Had a horrible swim session this morning. Half way through I wanted to sack it all off and go home. Please tell me it gets easier at some point. I'm happy I can get round the bike, I know ill drag my star round the run, even if I have to walk loads, but it would be shite if I didn't make the swim cut off
Matt.......only a very few people don't make the cutoffs in the swim...you really have to have a total mare.....doesn't help if you are one of those....
we all have bad swims........just keep at it.......
It's not that it's boring, there's just so much to it. Try to focus on one thing and the rest goes to pot. Then just as you think it's coming together it all falls apart.
I'm keeping breast stroke as a back up, but I'd like to FS as much as poss
Stick at it Matt, once it clicks you get big improvements but it's not an easy path!
Couldn't do the full swim today as staying in a hotel and the tiny pool was full of kids and people paddling - plus I couldn't remember what the session was (much more complicated all of a sudden!) Called it a day after 1.5K and hit the tready for an hour.
Matt, my road to Damascus moment was when a Pirate called SoupDragon pointed out that a) your lungs are filled with air and b) your legs are heavy, so the body naturally wants to right itslef and create drag. Seems obvious right? SD told me to try and lean forward on to my chest, this helped reduce drag and virtually over night I went from struggling to swim a 400m sprint FC to being able to splash up and down for a mile. Stick with it and I'm sure you'll crack it!
1 hour on the treadmill for me today and really enjoyed the introduction of the intervals, so much so did them between 10 and 20 minutes and 40 and 50 minutes. 13.5k in the hour all done in Z2. Loving this HR malarky!
Matt, my road to Damascus moment was when a Pirate called SoupDragon pointed out that a) your lungs are filled with air and b) your legs are heavy, so the body naturally wants to right itslef and create drag. Seems obvious right? SD told me to try and lean forward on to my chest, this helped reduce drag and virtually over night I went from struggling to swim a 400m sprint FC to being able to splash up and down for a mile. Stick with it and I'm sure you'll crack it!
1 hour on the treadmill for me today and really enjoyed the introduction of the intervals, so much so did them between 10 and 20 minutes and 40 and 50 minutes. 13.5k in the hour all done in Z2. Loving this HR malarky!
Matt, my road to Damascus moment was when a Pirate called SoupDragon pointed out that a) your lungs are filled with air and b) your legs are heavy, so the body naturally wants to right itslef and create drag. Seems obvious right? SD told me to try and lean forward on to my chest, this helped reduce drag and virtually over night I went from struggling to swim a 400m sprint FC to being able to splash up and down for a mile. Stick with it and I'm sure you'll crack it!
1 hour on the treadmill for me today and really enjoyed the introduction of the intervals, so much so did them between 10 and 20 minutes and 40 and 50 minutes. 13.5k in the hour all done in Z2. Loving this HR malarky!
Found it, the exact quote was:
"Its about laws of physics - if your top half is too high your bottom half will sink to compensate. Your lungs are full of air which float and will naturally want to bounce upwards, so if you slightly lean in on them you will become automatically more balanced."
to add ... breathe in and breathe out, dont keep a lung full of air as this will exacerbate the problem as above, continue to slowly breathe out until you need to take another breath just as you would do naturally
You'll also (probably) be wearing a wet suit which does (from my limited experience make swimming a little easier, imo. Just hope that it isn't a hot summer and they go without the wetsuit
You'll also (probably) be wearing a wet suit which does (from my limited experience make swimming a little easier, imo. Just hope that it isn't a hot summer and they go without the wetsuit
You can stop that nonsense straight away........THIS IS NOT AN OPTION........
Well that was fun. 1Hr run with the 5 * 1min sprints starting at 10 mins. That meant 3rd sprint was up hill and I though I was going to puke up my heart. However survived it and feel rather proud of myself now. Still appallingly slow but that should improve with time and practise. It took me back to when I was first starting to run on the C25K program, it was just as hard to sprint 60 seconds as it was when I first had to run for 60 seconds. Which has reminded me I never want to go back and start over ever, so much hard work required to get going.
