I have a swim partner right now, a young girl from Scotland who is training for our triathlon here; she pushes me big time even tho I could be her mother (she is always on my feet, I can't get rid of her!!)
I was a natural backstroker for 40 plus years, turned distance freestyle and no more backstroke.
Here's our personal challenge and wanted to see if any of you would be interested. I have never been a butterflyer except when I was young and didn't know any better and did the 400 IM, and I never butterfrogged; only dolphin kick.
On March 19th to build a different kind of strength, we are going to add to our training with distance fly (yes, I must have dementia).
From shore to a buoy, it is 350 yards and our goal is to do the entire thing fly. When I come up with challenges for myself, I always say Why Not?
So, my friend Jo and I are going to start training for the 350 fly and we don't have any turns, it is straight, non-stop to the buoy. I remember trying this same challenge for myself several years ago, and only got to about 150 yards and DIED. But it is always good to challenge ourselves in something we don't normally swim.
So, for you flyers out there and non-flyers, I ask my standard question: Why Not? Are you game? And if not fly, why not another stroke that gives you grief? All that can happen is you may not succeed at a particular distance, but you are giving your body a rest from its norm and moving into areas of different training.
I hope to report more than enough hilarious stories along the way toward this goal.
Donna
Parents
Former Member
Peter/Mel:
I am gasping and I am at sea level. Mel: your challenges make mine look pitiful in comparison except 350 is still too far from my point of view, but I will work on it. And I am a younster in your books, 59. But I refuse, absolutely refuse, to butterfrog, I want to do this fly swim the way it was designed to be done with dolphin kick. I may butterfrog when I am Mel's age, but it is too soon for me to cop out.
Surely, Mel, if you are in the vicinity of the forum, please tell me that doing a swim like this will help me to develop strength for my upcoming 18-19 mile swim in August of 2008!! If you can do a 1000 fly, maybe you should come down for the island to island swim that year.
Donna
Peter/Mel:
I am gasping and I am at sea level. Mel: your challenges make mine look pitiful in comparison except 350 is still too far from my point of view, but I will work on it. And I am a younster in your books, 59. But I refuse, absolutely refuse, to butterfrog, I want to do this fly swim the way it was designed to be done with dolphin kick. I may butterfrog when I am Mel's age, but it is too soon for me to cop out.
Surely, Mel, if you are in the vicinity of the forum, please tell me that doing a swim like this will help me to develop strength for my upcoming 18-19 mile swim in August of 2008!! If you can do a 1000 fly, maybe you should come down for the island to island swim that year.
Donna