Swim: how slow is slow? (Page 2)
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2008-03-11 1:36 PM in reply to: #1264537 |
Extreme Veteran 370 | Subject: RE: Swim: how slow is slow? Great advice, Aikidoman! I am by no means a swimmer but I had my best swim yet last Saturday. The difference, I slowed my stroke down and focused on reaching more. That gave me sooo much more time to get the breathing right and made it easier to add in a bit of a kick which saved my arms a bit. I managed to do a 200 yard swim when the longest I've ever done before is 100 breathless, exhausting yards. Tonight is another swim so hopefully I'll manage to emulate the same stroke again with even more success. To the OP, keep on going. Great advice here! --Chris |
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2008-03-11 1:59 PM in reply to: #1264537 |
Champion 10154 Alabama | Subject: RE: Swim: how slow is slow? I swam my first 100 yds this morning in: 1:50.08 But after 40 laps, my average per 100 yd was 2:20.62. I am pretty slow - guaging from the guys who swim in the adjacent lanes. I am a mid-to-back of pack swimmer and finished my IM swim in 1:30:04 ~Mike |
2008-03-11 2:15 PM in reply to: #1265576 |
Pro 4541 A farming town in MN | Subject: RE: Swim: how slow is slow? Concretechris - 2008-03-11 1:36 PM Great advice, Aikidoman! I am by no means a swimmer but I had my best swim yet last Saturday. The difference, I slowed my stroke down and focused on reaching more. That gave me sooo much more time to get the breathing right and made it easier to add in a bit of a kick which saved my arms a bit. I managed to do a 200 yard swim when the longest I've ever done before is 100 breathless, exhausting yards. Tonight is another swim so hopefully I'll manage to emulate the same stroke again with even more success. To the OP, keep on going. Great advice here! --Chris Chris, as a note on the 'slow down' advice, once your form improves in the water and your hips 'ride' higher in the water, you'll get to the point where you will need to kick less. This will significantly lower your heartrate and allow you to almost 'swim forever.' I've gotten to the point in my workouts where if it asks me to do pull drills with the pull buoy, I'll forego the pull buoy and just work on keeping my knees 'locked' or at least very close together with little or no kick. I get that similar feel of my hips and legs still staying high in the water and will get the added benefit of still being able to rotate my hips while being able to concentrate on my pull. Congrats on your improved swims. Keep at it! |
2008-03-11 2:40 PM in reply to: #1264880 |
New user 21 | Subject: RE: Swim: how slow is slow? trimore - 2008-03-11 9:32 AM I wish I could figure out how to slow down. I am right at 2 minutes for 100 yrds but my best yet is only 200 yrds at once. When I try to slow down, what form I have seems to be lost and I sink more. Exactly my problem!!! I'm 1:50 for 100 yards but thats the furthest i can go at once. I'd love to slow it down to 3:40 and go 400 yards and then work from there, but that doesn't seem at all possible for me, especially if i try to keep my strokes per length under 20 (as i read in Total Immersion)... I've only been doing this for about 3 weeks but it's super frustrating! |
2008-03-11 2:51 PM in reply to: #1264537 |
Extreme Veteran 398 Charlotte,NC | Subject: RE: Swim: how slow is slow? Swimming is a very technical discipline. There are a lot of good advices in this thread but your best bet is to find a good coach. You can't learn swimming by reading. Somebody has to look at you and find out what you are doing wrong. First you have to learn how to swim and then you can think about the distance,time ,etc.... But if your sole objective is to finish a triathlon there are tons of 250 yard pool swim triathlons out there that you can finish if you can float in the water. Good Luck. |
2008-03-11 7:43 PM in reply to: #1264794 |
Expert 750 Harrisburg, PA | Subject: RE: Swim: how slow is slow? McFuzz - 2008-03-11 7:21 AM Ironman swim cutoff time is 2:20 for a 2.4 mile (4200 yard) swim. That works out to about 3.33 minutes/hundred. 3.4 minutes/hundred would be too slow in that case, but I have no doubt that you'll get faster as you swim more. Most sprint triathlons do not have a swim cutoff, so you're really not too slow for those. Actually, I'm doing a local sprint tri in August. Very low key, but there is a 30 minute limit on the .5 mile pool swim. As I posted in another thread, I'm not there yet. Doing that distance in about 41 minutes. Of course, I still have to stop every 25 yards, which I hate. Oh, my first half hour session with an instructor starts on 3/26. Edited by nxm165 2008-03-11 7:46 PM |
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2008-03-11 7:50 PM in reply to: #1264537 |
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2008-03-12 6:57 AM in reply to: #1266271 |
Champion 10154 Alabama | Subject: RE: Swim: how slow is slow? PennState - 2008-03-11 7:50 PM Basic rule of thumb: if your are slower than 2:00 min/100 yds, then you likely would benefit from a swim instructor. If this is not an option, Total Immersion is an option: http://www.totalimmersion.net/ A real benefit of swimming faster (better) is that you tend to be more efficient and thus use less energy.... which makes for a better Bike/Run