Definitely a confidence boost and good start to the day.
When the swim is all going wrong, just try swimming easy -
ie dont push the pace, just slow down and try and get the technique back. When mine goes to crap I focus back on just being streamlined again, ie head tucked into shoulder behind the lead arm... Then add back in the body roll.... Then add back in the catch.......
thien if its all together again start trying to go fast again.
Its amazing how it comes together again whenh you slow down a bit....
if its still rubbish, just do some drills for the session...???
britrisky.there have been some discussion about pullbuoys.........the one argument tells you not to get dependant on them or it stops you learning how to hold yourself in the water properly without one.just use them for some arm drills.......
then one of the top coaches stated that he gets all his pros to use them all the time as it replicates the wetsuit and they always race in a wetsuit..
I am a crap swimmer and the only way i could move up from 2 lengths was with a pullbuoy...........i do all my swimming with a pullbuoy.........
which means i am getting better in the openwater swims...............but if i ever go to a race and they officially call it a non wetsuit swim i am going to be up the creak without a paddle................and I can never enter shorter swimming pool passed tri.....
(apart from one in May that i have been desperate to do and i will have to breast stroke/walk/ cheat my way through the swim)
Quick straw poll. Following the intermediate plan and I am struggling to get all the sw sessions in, in base I have averaged one a week. In those sessions I am completing the sessions with drills etc in the hour and the 2.5k zombie swim. Now we have moved in to build should I:
A) move on to the swim sets from the build phase OR
carry on with those from base until they have all been completed
For what it is worth, I am thinking A even though I won't cover the full session in an hour.
sorry stanners i can't advise on swimming......I'm just keeping with 2 one hour sessiosn of zombie swimming .the same as base but hoping to slowly increase the distance
Got a nice 3:30 bike ride in. 53 miles on a recce of the motion in mercia route. Blimey its cold out there. Think to get some better tights, gloves and work out how to keeep my feet a bit warmer. I was thinking at one point that I could sell it as a cheap sex change operation
Got a nice 3:30 bike ride in. 53 miles on a recce of the motion in mercia route. Blimey its cold out there. Think to get some better tights, gloves and work out how to keeep my feet a bit warmer. I was thinking at one point that I could sell it as a cheap sex change operation
Cold ... so fecking cold ... don't think I've ever enjoyed a bike ride less!
week 11 on fink and he has added a couple more brick sessions for me..one before the long run and one after the long bike.....
today was freezing again but i got out on the bike and did my 30 mins outside before a quick change and off for my 12 and a bit miles.found the flatest route around here and managed to keep my HR below 140 for most of the route.............
so pleased.off for a bike fitting tomorrow on my brand new summer bike
Comments
Matt.......only a very few people don't make the cutoffs in the swim...you really have to have a total mare.....doesn't help if you are one of those....
we all have bad swims........just keep at it.......
Swim swum and bike done. Bit difficult doing speedwork on the roads but it was such a lovely day I just couldn't put the bike on the turbo
7755matt - the swimming definitely gets easier. Keep plugging away.
I'm keeping breast stroke as a back up, but I'd like to FS as much as poss
Lets see how tomorrows session goes.
Might try to get some more 1:1 time
Couldn't do the full swim today as staying in a hotel and the tiny pool was full of kids and people paddling - plus I couldn't remember what the session was (much more complicated all of a sudden!) Called it a day after 1.5K and hit the tready for an hour.
Matt, my road to Damascus moment was when a Pirate called SoupDragon pointed out that a) your lungs are filled with air and b) your legs are heavy, so the body naturally wants to right itslef and create drag. Seems obvious right? SD told me to try and lean forward on to my chest, this helped reduce drag and virtually over night I went from struggling to swim a 400m sprint FC to being able to splash up and down for a mile. Stick with it and I'm sure you'll crack it!
1 hour on the treadmill for me today and really enjoyed the introduction of the intervals, so much so did them between 10 and 20 minutes and 40 and 50 minutes. 13.5k in the hour all done in Z2. Loving this HR malarky!
