I am so happy I went!!!!

RE: I am so happy I went!!!!

Former Member — Wed, 15 Aug 2007 15:14:13 GMT

good freestyle kick. Thanks! i wanted to go but 'houston in august' made me think twice. I know exactly what you mean!!! :lol: looks like a nice pool, it has lines even on the outside lanes. It was an ok pool, an old pool....the water was a bit worm but what to expect when the air temp is 108F? :whiteflag: The water had this chemical that made it taste salty, not my favorite, but then again I didn't end up smelling like chlorine for the rest of the day. :D On your 50 BR,you are way too shallow on the start and then you start to pull too soon. I think if you went deeper and glided more you would be faster with less effort. Thank you, I'll add that to my list of things I need to work on! On the stroke,I really like your pull,your body undulation and your timing. Thank you very much! You are raising your head a little too much when you breath and that gives you too much up and down motion in my opinion. I know, that's my ongoing battle...:frustrated: Lastly,I can't be sure,but it looks to me that the initial motion of your kick,after the catch is slightly out,instead of back.If so this gives you less power and slows the kick. That's what it is!!!!!! :doh:Thank you very much! I'll work on that!!!!!!! Congratulation on taking the plunge:bouncing:.You have an above average breaststroke and with a little work you can go faster. Thank you, you are very kind!!!!:drink:

RE: I am so happy I went!!!!

Allen Stark — Tue, 14 Aug 2007 11:23:12 GMT

Catherine,you asked for a critique so here goes. On your 50 BR,you are way too shallow on the start and then you start to pull too soon. I think if you went deeper and glided more you would be faster with less effort. On the stroke,I really like your pull,your body undulation and your timing.You are raising your head a little too much when you breath and that gives you too much up and down motion in my opinion. Lastly,I can't be sure,but it looks to me that the initial motion of your kick,after the catch is slightly out,instead of back.If so this gives you less power and slows the kick.Congratulation on taking the plunge:bouncing:.You have an above average breaststroke and with a little work you can go faster.

RE: I am so happy I went!!!!

Former Member — Tue, 14 Aug 2007 06:39:21 GMT

good freestyle kick. i wanted to go but 'houston in august' made me think twice. looks like a nice pool, it has lines even on the outside lanes.

RE: I am so happy I went!!!!

Former Member — Mon, 13 Aug 2007 11:54:01 GMT

Oh, you guys..... :smooch: Thanks George!

RE: I am so happy I went!!!!

Former Member — Mon, 13 Aug 2007 07:42:32 GMT

Thanks Barb! Gerdrick you have also inspired me.

RE: I am so happy I went!!!!

Former Member — Mon, 13 Aug 2007 06:24:21 GMT

Thanks Barb!

RE: I am so happy I went!!!!

Former Member — Mon, 13 Aug 2007 05:46:12 GMT

You inspire me. Way to go! :applaud:

RE: I am so happy I went!!!!

Former Member — Sun, 12 Aug 2007 16:31:32 GMT

Thank you all for GREAT pointers!!!! I have to start a little notebook that I can take with me to practice! :bouncing: And I really want to practice now much much more!!!!!!!!! And I think if it was not for all your support I would have never gone to any competition....;) and of course would have never gotten this:

RE: I am so happy I went!!!!

Former Member — Sun, 12 Aug 2007 16:28:32 GMT

scyfreestyler knelson Thank you!!!;)

RE: I am so happy I went!!!!

Former Member — Sun, 12 Aug 2007 16:07:40 GMT

Great job!!!! The pointers so far are what I saw too. Also, for the 50 free, I would not do bi-lateral breathing. I would work on putting less energy into your kick and more on rotating your shoulders (if you are physically able to). Try this at your next practice, swimming at an easy pace and as long as there is no pain -- on your free recovery, instead of thinking about leading with your hand, sort of "throw" and lead with your shoulder and let your arm and hand follow along for the ride. You will instantly feel the difference of the increased rotation. This is in addition to rotating from the core too. Also, when you take your freestyle stroke, reach out as far as you can before you start the pull, making sure you keep your elbows high. Keep up the GREAT work!!!! :cheerleader:

RE: I am so happy I went!!!!

