Posts Tagged swimming
Swimming Facilities and Programs at Mount SAC
I’ve been swimming this summer at a nearby pool that is open to the public for lap swimming and also provides a Masters Swim program and other training programs. I love this pool. The water is fresh and clean, not like the over-chlorinated, chemical soup at the 24 hour fitness pool (my alternative swim location). So where am I swimming? In the outdoor Olympic size swimming pool at Mount San Antonio College in Walnut, California, or Mt. SAC as the locals refer to it.
Kicking Drills for Triathlon
Posted by sheila in Tips and Advice, Training on August 12, 2010
Somehow in all the reading I had done about the swim portion of triathlon, and how triathletes should train for and approach the swim, I got the message that the kicking was very de-emphasized. That kicking was almost not necessary. Let your legs drag, if you wanted to. Use your upper body on the swim and save the legs for the bike and run. Makes sense, no?
And then I started my Masters Swim workouts. And the coach was having me do a fair amount of kicking. Although I thought I didn’t really need to be doing kicking drills, I tried to just suck it up and say nothing. After all, I was seeking the expertise of the coach. He knows more about this than I do, right? That’s why I was doing the Masters Swim. Eventually I did ask him about it and he said I needed to keep that end of my body up, or something like that. So…ok. Still doubtful but…just doing the drills like he said.
Why do swim drills? Don’t you hate them?
So I started a Masters Swim program at Mt. SAC back on June 17, 2010. Six weeks ago today. Although I seem to do fairly well at self-coaching myself on running, I have no swimming background and I’m not very good at it and I knew I needed someone with knowledge to watch me, coach me, give me tips. I did do some reading…Total Immersion swimming books, articles on Active.com, TriSwimCoach.com, BeginnerTriathlete.com. And reading was good, and did help, and I did try to use the advice. However, implementing what I read was just not going all that great without a coach.
Now one thing I did notice was that a lot of the reading material encouraged drills. The TriSwimCoach specifically encouraged doing as much drills as you could stand. And other sites also recommended drills for improving stroke technique and efficiency. It makes sense. In running I do speedwork on the track and I would say that is analagous to drills in the pool. I know that speedwork really does help me. I have to assume with all these articles recommending swim drills that that would help me, too.
But I really hate drills. Or at least, when I was trying to figure out swimming on my own, I really, really disliked them and almost never did them. I would maybe do a few laps of drills. Less than 1/4 of my workout for sure. Maybe much less than that. And then freestyle all the way, baby, because that seems to be the most fun to me.
First Swims in my New Wetsuit
Posted by sheila in Tools and Gear, Training on July 2, 2009
Me on the left & Nina (Twitter friend) on the right at Santa Monica Ocean Swim.
So I bought an xTerra Vortex 3 last Friday, June 26, 2009. And I was eager to try it out. Wanted to make sure it fit properly and was easy to move around and swim in it. So I planned to go to Huntington State Beach on Monday and get in a short ocean swim.
The original plan was to hit the beach before noon, short swim, picnic lunch with Jenny on the beach, play and relaxation time before heading home. Unfortunately, due to a comedy of errors, we didn’t actually get to Huntington until 3 PM. I talked to the Life Guard briefly, put my wetsuit on, and ventured out.
In watching the surf before I suited up, the breakers hadn’t looked too large to me. So about 20 minutes later I was wading into the surf. Life guard had said water temp was 62˚. It didn’t feel cold to me at all, especially with the suit on. Waves still looked ok, and I proceeded out to my chest. I felt the cold water coming through the suit at the zipper on the back. Just interesting, not a problem. Kept going and got out past most of the breakers. But there was one row left to get past, and they seemed pretty big. I was not comfy with it. I decided to go back in and try ocean swimming in my suit another day.
Swimming – Training with Drills
Posted by sheila in Tips and Advice, Training on May 28, 2009
So, as someone who is passably competent at swimming, I would still like to improve my swimming speed for triathlon events. Right now I’m just working up some basic yardage. Up to an easy 1500 in a workout right now. Will be dropping back these next few days as I approach my first triathlon on June 7th.