When people talk about their per-100 yd time, is that considered what they 'can do' or what they typically do? My typical/average /100 is about 2:20 but that is a very comfortable easy pace that I can sustain all day. By best would be about 1:45/100. Just curious if people cite thier /100 time as thier best /100 or thier average /100? ~Mike |
2008-03-12 7:22 AM in reply to: #1264537 |
Regular 74 Lexington, SC | Subject: RE: Swim: how slow is slow? When you sink, you are too slow! Just keep swimming, you'll get faster. |
2008-03-12 8:24 AM in reply to: #1266648 |
Extreme Veteran 832 Podunk County, MN | Subject: RE: Swim: how slow is slow? Rogillio - 2008-03-12 6:57 AM PennState - 2008-03-11 7:50 PM Basic rule of thumb: if your are slower than 2:00 min/100 yds, then you likely would benefit from a swim instructor. If this is not an option, Total Immersion is an option: http://www.totalimmersion.net/ A real benefit of swimming faster (better) is that you tend to be more efficient and thus use less energy.... which makes for a better Bike/Run
When people talk about their per-100 yd time, is that considered what they 'can do' or what they typically do? My typical/average /100 is about 2:20 but that is a very comfortable easy pace that I can sustain all day. By best would be about 1:45/100. Just curious if people cite thier /100 time as thier best /100 or thier average /100? ~Mike For exactly the reason you're citing, I would say you should probably be looking at your avg pace that's repeatable over a longer workout. I'd say that I have 3 different "paces" that I keep in my head - one is my all out sprint best pace, one is my repeatable 100 pace, and one is my TT 1000 yd pace. If somebody asked me what I swim, I'd probably answer with a number that's between the repeatable 100 pace and the TT 1000 yd pace - so for me, it's right around 1:50. By having those 3 gauge numbers in my head, I can get an idea of how each workout is going while I'm in it - it gives me numbers to try to beat during workouts. Edited to add that you have a pretty big range between your "best" and your "can swim it all day" number... my numbers are all tighter than that (1:39 best, 1:48 repeatable 100, 1:54 TT1000). That big range would appear to indicate to me that there's room for form improvement that will help you to bring your all day pace down.
Edited by kanders 2008-03-12 8:26 AM |
2008-03-12 8:55 AM in reply to: #1266648 |
Subject: ... This user's post has been ignored. |
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2008-03-12 9:54 AM in reply to: #1264537 |
Extreme Veteran 410 The Great Pacific Northwest | Subject: RE: Swim: how slow is slow? I needed to read this thread this morning (thanks Stampinann for sending it to me). I'm working hardest this year on improving my swim because I know it will improve my confidence. I'm training for my first half ironman and I am whoring input from everyone who knows how to swim! Kid in the next lane might find me begging for scraps of help if he's faster than I am (and let's face it, he is). I have noticed that one of my biggest problems before was that I wasn't doing the drills. I've had coaching and that brought me up from a 3:00/100 to a 2:45/100 and some much better form. But after coaching was over I went right back to getting in the pool and swimming long distances and dropped my drills. After surgery in December I decided to come back into each of my sports by doing it right, so I begged for drills (and found a great site, www.swimplan.com) and have been drilling since then, particularly working on my kick after determining I can swim faster if I don't kick. I've come down to a 2:03 best time 100 with 2:20 being average in just a few months! Form is where it's at! I'm about tapped out on coaching funds this year, so I'm not sure if I can hire a coach, but I do have a few GREAT people who are helping me out, so ask around. You can probably share your expertise (mine would be in running) and swap with someone who is a great swimmer. Kara (from BT) gave me some swim drills that have proven to be a HUGE benefit in a short time. |
2008-03-12 10:33 AM in reply to: #1264537 |
Expert 1014 Virginia | Subject: RE: Swim: how slow is slow? I have a question - I took American Red Cross swim lessons - 15 total from September to January- to go from a total non-swimmer to able to swim. A little over a week ago, I did 225 yards in 10 minutes at an indoor tri, so pretty slow, but it was my first ever race so I was happy with it. I hear a lot of people saying to get lessons and see an instructor - my question is at what point is that the solution versus someone just being a beginner and slow? I know that getting a coach can never hurt - but how do you know if the limiter to your speed is technique versus endurance and training? I know, technique can ALWAYS be improved- but how much of slowness is technique vs. just needing more time in the pool? Is there a certain place where I can throw a mark on the wall and say, okay I need help? Edited by kimmitri408 2008-03-12 10:34 AM |
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