I have found my crutch with the Buoy, and now I can't swim without it. Any suggestion on how to get rid of it?
What age group are you in? If it's the same as mine, continue using the pull bouy! If not, throw it in the trash.
I'm assuming the hard-to-give-up part is the free "high hips" and nice, low-drag feeling the pull buoy provides?
If so, playing around with other ways to get your hips up might be the answer. Total Immersion talks about keeping the extended arm extended just a bit longer than you otherwise might ("front quadrant swimming"), pressing your chest down just a bit so you pivot a bit over your center of balance (like a see-saw), and making sure to not raise your head (which makes the see-saw go the wrong way). There are probably lots of other hip-raising tips out there.
Going cold turkey will be tough if you get that sinky-draggy climbing uphill feeling without the buoy.
Hi Gotinthegamelate,
That seems to be a good idea from _steve_. This happened to a lady in my pool last month. I think it happens to a lot of people. Laughing, she even asked me to ask the lifeguards to lock the store-room so she could not get one of the pool's pullbuoys out, LoL. She tried going coldturkey, which never worked for her. She did not try _steve_'s fins idea. In the end, determined but suffering, she eased herself off over two weeks by doing less and less sets with the pullbuoy. I think she is two weeks free now.
Never give up! And good luck to you.
