2 Swim related questions...

I read an interesting thing the other day (don't have the link, but I was Googling drills for freestyle swimming). It said that for triathletes that they should NOT do kicking drills necessarily, and definitely not with fins. The reason? When you swim with a wetsuit it creates buoyancy which then screws your kick up, and the kick becomes very ineffective and a lot less usable.

Another thing in a different article said that one should never use a kick board for any drills at all ....... creates bad form and technique.

But being new to the pool, I certainly don't know what the heck is correct!

I like using fins for ankle flexibility and kicking strength (more resistance), even though you swim faster it's harder. Also, when I do kick sets with fins, I usually do them on much faster intervals and do more yardage than when I kick without fins.
I like to mix up kicking with and without fins in my workouts.
Even though triathletes typically don't do a 6 beat kick (sprinting) because they need to save legs for the bike and run, you DO need to do a 2 beat kick to help with balance (yes, even with a wetsuit).

As for the goggle problem, maybe the are too tight?

I refuse to use them flappy thingies. If I'm not going to use them in a race, I'm not going to use them. There is a drill or two that "require" you to use them but I've done fine without them.
I prefer to make things a bit "tougher" to practice than easier. For example, I like fist drills cause they've helped improve my strong so much.

As for the raccoon look. I only get that look when I don't sleep well. You sure no one is putting shoe polish on your goggles when you're not looking?

Edited by cobannero 2005-12-12 10:34 AM

I occassionally get the raccoon look and if anyone asks me about it I say something along the lines of, "well my legs were sore from running 6 miles yesterday so I swam 1500 meters this morning instead of the 1 hour on the bike I was going to do."  Usually by the time I finish they have either wandered off or I've found someone who wants to talk about triathlon training which is just fine with me.

the fins aren't meant to simulate racing, so why worry about that? it builds leg strength, ankle flexibility, and allow you to get more yardage in. i don;t use them all the time, but for certain drills and sets they are very useful...

I used fins, especialy when I started doing drills because I am fairly lean and I'm a "sinker". Using the fins allowed me to concentrate more on form and getting in balance so I didn't have to kick so hard just to stay in ythe proper position. Now that my balance has improved (somewhat) I don't use them nearly as much since I don't need as much help to stay balanced. However, I still use them occasionally - I'll usually do a lap or two, really trying to capture the feeling of being balanced without having to kick to stay that way, then I'll take them off and try to mirror that feeling without them.

I get the racoon eyes, and my goggles are new. I loosened them once, which helped a little, but the problem remains. I wear a hat and look down at my feet as I leave the gym, so nobody notices.

So can I put a motor on my bicycle to get more miles in?

totally diff max! there is so much less form to worry about repeating correctly in cycling-- but you know that, you're just busting me.... har dee har har har

Can't answer the fin question.  But for the raccoon eyes, I only get those when my goggles are super tight.  Try loosening them up a bit and they won't leave marks as bad.

Who me??? (tries to not look guilty)

I'm pretty much a stone as well but I really don't like the idea of practicing differently than in race conditions. If you are like me and when you start to get tired, your stroke suffers, then try harder to keep your form. Knowing your weakness is ideal, that way you can work on it. JMHO.

I just bought a new pair of goggles, speedo something fast sounding excite? I found that my other pair the nose piece was too small and I had to overtighten to keep from leaking. I keep them reasonably tight but not too bad. Smooth technique make keep some leaks out. Mine usually leak when I'm doing turns. Try streamlining your arms more to protect your face and make you faster.

When I first started swimming I did just that...just swam freestyle, no drills, no fins.... Aside from boredom I quickly realized that drills and accessories can help relieve boredom and strengthen some of your weak areas. There are definately those who do not advocate the use of fins etc.....I guess it's a personal preference. I love my fins and I use kickboards, leg floats and hand paddles now....and occasionally do the back stroke!!!

I use them as a drill, not for an entire workout, or even every workout. I agree that you want to race as you train, but this doesn't mean never doing any drills. Swimming especially is very technique dependent and for slower and/or newer swimmers such as myself the biggest gains in speed are going to be made by improving form. The fins allowed me to concentrate on having better form and develop a muscle memory of the correct form, rather than kicking furiously just to keep from sinking. I don't use them much any more, but they helped me alot when I was just starting out. Just my take on it, but someone with more of a swiming background might say differently.