I am slow, and when I mean slow, I mean slow. I can do a 26 sec 50 with fins, but without I come in just under 1:20! I think a big part of it is just taking the fins off and doing a lot of kick sets to learn to feel the water better with my feet. I have a good breaststroke kick so I don't think my problem is an overly weak pair of legs, although they could be in better shape. Also, myankles are fairly flexible as I can point my toes and make my feet bend backwards past an even position with my shins. However, I do think that I need to loosen up my ankles when I kick. I feel like I get more out of my kick for those brief moments when I allow my ankles to snap back and forth with my kick. I think I actually need to relax more to kick faster as weird as that sounds.
I suppose the answer to my question is that I simply need to take of the fins and do kick set after kick set until I learn to feel the water better with my feet and become more efficient.
I have a result! With a push off the wall and four SDK's, body in the streamline position and kicking as if my life depended on it (as Ande suggested)! I went 25.84 for 25m. I did 5 of them and swam 3 easy 25's between each. 25.84 was my fastest time. It was also the last in the set. Ironically my slowest was the one I did with a dive: 27.62. It was the first one. Now I am not sure if that reflects very poorly on my dive or if it was because it was the first and I had not developed a 'feel' for the water yet.
But I have to admit, even though my time was not great, it felt good and there was a certain exhilaration that I felt when I started to feel that water with my feet. Normally I hate kicking. Today it was a challenge and fun!
Syd
I have a result! With a push off the wall and four SDK's, body in the streamline position and kicking as if my life depended on it (as Ande suggested)! I went 25.84 for 25m. I did 5 of them and swam 3 easy 25's between each. 25.84 was my fastest time. It was also the last in the set. Ironically my slowest was the one I did with a dive: 27.62. It was the first one. Now I am not sure if that reflects very poorly on my dive or if it was because it was the first and I had not developed a 'feel' for the water yet.
But I have to admit, even though my time was not great, it felt good and there was a certain exhilaration that I felt when I started to feel that water with my feet. Normally I hate kicking. Today it was a challenge and fun!
Syd
