing break throughs. That is all part of the process. You just have to trust that it will all work out and you will be ready to race when you need to.
Posted by: maija at April 19, 2008 7:05 PM