Former Member — Sun, 12 Aug 2007 15:22:22 GMT

I remember your first posts, how concerned you were. Should you pack it in or not. Congrats on two good swims. May I just suggest a thing or two on your 50 fr the kick was exiting the water, I would rather not have it in the air. Also your left arm in the early part of your swim was not coming out of the water cleanly. A great introduction to competition.

RE: I am so happy I went!!!!

Former Member — Sun, 12 Aug 2007 14:47:21 GMT

Thanks Alison!

RE: I am so happy I went!!!!

Former Member — Sun, 12 Aug 2007 14:46:28 GMT

huge drop in your 50 free congrats I know! I couldn't believe it!!!!! :banana: Thanks Ande!

RE: I am so happy I went!!!!

Former Member — Sun, 12 Aug 2007 13:39:40 GMT

thewookiee elliec Thanks guys!:groovy: islandsox Thank you for the comment, I'll try to do those things properly next time, it's funny, in my head I know how it's supposed to go but when I am in a real meet I forget almost everything..... Thank you again very much!!!!! :notworthy:

RE: I am so happy I went!!!!

Former Member — Sun, 12 Aug 2007 13:14:04 GMT

Catherine, Isn't it wonderful to not only swim in a beautiful venue, but to lower your times? You have yourself to thank for the hard work you put in. You can improve your times if you can get more distance off the blocks with your start and not start swimming so quickly after entering the water. You almost did your breastroke pulldown the instant you entered the water. Lots of time can be reduced on those starts. Hey, I learned the hardway!! Congratulations on some great swims!!

RE: I am so happy I went!!!!

Former Member — Sun, 12 Aug 2007 13:05:02 GMT

Great work! Keep it up!

RE: I am so happy I went!!!!

knelson — Sun, 12 Aug 2007 12:24:26 GMT

Way to go!

RE: I am so happy I went!!!!

Former Member — Sun, 12 Aug 2007 12:07:52 GMT

Awesome! Congrats!

RE: I am so happy I went!!!!

ande — Sun, 12 Aug 2007 10:27:53 GMT

huge drop in your 50 free congrats My happy improvement (just have to share with the world):cheerleader:: 50 FREE Name Age Team Seed Finals Figler, Catherine A 33 MACA 45.85 39.70 50 *** Name Age Team Seed Finals Figler, Catherine A 33 MACA 50.04 50.81 My practice time was even slower than my guessed Seed time (47.9 free and 54.5 ***), so I am pretty happy with my swim, now I know what to improve as well! I also learned that I do better without a sprint warm up, slow swim is good for me.... I'll try to figure out how to put videos on Youtube for you to critique. :fish2: Thank you all for all your support and for pushing me into going to Nationals when I really needed it!!!! Too bad I didn't have a chance to meet people "in person", maybe next time! Thank you all again!

RE: I am so happy I went!!!!

Jeff Commings — Sun, 12 Aug 2007 10:04:13 GMT

I'm sure it was a real thrill to swim in your first nationals. Plus, how great it was to have an open lane next to you! Two things to work on in your breaststroke: Deeper pullout No glide on the stroke in a 50. Watch the stroke rate of Katie McClelland, who wins the race. It's faster. If you did forget about everything you worked on in workout, you need to do more meets to learn how to focus on racing and technique. It's not hard to remember the things you need to do in a race -- if you work on getting your brain set for it.

RE: I am so happy I went!!!!

swimshark — Sun, 12 Aug 2007 08:11:34 GMT

Congrats!! Alison

RE: I am so happy I went!!!!

Former Member — Sun, 12 Aug 2007 05:16:13 GMT

Wow, did anyone see this video? It popped up as one of the related choices when I viewed the above videos: www.youtube.com/watch "Bruce Anderson, Ph.D. a published medical scientist with "incurable" congestive heart failure due to the defective drug, Vioxx, competes successfully at the 2006 FINA World Championships in masters swimming at Stanford University last August." -

RE: I am so happy I went!!!!

Former Member — Sat, 11 Aug 2007 15:40:42 GMT

Kudos!

RE: I am so happy I went!!!!

Former Member — Sat, 11 Aug 2007 15:37:25 GMT

OK, here's my 50 Breaststroke youtube.com/watch and 50 Freestyle youtube.com/watch (I am the closest to the camera in both videos)