Found it, the exact quote was:
"Its about laws of physics - if your top half is too high your bottom half will sink to compensate. Your lungs are full of air which float and will naturally want to bounce upwards, so if you slightly lean in on them you will become automatically more balanced."
to add ... breathe in and breathe out, dont keep a lung full of air as this will exacerbate the problem as above, continue to slowly breathe out until you need to take another breath just as you would do naturally
You'll also (probably) be wearing a wet suit which does (from my limited experience make swimming a little easier, imo. Just hope that it isn't a hot summer and they go without the wetsuit
How different is this to previous years?
You can stop that nonsense straight away........THIS IS NOT AN OPTION........
Pixie.....4 1/2 months not six months.......
so you do the one loop..then the second loop..then back and do the first loop again...........haven't done the course before...............
I did panic about the hill until I realsied its in feet not metres
Well that was fun. 1Hr run with the 5 * 1min sprints starting at 10 mins. That meant 3rd sprint was up hill and I though I was going to puke up my heart. However survived it and feel rather proud of myself now. Still appallingly slow but that should improve with time and practise.
It took me back to when I was first starting to run on the C25K program, it was just as hard to sprint 60 seconds as it was when I first had to run for 60 seconds. Which has reminded me I never want to go back and start over ever, so much hard work required to get going.
Definitely a confidence boost and good start to the day.
Matt
When the swim is all going wrong, just try swimming easy -
ie dont push the pace, just slow down and try and get the technique back.
When mine goes to crap I focus back on just being streamlined again, ie head tucked into shoulder behind the lead arm...
Then add back in the body roll....
Then add back in the catch.......
thien if its all together again start trying to go fast again.
Its amazing how it comes together again whenh you slow down a bit....
if its still rubbish, just do some drills for the session...???
(Are you allowed them on the day? - under my wetsuit, maybe??!!)
britrisky.there have been some discussion about pullbuoys.........the one argument tells you not to get dependant on them or it stops you learning how to hold yourself in the water properly without one.just use them for some arm drills.......
then one of the top coaches stated that he gets all his pros to use them all the time as it replicates the wetsuit and they always race in a wetsuit..
I am a crap swimmer and the only way i could move up from 2 lengths was with a pullbuoy...........i do all my swimming with a pullbuoy.........
which means i am getting better in the openwater swims...............but if i ever go to a race and they officially call it a non wetsuit swim i am going to be up the creak without a paddle................and I can never enter shorter swimming pool passed tri.....
(apart from one in May that i have been desperate to do and i will have to breast stroke/walk/ cheat my way through the swim)
Britriski. Nice to meet you on Sunday at the bike/ Tri show.
Alas the Fink intermediate says only once every 6 sessions, so I'm not going to get dependent.
Just booked hotels for the full and half. All getting a bit more real
A) move on to the swim sets from the build phase OR
carry on with those from base until they have all been completed
For what it is worth, I am thinking A even though I won't cover the full session in an hour.
sorry stanners i can't advise on swimming......I'm just keeping with 2 one hour sessiosn of zombie swimming .the same as base but hoping to slowly increase the distance
I'm no help either. Just sticking to 2 zombie sessions.
Have actually just added up my swim sessions for the first 10 weeks. They added up to.....10 which appears to be lesss than 2 a week
Got a nice 3:30 bike ride in. 53 miles on a recce of the motion in mercia route.
Blimey its cold out there. Think to get some better tights, gloves and work out how to keeep my feet a bit warmer. I was thinking at one point that I could sell it as a cheap sex change operation
Swim cut short by vomit in pool tonight (not mine) so early tea!
Cold ... so fecking cold ... don't think I've ever enjoyed a bike ride less!
hope the holiday weeks are what you need EP.....
week 11 on fink and he has added a couple more brick sessions for me..one before the long run and one after the long bike.....
today was freezing again but i got out on the bike and did my 30 mins outside before a quick change and off for my 12 and a bit miles.found the flatest route around here and managed to keep my HR below 140 for most of the route.............
so pleased.off for a bike fitting tomorrow on my brand new summer bike