I'm wondering if any of the Triabetes captains have worked on the new swim techniques we picked up from Celeste at Diabetes Training Camp. I've been in the pool twice a week since camp and I think it's mostly hit and miss so far. As soon as I think I'm getting the hip rotation and arm extension, I catch myself thrashing in the water too much or over-rotating. But overall I think I'm getting somewhere.
What seems to be working for me is the stroke count drill and forcing myself to swim "quietly". I read in one of the Triathlete magazines that everything about the swim stroke is supposed to be "pretty", so I try to keep that as a reference point. Needless to say whatever I'm producing in the pool isn't anywhere near pretty yet.
Does anyone have any good drills or workouts that they'd like to share? For me what works is speed drills. I read somewhere that when you swim fast, you are more or less forced to swim with better technique so I always try to put lots of speed drills into my training.
I've been snooping around online forums reading up on the swim at Ironman Wisconsin - trying to get a sense of where best to start in a field of 2500 swimmers. Carlene found an old commercial online that cracked me right up - I guess that's what I have to look forward to in a few months.
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Thanks for the video. :-) Very scary, but I guess I have to be ready for it.
ReplyDeleteI'm sure Kevin can tell you about the benefit he had from putting his DTC swim training to use. He was first in his age group at Havasu last weekend, at least partly because of his improved swimming.
It's interesting what you say about speed. I have the TI book, and it talks about how important it is to swim slow enough to get your form correct. You seem to say it's easier to get your form right going faster.
I, of course, wouldn't know.
The TI author also says that the fastest swimmers never, never, never win triathlons. They wear themselves out to gain a few seconds, actually making it easier on the competitors drafting on them. And they do this at the start of an endurance event, which is obviously a bad idea if you think about it. It's like sprinting the first 200 yards of a 5K.
So he says go easy in the swim.
My goal is still just to be able to beat the cutoff time.
I don't swim like Celeste yet, but I am no longer last out of the water using some of her techniques. Your swim was already pretty good so improvement will take more time...lol
ReplyDeletefor the IM Wisconsin swim, I started about 3/4 of the way back to the very left. (Make sure you give yourself plenty of time to get through the congestion at the mats entering the water.) I am slower so place myself accordingly. My first laps are usually faster because I am fresher and I have more of a draft. It seems, even if it is a bit crowded, I tend to get through faster. I think I had a pretty clear swim in Wisconsin. Because of the water start, it seems to be a little less chaotic than other races I've done. At least it was for me last year!
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