But after that is past, I will want to work up and improve my swimming and speed. I have seen recommended several times to do drills. Drills I’ve seen recommended for beginners are kick drills done on the side with no kickboard, shark fin drill, and also DPS (Distance Per Stroke).
So here is a nice site that has some explanations/suggestions for swim drills:Drills & Drill Tips | WSU Masters Swimming
They explain at the site above the side-kicking drill and the shark fin drill. The DPS is just the idea that you want to lower the number of strokes it takes you to get across the pool. By rotating your body in the pool from side to side while you stroke, having long strokes that pull, and you glide. Get fewer strokes to get across the pool.
So I guess after I finish up this tri coming up I will try to incorporate some drills into my swim training.
Triathlon Resource Links and Tips
Posted by sheila in Tips and Advice on May 18, 2009
So today we have a list of links on triathlon-related topics. I’ve been getting piles of these through Twitter and here are some that look worthwhile and I want to revisit again at some point in the future…
Beginner’s Triathlon Gear List: No Need to Break the Bank | Active.com
5 Open Water Swimming Tips : Tri Swim Coach Triathlon Swimming
More Triathlon Swim Training Tips
Posted by sheila in Tips and Advice, Training on May 7, 2009
Here’s another article from Active.com with some suggestions for training and preparing for the swimming portion of a triathlon:
Pacing Makes Perfect: 6 Ways to Train for a Triathlon Swim Start | Active.com
One of the main points of the article, is that just doing time trials doesn’t prepare you for the actual chaos and frenetic swimming of a triathlon. So they have some suggestions to help prepare a bit more for the reality of a triathlon swim.
I may try some of these ideas. I’m about 4 weeks out right now from my first triathlon. Finally getting some mediocre yardage in at the pool. Went swimming twice this week, which is my goal. Swam 2250 meters total this week. 1050 on Tuesday and 1200 today. Really tried a bit harder today and did a few faster sprints. Overall, my swimming is very mediocre and the focus for me in my first triathlon will just be finishing respectably.
Triathlete Swim Workout from Active.com
So here is a swim/speed workout from Active.com that I might try out in the coming weeks as I prepare for my first triathlon. I’m about 6 weeks out. Will be doing the San Dimas Express Tri on June 7th.
One of My Favorite Fast Swim Workouts | Active.com
It does look kind of hard. Well, tomorrow I am going to do my first swim workout in a couple of weeks, and I just hope to get in 1000 meters at any speed, really.
Open Water Swimming – Gotta Train for it!
So, this past Saturday I went running with my club. One of the guys I ran with, Sal, is a triathlete. I mentioned I wanted to do a practice open water swim on Sunday (which I’ve never before attempted). He suggested “The Cove” at La Jolla. It seems to be a great place, sheltered, relatively warm water, with life guards and buoys that mark 1/4 mile distance and 1/2 mile distance from the shore, respectively. Apparently a very popular training area for open water swims. If only it weren’t a 2 hour drive from my house. There is also a La Jolla Cove Swim Club, which could be another source of information or support.
Anyhow, things didn’t work out on Sunday, and I wasn’t able to go for an open water training swim. I did some web searching, though, and found that the Orange County Tri Club and also the Inland Infernos club, both do open water swim training at Corona del Mar, which is much closer, so I will consider that as well.
So, I guess we will try to do that again in another couple of weeks. In the meantime, I will go swimming a few times at the 24-hour fitness club, which I have not been doing regularly for quite a while now. Gotta get back into the swim of things. :p
Daily Mile Training
Upcoming Races
Sheila Runs- Swimming Facilities and Programs at Mount SAC August 18, 2010
- Kicking Drills for Triathlon August 13, 2010
- Why do swim drills? Don’t you hate them? July 29, 2010
- Strawberry Fields Olympic Triathlon – Race Report July 26, 2010
- Exchange between a cyclist and a motorist July 25, 2010
- Ocean Swim Entry/Exit Tips July 10, 2010