TLog updates

It's been a while, but I had a one-on-one swim session with coach last week. These weeks with SportInc appeared to be paying off. My swim had improved. But as always, there's room for improvement. Three important techniques for me:

1. front quadrant swimming
2. acceleration through the stroke
3. grab with lats

Need to work on these. Noticeable difference in the feel, though.

Coach shared some tips on long distance riding, and I'd be putting some to good use soon.

Bike n Blade this weekend would be the longest bike rides (not one, but two) for me. Attended the briefing last Fri. An event report to follow.

Last weekend's long rides were disrupted - partly due to weather. Sat's ride was cancelled due to gusty wind and heavy rain forecast. We were cheated as the rain didn't materialize. Four of us went for a CCR ride, and I managed to put in 74 km before running out of time.

Sunday's ride was supposed to be 110km Mandai loops, but once again, I was tripped up because of the weather. By the time I accompanied TC back, it was almost 7 am and even if the weather held up, I'd be hard pressed to complete the distance if I weren't to miss service two weeks in a row.

I have some hard decisions to make. Essentially, I was giving up family time for junk miles, which is a terribly bad trade. Perhaps I should focus more on quality riding? Do more trainer sessions? Reorganize our rides?

TLog: swim sets

Today's swim (40 laps):

warm up: 1.08, 1.01, 0.56, 1.02, 1.01 (ave:1.016) 30s rest
pull: 1.01, 0.59, 1.00, 1.03 (ave: 1.008) 30s rest
10x100: 2.04, 2.11, 2.10, 2.09, 2.11, 2.14, 2.13, 2.14, 2.13, 2.10 (ave: 2.109) 1 min rest

Compared to last swim with the De Soto speedsuit, there is small difference (<1 sec) for the warm up and pull buoy timings, and almost 3 sec per 100m difference on the main set. Not exactly similar conditions - evening at Laguna pool (25m) versus morning at Bedok SC (50m). So some degree of caution in interpretation is necessary.

Amidst the emphasis on speed, I have forgotten one basic technique, which is to catch only when the other hand is entering the water. I had started the catch too early and that caused some loss in glide efficiency. Also, with the right timing, the body goes into the lateral position better. Again more efficient swimming. Need to internalize these motions again. It is all about muscle memory so that on the actual OWS, it all clicks into place without conscious thought.

TLog: swim review and 1-km intervals

Met up with coach last Friday for a swim review. A few points noted - initiate earlier left pull, avoid strong kick on left side, ensure no crossing over when reaching on the right. Focused on these tweaks this morning and happy to note the fall in lap timings:-
Pull drill lap time: 1.16, 1.13, 1.14, 1.17, 1.16, 1.17,1.21, 1.20, 1.22, 1.21,1.19, 1.16
Front crawl lap time: 1.15, 1.13, 1.18, 1.14, 1.14, 1.24, 1.20, 1.18, 1.20, 1.16

The tradeoff was a slight increase in stroke count ... up to 20-21. And one more thing. Hypothesis: Bilateral breathing leads to faster laps. Hypothesis not tested, just based on anedoctal evidence.

Ran 5 1-km intervals last Sat and here are the splits:

5.16
4.59
5.12
5.10
5.06

400m jog recovery between the intervals. I was quite surprised with this workout, coz I thought I could probably do only 5:30. Ave HR went up with successive interval and max HR was 186 recorded on the fifth 1-k interval.

TLog: miss 'em swim sessions!

With the focus on the Tokyo marathon in three weeks' time, I'd to cut down on the swim sessions - to just once a week. When I went back to the pool on Sunday, I was kinda glad to swim. Never thought that would happen! Any way, 30 laps on basic drills.

This morning was back in the pool - and I focussed on the leg kicks. I never really liked the kick drills. Just too slow and dreary. But the slower pace allowed me to remember some friends in supplication. And all too soon, the four laps were over!

Tried the 4-kick motion, and to time the kick with the pull. Not sure if I did the right thing, but it seemed to provide better thrust. As my good friend PK said, as we grow older, we look for more efficient techniques. Was able to complete the 30 laps in a record 52 minutes - my PB!

And another thing ... I started counting strokes again. Now doing 20 - 21 strokes per 25m. That is down from 22 - 23 a number of weeks ago. The surprise is that with a longer glide, I'd have thought that the pace would slow. Instead, my 50-m lap time went down to 1:20 - 1:23. So must be on the right track! :)

Fink on Swim Techniques

Extracted from Chapter 10 of Be Iron Fit by Don Fink

Body position: think sleek, slipper torpedo.
Press upper torso into the water to allow hips and legs to rise to the surface.
Body rotation - (1) adds leverage to each stroke, (2) makes breathing more efficient and (3) decreases body profile, hence reduce drag.
Flaws to avoid: (1) low hips (2) swimming flat. Chest lean drill to improve body position

Stroke mechanics:
Entry above head and in front of shoulder. Avoid overreaching (hands crossing over centerline of body, creating fishtail effect), limited glide (beginning stroke immediately... pause at the end of extension before catch).

Catch: shoulder rolls forward as elbow bends, but remains high in the water. Wrap hand and forearm around a barrel in the water. Avoid dropping elbows and lack of shoulder roll.

Pull: pull back in S-like shape. Avoid lack of follow-through.

Release/Recovery: do a soft recovery, arms gently returning through the air.

Kick: Smaller, more efficient kick recommended. Kick to help rotate body and maintain proper position, but dohould do little to propel forward. Avoid big kick (too large, too wide) and too many kicks per stroke.

Turbulence: Side-to-side turbulence through hands crossing over in front of head, and kicking too big.
Up-and-down turbulence lifting head to breathe.

Swim lesson

First swim lesson with coach. Learnt how to balance in water and keep my butt up. Sounds easy but far from easy. :)

Drank lots of water, but at the end of the hour, I understood how it should be like. But not there yet.

Realized how difficult efficient swimming is. so got to work really hard at this!