Back to the Pool Part 1

I feel bad for neglecting swim training sometimes since I really honestly enjoy being in the water.  Just about everyone under-emphasizes their swim since it's the discipline that least impacts race time.  In my case this is compounded, since I do better on the swim compared to my age group - I should be trying to get my bike and run times up to the middle of  the pack like my swim often is.  Still, 'use it or lose it' so I went back in the pool for the first time in a long while last week.



I've found trying to learn better swim technique to be very frustrating.  Joining a Master's Swim Club is not for me as making it to classes for a set time often doesn't work for me, and I don't really like the expense of it either.  When I try to learn on my own through reading and research, I come across articles like this one from Triathlon Magazine Canada.  It's an example where the total mileage of a swim workout far exceeds what I would do in a race, and some of the technical stuff confuses (note my question at the bottom of the article that has gone unanswered as of this writing), to say nothing of how impractical the idea of using a parachute would be while sharing the lanes with other swimmers.

Here's an example of a description of how to do a kicking drill:

 This makes no sense to me; if I'm lying sideways in the water, wouldn't my head be facing sideways too?  Is 'in front' towards the direction of my swim, in front of my face, in front of my body?

Here's a list of the things I actually do during swim workouts that are generally recommended.
My paddle gloves and pull-buoy.
Of course, the other part of reality that makes implementing drills so hard is the fact that at public pools, there is basically no such thing as Lane Etiquette, in spite of  a sign explaining it at the entrance to the pool. 
My favourite is people doing kick drills (without fins, mind you) in the 'Fast' lane; not even Michael Phelps would be fast if he was merely kicking with a flutter board.

Still I don't give up that easily, and I'm hoping to implement a few technical drills and improve my stroke so that this post will have a part 2, where I report a better swimming experience.

Labels: ,