Did I mention that MBH is taking swimming lessons? Yes, and I strongly support her.
Today, however, I took over her lesson with coach Gerald. Two for the price of one! That's a good deal.
Anyhow, coach Gerald prescribed several new drills to get better body balance with arms and legs, separately. What I really like are the 4- and 5-stroke swim that he had me practice. I'd read somewhere that it would be good to go to more strokes per breath, but what convinced me was that this would (a) allow me to better cope with OWS where others can bump into me or waves could disrupt my breathing, and (b) allow for faster swimming.
The 4-stroke swim was not too bad, but I struggled with the 5-stroke swim. Ran out of breath before the fifth stroke and had to quicken the last two strokes, which broke my rhythm.
Certainly need more practice.
Showing posts with label swim drills. Show all posts
Showing posts with label swim drills. Show all posts
Tuesday, February 2, 2010
Wednesday, April 29, 2009
TLog: Swim, bike, run (sounds vaguely familiar)
The crescent moon hung low, almost hugging the roof tops and its outline blurred by the humidity. The air was dead still, and the east coast was unusually quiet. Hardly anyone all the way until the UDMC seafood center, where a few occasional cyclists and strollers were out and about. Most of the seafood restaurants were empty. Not surprising, given this was 10 pm on a Wed night.
Wishing for rain - it has been a long time since I ran in the rain - but my wish was not to be. It felt kinda nice to be out at night. Couldn't remember the last night run. Would have been months ago.
But let's start from the top.
After slacking off for a week, it's back to higher intensity training this week.
Yesterday, 40 laps swim, with 20x50 m fast swim and 1 min recovery.
This was how it went:
1.02, 0.58, 1.02, 1.10, 1.06, 1.06, 1.06, 1.09, 1.07, 1.08 (30s recovery),
1.01, 1.03, 1.03, 1.04, 1.01, 1.05, 1.05, 1.06, 1.07, 1.09 (60s recovery)
ave: 1.054 (first 10 laps), 1.044 (second 10 laps); 1.049 overall. First time below 1 min on 50 m. But not sustainable.
Swimming beside me was an elderly man. No goggles, with a tummy but boy could he swim. Arms recovered low above water, not much kicking, but perfectly horizontal. He powered himself across the pool like a 20 year old. And he would recover, with a finger on his wrist to monitor his HR. Maybe 45 sec for a lap?
Today, stationary bike session in the morning: 10x4 min fast spinning (HR~155-170) with 3 min recovery. Found it harder than I thought, and managed only 8 reps. Was sweating buckets all the way. Phew.
Evening, an aerobic run. Was ambitious and wanted to do a long run. But could only manage 12 km. HR below 140 most of the time. Slow pace about 8 min/km. Was too preoccupied with various issues to concentrate. But enough to compose the short passage above. :)
Wishing for rain - it has been a long time since I ran in the rain - but my wish was not to be. It felt kinda nice to be out at night. Couldn't remember the last night run. Would have been months ago.
But let's start from the top.
After slacking off for a week, it's back to higher intensity training this week.
Yesterday, 40 laps swim, with 20x50 m fast swim and 1 min recovery.
This was how it went:
1.02, 0.58, 1.02, 1.10, 1.06, 1.06, 1.06, 1.09, 1.07, 1.08 (30s recovery),
1.01, 1.03, 1.03, 1.04, 1.01, 1.05, 1.05, 1.06, 1.07, 1.09 (60s recovery)
ave: 1.054 (first 10 laps), 1.044 (second 10 laps); 1.049 overall. First time below 1 min on 50 m. But not sustainable.
Swimming beside me was an elderly man. No goggles, with a tummy but boy could he swim. Arms recovered low above water, not much kicking, but perfectly horizontal. He powered himself across the pool like a 20 year old. And he would recover, with a finger on his wrist to monitor his HR. Maybe 45 sec for a lap?
Today, stationary bike session in the morning: 10x4 min fast spinning (HR~155-170) with 3 min recovery. Found it harder than I thought, and managed only 8 reps. Was sweating buckets all the way. Phew.
Evening, an aerobic run. Was ambitious and wanted to do a long run. But could only manage 12 km. HR below 140 most of the time. Slow pace about 8 min/km. Was too preoccupied with various issues to concentrate. But enough to compose the short passage above. :)
Thursday, April 23, 2009
TLog: Recovery week - familiar friend
Three rest days this week! I feel like a real slacker.
