This is awful. I really want to be able to swim freestyle - I can do the *** stroke no problem. I'm taking a workshop and my instructor tells me "your freestyle stroke is very strong" but I'm so WEAK! I'm swimming in a 25 yard pool and I can't make it much more than halfway across the $#$@! pool without having to break into the *** stroke, and I feel like I am just dying.
I'm not in HORRIBLE shape, but not great shape (the current shape is round but my lifestyle changes will eliminate that in time)...I do martial arts, circuit training, can walk 2 miles without a problem.
What can I do to work up to freestyle without killing myself? I don't want to shorten my swims by trying to do freestyle and then dying and having to settle for less time in the water/moving around/burning it off.
Help!
Rethinking now that maybe I **should** work on that...this morning, my deck coach challenged me to do absolutely the minimum amount of *** stroke and concentrate on freestyle only. She threw in 3 100s. I decided okay, no *** stroke unless I feel like I'm going to die. That feeling never came, so I stepped up to the challenge and ran with it! My warm down was 200; I broke it into two more 100s. I am feeling very accomplished today. Next: She's going to get me off my nose clip. I have a nose clip that doesn't completely keep the water out of my nose so I have to blow out - I'm going to use that as my training wheel. I will be able to use my air a lot more efficiently without my darn nose clip! (45 years of swimming with one...)
Rethinking now that maybe I **should** work on that...this morning, my deck coach challenged me to do absolutely the minimum amount of *** stroke and concentrate on freestyle only. She threw in 3 100s. I decided okay, no *** stroke unless I feel like I'm going to die. That feeling never came, so I stepped up to the challenge and ran with it! My warm down was 200; I broke it into two more 100s. I am feeling very accomplished today. Next: She's going to get me off my nose clip. I have a nose clip that doesn't completely keep the water out of my nose so I have to blow out - I'm going to use that as my training wheel. I will be able to use my air a lot more efficiently without my darn nose clip! (45 years of swimming with one...)
