Distance Runner trying to get into the Swimming Groove
Former Member
Hey there,
I'm a distance runner and want to start swimming - the way it's meant to be done.
Right now, I am ridiculously slow at the freestyle and backstroke. When I feel like I'm moving at a reasonable speed I look to the lane next to me and see a guy moving effortlessly, just gliding through the water, 3x as fast as me.
I don't know why I move so slowly. I've watched videos and it just seems like I get none of that fluid propulsion forward.
I also get out of breath extremely quickly, it seems. I run a 5K in 16:18 and it's a struggle completing 100 yards in the pool.
Lastly - I can not make sense of this - it seems that my breathing is just fine until I make that first turn - and then, counterintuitively, after I take that breath and flip around I feel like I'm out of breath, and the rest of the way is a struggle.
I don't know how to breaststroke or butterfly at all. I suppose I'll leave that for later...
Suggestions?? Thoughts??
On the breathing, relaxation and control are super important... and by control I don't mean holding of breath; breathe continuously, exhale under water continuously until you're ready to inhale, but try not to hold it at any point. In addition to Goswim, mentioned above, check out videos on "swim smooth" and TI (Total Immersion)... TI has some good drills for incorporating breathing into your stroke more naturally. Yoga ujjay breathing might help with control issues as well.
And forget about the flip turns for now... but check out videos online about executing an effective open turn. At this point the flip turn is going to aggravate your breathing issues. I am also a convert from running and used to use swimming as cross-training; after struggling for a couple of years with the flip while I was working out a whole lot of other stroke issues, I decided just to forget about it for a while, do the open turn and focus on other things to make my stroke smoother and more efficient with a strong open turn. I did that for a couple of years before returning to the flip turn... I was much more comfortable in the water after really focusing on the swimming for a couple of years, and so it came more easily. I've been watching masters meets and find that there is a small, but not insignificant, percentage of folks who opt for the open turn rather than the flip, especially in the distance events...
And be patient with yourself... I know, being a long distance runner, it feels like you should be swimming faster, but greater effort doesn't seem to correspond to faster results because there are so many technique issues involved in swimming. A relatively small breakthrough in technique can result in huge gains, whereas just swimming harder and/or longer often doesn't have that effect... which is counterintuitive for us runners. Stick to it, though; change comes slowly but it's worth thinking about the long haul.