Tue: 10x100m swim. Instead of thinking fast, I tried thinking smooth.
Here're the lap times: 2.13, 2.13, 2.17, 2.17, 2.19, 2.18, 2.19, 2.21, 2.25, 2.20; ave: 2.18
Compared to the same workout last week, the average this week is only 1 sec slower. But I didn't feel as breathless and tired after each lap. Faster recovery. Total distance: 1.7km
Wed: Slow jog. Went out at 9 am, and the temp went from 30 deg to 34 deg. Heat training in preparation for hot run in Bintan.
The first three km were like being reacquainted with a familiar friend ... Zone 3 (HR 130 - 145). Had been some time since I ran in this zone and, well, it felt good. Especially after weeks of speedwork, I miss those Z3 runs. Completed 12 km.
Tue: 10x100m swim. Instead of thinking fast, I tried thinking smooth.
Here're the lap times: 2.13, 2.13, 2.17, 2.17, 2.19, 2.18, 2.19, 2.21, 2.25, 2.20; ave: 2.18
Compared to the same workout last week, the average this week is only 1 sec slower. But I didn't feel as breathless and tired after each lap. Faster recovery. Total distance: 1.7km
Wed: Slow jog. Went out at 9 am, and the temp went from 30 deg to 34 deg. Heat training in preparation for hot run in Bintan.
The first three km were like being reacquainted with a familiar friend ... Zone 3 (HR 130 - 145). Had been some time since I ran in this zone and, well, it felt good. Especially after weeks of speedwork, I miss those Z3 runs. Completed 12 km.
Friday, October 17, 2008
TLog: new swim drills
I was really pleased to learn a new set of swim drills earlier this week. The drill is to swim flat for five kicks, rotate to one side (five kicks), flat again (five kicks) and rotate to the other side (five kicks). Sounded easy, but I had to work hard to get it.
Started with 2 laps of each drill learnt earlier, and 9 laps of the new drill (total of 15 laps).
This is what I discovered:
I started zigzagging initially. So I had to focus on keeping my line (follow the black stripe!). Found that it helps to keep face down when rotating, then turn head to the side, before turning up to breathe.
Bobbing motion is still present. The flat position allowed me to regain balance and the horizontal position tends to get perturbed while rotating to my right (my vanilla weak side). Also, my turn to breathe while on the rights needed more work... head tended to come up and hips and legs got lowered.
Quite interesting (surprising) to realize that I reached the end of the pool faster when I simply focused on smooth motion. Guess the body rotation is working.
Other key points from today's training:
Need to slow down and focus on compact and slow kicks. No need for speed or power. Easy does it.
Need to work out the stiffness in the right shoulder. Had to stretch hard to keep alignment on the right.
Started with 2 laps of each drill learnt earlier, and 9 laps of the new drill (total of 15 laps).
This is what I discovered:
I started zigzagging initially. So I had to focus on keeping my line (follow the black stripe!). Found that it helps to keep face down when rotating, then turn head to the side, before turning up to breathe.
Bobbing motion is still present. The flat position allowed me to regain balance and the horizontal position tends to get perturbed while rotating to my right (my vanilla weak side). Also, my turn to breathe while on the rights needed more work... head tended to come up and hips and legs got lowered.
Quite interesting (surprising) to realize that I reached the end of the pool faster when I simply focused on smooth motion. Guess the body rotation is working.
Other key points from today's training:
Need to slow down and focus on compact and slow kicks. No need for speed or power. Easy does it.
Need to work out the stiffness in the right shoulder. Had to stretch hard to keep alignment on the right.
Wednesday, September 24, 2008
TLog: SLSK
SLSK is the swim version of KLKK ;)
Today's session was the longest thus far. Almost 1:40 for 20 laps. Why? The entire day, I had a crampy feeling in my right calf and my quads felt tight. So I decided to take it really slow. Hence SLSK.
The one thing I tried on the side drills was to take my time for the face to re-enter the water after breathing. Next, I focused on the rotating motion to breathe. I had been bobbing too much before, and had to re-straighten my position after every breathe. That was not right. Because I swam so slowly today, I had lots of time to breathe. That helped.
I also find that it helps to do a small downward rotation (face towards the bottom of the pool) first and then rotation up to breather. This accentuates the rotation feel (like a skewer through the head is the image I still remember!). It is analogous to the forward press before takeaway in the golf swing.
