Are Triathletes worth the dues they pay toward Masters Swimming?
I say we force all Triathletes to spend one day a week in the sprint lane, one day a week doing stroke (i.e. IM) work, and then make them focus on their starts and turns.
This invasion needs to be controlled.... :-)
John Smith
:)
Former Member
well said fellow New Yorker,
on flip turns, I have been doing overhanded flips and recently started underhand. I find it a little hard to get used to. any advantage to either?
also Butterfly, what is the motion for my arms once they enter the water? I dont feel like I am maximizing my power and I am not getting a good rythm. after three laps I fall apart. it is not my strength or endourance so it must be my technic.
Michael,
I accept your previous criticism of TI advocates who think reading the book makes them more knowledgable than coaches with years of experience (guilty). Humorous and on the mark.
But hang on there, big fella. Confusing aerobocop, endorfiends, "don't talk to me about technique, just gimme yards, man, more yards," triathletes with we effete, double-ginsing-mocha-expresso swilling, yoga posing total immersion fans who drill to the exclusion of any conditioning, is a bit like confusing Communists and Fascists. Please, we both have our flaming eccentricities, but they are not the same thing!
Flip turns: yes it is a cool skill to have, and you definitely want good flip turns for pool races. But, someone please esplain to me why a triathlete who only does open water swimming has any use for them? For an individual like that, I would much rather have them learn how to do a sound, quick, streamlined open turn (that will avoid problems with their lane mates) and spend their mental energy learning the strokes well, instead of spending time and mental effort correcting a lousy flip turn, which they will only use in practice. You can make the same argument about the other strokes; I would argue back that swimming the other strokes well will do more to improve your freestyle that simply swimming free all the time. I've heard this from numerous people after they put more stroke yardage in their workouts.
In the words of the world-famous Rodney King, can't we all (swimmers, tri-guys, skateboarders, corpulent lap swimmers, nice little ole ladies with perfectly coiffed blue hair they don't want to get wet during water aerobics) just get along?
Memo to the field: poking fun at other people goes down a lot easier if you poke fun at yourself at the same time.
Matt
Matt S
If you train in a pool you really need to learn to do a flip turn as it maintains your momentum during training. If you train in a lake full time then don't bother with learning a turn.
When in Rome................ flip.
John Smith
Goodsmith
You a right again, triathletes should do flip turns if they can when training in a pool as you learn the skill of streamlining and keeping the momentum going. However it is a useless effort in the lake or ocean. But they have gained the feeling of speed which they may be able to transfer to their swimming in open water.
Flip turns might also benefit the open water swimmer by depriving them of their extra dose of oxygen at the end of every lap. When I started doing flip turns last year it cut down on the amount of yardage I could perform continuously because I was not getting that extra breath at every turn.
Oh yeah... Why do tri's complain when a work out is not all freestyle? Doing all four strokes will not only work more muscles, but will also get you in swimming shape faster.
All the more muscles to become sore.
Originally posted by gull80
Why do you suppose the swim portion of a tri is the shortest segment and always comes first?
A couple of reasons. The first is the one you were after. Triathletes as a whole are not great swimmers, particularly in the sprint distance races. As you might imagine, many have a background in just one sport, mostly runners who are picking up cycling and swimming. For most of them, a 500 to 800 yard swim is more than enough of a challenge.
The second reason is also a practical one. The swim course takes the most volunteers, costs the most to keep open with paid lifeguards, and is the most dangerous if a particpant gets in trouble. If it was the second or third event, participants would be much more spread out, harder to track, and the swim course would have to be maintained longer.
When you move up in distance, say to olympic, 1/2 Iron, or Ironman distance, the average swimming skill improves, but the second reason becomes the overriding factor.
Originally posted by chris ny
I tried the wings but they chaffe I'm looking for an adult size bubble. maybe that will help They come in three sizes s - m - l, I think the large one will be fine??? http://www.swimbuoy.com/ We used these in our swimming school.
