Hello, swimmers! I'm barely a real swimmer... I come from a running background (middle distance, mostly, and a bunch of post-college 5ks) and a series of injuries forced me into the pool. I actually couldn't swim at all until 2013, but seemed to improve fairly quickly (at freestyle).
So here's my question. Can I keep improving without doing super-long swims?
I do not seem to recover or cope well with long swims. I've gone up to 3500 yards in a single workout (took almost an hour), but it basically wipes me out and I don't think I'm good enough at form to keep good form for the whole swim. But when I reduce my workout volume to 1800-2800 yards per workout (but lots of hard sets that a great triathlon coach writes for me) and swim 6 times per week, I do improve! I've brought my 100 yard time from 1:31 down to 1:21 in the past few months and my 500 from 8:00ish, to 7:28. I already have good muscle strength and aerobic fitness from all the lifting and training I did for running so I think mostly it's my form that holds me back in the swim.
So should I keep swimming shorter swims and wait for form to smooth out? Or should I push the distance (maybe even just once a week?). Will I EVER feel good going long?
One of the issues I have is that my health isn't great . I have an eating disorder history and tend to underfuel and that may be an issue too, though I'm doing much better now and am at a very healthy weight. I feel like my body is kind of exhausted, and while I like swimming, I want to get better at it without overexercising.
Also, how do I do a darn flip turn?? I feel like my times would drop if I could do one, but as is, I'm so clumsy at it that they slow me down.
Thanks, everyone. I hope to make swimming 'my' sport, even though I only began in my 20s and would love some input.
Wow, thank you all so much for that valuable and thoughtful input. It's good to hear that lower volume is possible, when so many swimmers I know talk about doing 6,000 or 7,000 yards at a pop. I never plan to swim massive distance events, so that's all right. I just want to improve my movement patterns.
I do have the opportunity to work with an in-person swim coach and have done so a couple of times. So far, I've improved # of breaths per lap and figured out bilateral breathing, but my stroke count is still too high (I have been able to take as few as 18 strokes per 25 yards, but as soon as I start going fast, I'm back to 20+, essentially muscling my way through the water). Most of you seem to agree that stroke count is a big deal, so that will be my next focus. I'm doing several drills for that, including catch-up, finger drag, zipper drill, and single-arm drills. Maybe more work will the pull buoy is in order as well.
I'll work on this and schedule another lesson with the in-person coach. Thanks, everyon0e, your input is so appreciated.
Wow, thank you all so much for that valuable and thoughtful input. It's good to hear that lower volume is possible, when so many swimmers I know talk about doing 6,000 or 7,000 yards at a pop. I never plan to swim massive distance events, so that's all right. I just want to improve my movement patterns.
I do have the opportunity to work with an in-person swim coach and have done so a couple of times. So far, I've improved # of breaths per lap and figured out bilateral breathing, but my stroke count is still too high (I have been able to take as few as 18 strokes per 25 yards, but as soon as I start going fast, I'm back to 20+, essentially muscling my way through the water). Most of you seem to agree that stroke count is a big deal, so that will be my next focus. I'm doing several drills for that, including catch-up, finger drag, zipper drill, and single-arm drills. Maybe more work will the pull buoy is in order as well.
I'll work on this and schedule another lesson with the in-person coach. Thanks, everyon0e, your input is so appreciated.