I was particularly pleased that I was able to hold my arm positions without the pull motion that I used previously. The downward pull tended to create vertical motion. Having eliminated that, the gliding motion is enhanced. This led me to think that perhaps I am getting the hang of it!
"Long, slow, smooth."
PS: The nose clip helps. I decided to get this after suffering through sinuses after every swim session. The water tends to get into my nose and the agitation stimulates mucus flow. Small price to pay ($7). Also got a swim cap. With the little hair I have left, it is worth the $30.
Today's session was the longest thus far. Almost 1:40 for 20 laps. Why? The entire day, I had a crampy feeling in my right calf and my quads felt tight. So I decided to take it really slow. Hence SLSK.
The one thing I tried on the side drills was to take my time for the face to re-enter the water after breathing. Next, I focused on the rotating motion to breathe. I had been bobbing too much before, and had to re-straighten my position after every breathe. That was not right. Because I swam so slowly today, I had lots of time to breathe. That helped.
I also find that it helps to do a small downward rotation (face towards the bottom of the pool) first and then rotation up to breather. This accentuates the rotation feel (like a skewer through the head is the image I still remember!). It is analogous to the forward press before takeaway in the golf swing.
I was particularly pleased that I was able to hold my arm positions without the pull motion that I used previously. The downward pull tended to create vertical motion. Having eliminated that, the gliding motion is enhanced. This led me to think that perhaps I am getting the hang of it!
"Long, slow, smooth."
PS: The nose clip helps. I decided to get this after suffering through sinuses after every swim session. The water tends to get into my nose and the agitation stimulates mucus flow. Small price to pay ($7). Also got a swim cap. With the little hair I have left, it is worth the $30.
Monday, September 22, 2008
TLog: workout, swim, bike
Felt soreness in upper body this morning, due to yesterday's workout. Managed to complete all eight prescribed exercises with equipment at Mulia hotel (JKT) gym, except for the workouts for abductors and adductors. So substituted with hamstring and quad curls instead. The air cycle was tough, managed only 25 reps and had to take breaks in between. Next time, I should do that earlier in the sequence instead of right at the end. The other exercise which was difficult was the pull down curl. Not used to these two exercises, iow, relevant muscles are underdeveloped.
Did a 30 lap swim yesterday evening. The night swim was interesting (have not done night swim for a very long time), as the shadows provided different perspective. The good thing was that underwater lights illuminated the silhouette and provided feedback on whether I was in the horizontal position. I think the pool is longer than 25 m, which made the total swim workout slight longer than 1000m.
A gentle 25k bike on the stationary bike in the gym. Distance was only an estimate. Idea was to keep HR about 120 and the average came in at 116. Time 60 min.
Hhhmmm. Come to think of it, I just completed three training sessions within 26 hours. And yesterday I had two training sessions. No wonder I feel a tad tired.
PS: Mulia Hotel overlooks the Senayan golf course. The last time I was in JKT was in the early 90s, and I recalled playing a round of golf at this course. If I am not wrong, I managed one par. Can't do that no more. :)
Did a 30 lap swim yesterday evening. The night swim was interesting (have not done night swim for a very long time), as the shadows provided different perspective. The good thing was that underwater lights illuminated the silhouette and provided feedback on whether I was in the horizontal position. I think the pool is longer than 25 m, which made the total swim workout slight longer than 1000m.
A gentle 25k bike on the stationary bike in the gym. Distance was only an estimate. Idea was to keep HR about 120 and the average came in at 116. Time 60 min.
Hhhmmm. Come to think of it, I just completed three training sessions within 26 hours. And yesterday I had two training sessions. No wonder I feel a tad tired.
PS: Mulia Hotel overlooks the Senayan golf course. The last time I was in JKT was in the early 90s, and I recalled playing a round of golf at this course. If I am not wrong, I managed one par. Can't do that no more. :)
Saturday, September 20, 2008
TLog: Swimming practice for this week
Second swim practice this week. Covered 20 laps, as I did on Tuesday. Same drills as before. Today's practice was better than Tuesday's. More relaxed.
Here are my observations:
1. Patience in practice: Learning new techniques takes time. Keep practicing and focus on ingraining the motion.
2. Surf's up: Geek telling Cody this, "Long, slow, smooth..." Taking it easy and slowly and focus on smooth motion.
3. Tendency for vertical movement (bob up and down). Focus on minimizing bobbing. Enables smooth head turn to breathe.
4. Gliding: starting to get the feel. Just relax and slow down everything. And surprisingly the gliding motion takes over.
