why am i so sloooooooooow? i've been swimming since i was 21, i'm now 30. When i was 21 i basically taught myself to swim and with a few tips here and there from lifeguards, i was able to swim 3 miles in the pool at approximately 35 minutes a mile.
fast forward a few years, i would consider myself a much better swimmer now, i've gotten a few lessons with coaches and i've been told my technique has gotten better. but my speed has BARELY improved!!! i'm talking major changes in technique and training, and it still takes me 34 minutes to do a mile! that's a 1 minute improvement over the time when i had taught myself to swim! it's ridiculous. and i swim so much...i swim in open water and have been doing master's for 7 months now.
is it possible that i was just born slow, or do you think i need further refinement to my technique? none of it adds up--i work very hard in the pool, my technique sounds like it's decent, and i am physically in very good shape. i can swim 9 miles in open water, but i just cannot bring up my speed! it's ridiculous. i don't want to be fast, i just want to be somewhere near 30 minutes per mile!
Former Member
oh yeah! my distance per stroke SUCKS! it takes me like 25 strokes to go 25 yards. if i try really really hard i can get it down to MAYBE 24. i don't know how to work on that other than the obvious--try to do longer strokes and pull more water per stroke
Elise--yes, i do that kind of a workout 3x a week at master's. for most of august, september, and october, i was basically doing intervals totalling 4k, 3x times a week, PLUS doing about 5 ocean swims per week, at 2 miles each! with that kind of mileage (plus cross training), i shouldn't completely suck. it just doesn't add up.
one problem i have with the sets at masters is, for example, when they say to do 4x100 descending. i have basically only one speed. i can't really go slower than that because i'll sink, and i can't really go faster than that either. i've noticed that even if i sprint, my time will only be a couple seconds faster. i think i literally don't know how to sprint--it appears that i'm just wasting energy when i do that.
the really frustrating thing is after going from ZERO interval training 7 months ago, to now having swum 3x a week at masters for 7 months, my mile time basically has not improved AT ALL.
i do pullups and pushups. i have decent upper body strength--i can do a whole bunch of pushups...pullups are still hard but i can do a few at a time. i also run.
oh and my kick is so-so...usually it's slower than other people in my lane...but then again so is my swimming.
i've asked her to look at my stroke and she basically says it looks good. every time i ask she just says "you're doing great."
i also run but i'm not really that concerned about speed there (i'm also a slow runner, like 9 minute miles). so in a typical week i'll do masters 3x for about 4000 yards, open water swims several times (right now only a mile at a time because it's cold), run about 7 miles maybe 3 times, pushups/pullups 3x, and surf a few times.
Keep working on the distance per stroke. I see a guy at my YMCA take 72 strokes in a 25. He then does one arm drill in 35 strokes...don't ask me how this works but it does...
I think 7 months in a masters program is not long enough to show progress for most of us. Heck, I've been in masters swimming for over 10 years, and sometimes it feels like I'm swimming backwards.
I do have some periods when I seem to progress, but also go for months where it feels like I'm simply going through the motions. Sometimes a little variety, or even a break/vacation helps.
I am working with a parapalegic that wants to swim in the Mexico para games....he is now doing 1:30 plus with a dive for the 100 meters.
Just out of curiousity, how does a paraplegic do a dive?
do you think it's possible that ocean swimming makes me slow?
Yes. To be blunt, swimming slow all the time will make you continue to be slow. I think you need a coach who can really help you improve the efficiency of your stroke. 25 strokes for 25 yards is very high. Once you make progress in that area you should do more fast pool swimming. Swimming at the same tempo all the time isn't going to make you any faster.
HUGE RED FLAG!!!! You have an extremely inefficient stroke if you are taking 25 strokes/25. Also find a different coach.
definitely work your underwater work. it might be your hands enter the water short (too close to your head) or that you pull your hands too close to your body.
when swimming easy, it takes me 7-8 strokes with a decent streamline start. when swim faster it's up around 13-14. and I am not a freestyler.
I am working with a parapalegic that wants to swim in the Mexico para games. He had a very bad stroke and his speed was 2:00 plus for a 100 m swim. A couple of very minor changes over 3 days and he is now doing 1:30 plus with a dive for the 100 meters.The first day he was doing 27 strokes for 25 meters he now takes 15.
Just minor brushups in stroke technique can work wonders. He had major cross over problems. To early an exit, pushed water in the opposite direction on entry, hands hit the water during recovery. He lifted his head very high to breathe. He was not stremlined off his turns. I taught him a grab start. Tomorrow we will work on his turns, he did a stop and turn very bad. I think he is going to be a great 100 guy.
He had only swam in the ocean before I met him. He had a little trouble transferring to a swim pool (change in bouyancy).
I also suggest Goswim drills www.goswim.tv/.../drills.html
