I am hoping to drop some time this summer by joining a summer swim program, which by the way...if anyone knows of good programs I'm still looking :) , but hopefully in Texas. Overall I need my times to go down about 30 to 40 seconds but I realize that is not going to happen in one summer. How much is a realistic goal to drop in one summer? I was hoping that maybe 10 to 20 seconds would be nice, or is that too much? Thanx a bunch!!!
~Kyra
Kyra,
Nothing is impossible. Impossible is nothing. -Adidas, I think.
Do you have previous swimming experience, as a kid?
I know when I learned how to swim when I was 9 I loved to go to meets. My mom would take me every weekend! I dropped my times at every meet. My meet times motivated me to practice harder. I dropped times regularly until I was about 15- then I was at a very high senior level (with several Olympians) and it wasn't fun anymore- I quit and swam summer rec!
One of the best things you can learn to do is pace yourself. Know what a 50 feels like at 80%, 90% etc. Learn to use the clock so you know that a 35. felt like 80%, so 33 felt like 90% etc. (Sorry, there's those percents again!)
I know that when I swim the mile (once a year!) I have to know my 100 splits. If I can't see the clock I have someone tell me while I'm swimming. After my race my 100's are all usually with a few tenths of each other (sometimes exactly the same or within a few hundredths). Try to get to the point where you sprint a 25 or a 50 on a coach's watch and you tell them what the time is. If you can do that you are definitely in tune with your swimming.
You know, you could come out here with Heather and give Walnut Creek Masters a try. Kerry is amazing! :)
Kyra,
Nothing is impossible. Impossible is nothing. -Adidas, I think.
Do you have previous swimming experience, as a kid?
I know when I learned how to swim when I was 9 I loved to go to meets. My mom would take me every weekend! I dropped my times at every meet. My meet times motivated me to practice harder. I dropped times regularly until I was about 15- then I was at a very high senior level (with several Olympians) and it wasn't fun anymore- I quit and swam summer rec!
One of the best things you can learn to do is pace yourself. Know what a 50 feels like at 80%, 90% etc. Learn to use the clock so you know that a 35. felt like 80%, so 33 felt like 90% etc. (Sorry, there's those percents again!)
I know that when I swim the mile (once a year!) I have to know my 100 splits. If I can't see the clock I have someone tell me while I'm swimming. After my race my 100's are all usually with a few tenths of each other (sometimes exactly the same or within a few hundredths). Try to get to the point where you sprint a 25 or a 50 on a coach's watch and you tell them what the time is. If you can do that you are definitely in tune with your swimming.
You know, you could come out here with Heather and give Walnut Creek Masters a try. Kerry is amazing! :)