5. Reaching out with the hands helps me glide better.
6. Easier to breath on the right than left. Perhaps this is because I am used to breathing on the right.
Here are my observations:
1. Patience in practice: Learning new techniques takes time. Keep practicing and focus on ingraining the motion.
2. Surf's up: Geek telling Cody this, "Long, slow, smooth..." Taking it easy and slowly and focus on smooth motion.
3. Tendency for vertical movement (bob up and down). Focus on minimizing bobbing. Enables smooth head turn to breathe.
4. Gliding: starting to get the feel. Just relax and slow down everything. And surprisingly the gliding motion takes over.
5. Reaching out with the hands helps me glide better.
6. Easier to breath on the right than left. Perhaps this is because I am used to breathing on the right.
Wednesday, September 10, 2008
TLog: Swimming practice
Received my training plan for the next two weeks and happy to note that there'll be more focus on swimming and cycling. The next targets to take part in the Bangkok marathon on Nov 23 and SCSM on Dec 7 are still in place, so LSD runs will continue. For this week, the key objective is to improve swim technique and get used to longer distances on the bike.
Had to move my schedule around a little, so went for a swim today. Here're the drills:
• Visualization: “I am a sheet of paper…floating in the water”. Get to feel as relaxed as possible.
• First drill: Butt up with only leg but no arm motion. Key: press down the chest to get the legs to come out behind! Breathe by looking up to the front. Do this at least 6 lengths of the pool, taking as much break as you need between consecutive sets.
• Second drill: Swim on side: Start off kicking as per above; then pull back your right arm and keep it to your side. Rotate to your left side of the body and kick along. When breathing, minimize lifting of the head by turning to the side for air.
• Aim to do 4 lengths for each side.
I managed to complete 6 lengths for each side, plus another two lengths for good measure.
This time around, the drills went much much better than the first on Monday. Perhaps I was more relaxed in a more secluded private pool, and took my time. One key I found useful in the first drill is to feel my butt in the air, and think "glide" rather than swim.
In the second drill, I concentrated on two keys: (1) to keep my eyes just beneath the surface and not too far down. That helps me to be in a good position to rotate my head to breathe (rather than bob up and down). When rotating, I concentrated on my chin touching the shoulder that is above water. Slow and easy, smooth and relaxed. (2) For my hand that is on my side to feel air. That would mean that my body is horizontal.
I also found that it helps initially to use the out-stretched arm to pull under me when I am rotating up to breathe. But with more practice, that became unnecessary.
It took an hour to complete the 20 laps, with lots of rest in between. HR stabilized after I got the hang of it. Rest periods became progressively shorter as well. Looking forward to the next swim practice!
Had to move my schedule around a little, so went for a swim today. Here're the drills:
• Visualization: “I am a sheet of paper…floating in the water”. Get to feel as relaxed as possible.
• First drill: Butt up with only leg but no arm motion. Key: press down the chest to get the legs to come out behind! Breathe by looking up to the front. Do this at least 6 lengths of the pool, taking as much break as you need between consecutive sets.
• Second drill: Swim on side: Start off kicking as per above; then pull back your right arm and keep it to your side. Rotate to your left side of the body and kick along. When breathing, minimize lifting of the head by turning to the side for air.
• Aim to do 4 lengths for each side.
I managed to complete 6 lengths for each side, plus another two lengths for good measure.
This time around, the drills went much much better than the first on Monday. Perhaps I was more relaxed in a more secluded private pool, and took my time. One key I found useful in the first drill is to feel my butt in the air, and think "glide" rather than swim.
In the second drill, I concentrated on two keys: (1) to keep my eyes just beneath the surface and not too far down. That helps me to be in a good position to rotate my head to breathe (rather than bob up and down). When rotating, I concentrated on my chin touching the shoulder that is above water. Slow and easy, smooth and relaxed. (2) For my hand that is on my side to feel air. That would mean that my body is horizontal.
I also found that it helps initially to use the out-stretched arm to pull under me when I am rotating up to breathe. But with more practice, that became unnecessary.
It took an hour to complete the 20 laps, with lots of rest in between. HR stabilized after I got the hang of it. Rest periods became progressively shorter as well. Looking forward to the next swim practice!
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