I'm new.... very new.

RE: I'm new.... very new.

Redbird Alum — Thu, 02 Apr 2009 03:01:24 GMT

Oh, and it's official... my coaches are putting me in a 500 free at the champs. Good thing they're devoting all of next week to starts and turns. 500? Don't worry about the start too much... spend time on the turns, and on pace/splits. Good luck! Hope you have someone right on your shoulder the whole time to push you along!

RE: I'm new.... very new.

Former Member — Wed, 01 Apr 2009 09:05:00 GMT

Strength training? Like lifting or high-rep stuff? Not yet. I want to, though. Swimming is like my one and only thing... that I do... heh. I had a swimming first on Monday morning when I was in the pool. Apparently there was a magnitude 4.3 earthquake. Since I was busy swimming in the water, I did not notice it. Made me wonder... if an earthquake was strong enough, could I literally be displaced out of the water if I'm near the wall? That would be fun. Like... doing the end of a butterfly race and then being shot out of the water, narrowly missing the time pad, after being in first place the whole race. That would be aggravating. It's spring break for me right now. Unlike most of my fellow college students, I am not partying it away in Cabo. Instead, I used it to experiment with a different time available for Group 3 beginners like myself with my swim club. I had previously been to two sessions, late in the evening and it was a pain driving out there (fifteen minutes, rush hour traffic). That was back in January. Now I know what I have been missing out on... these small groups are infinitely helpful because they're just that... small. The coach on deck can microtarget on anyone and spend a lot of time answering questions, watching you swim, etc... unlike on my team, where two coaches have to delegate sets to a large group of swimmers. Since Monday, I have seen exponential improvement in all four of my strokes. I did some 25 frees earlier and managed to get across the pool in 18 seconds and it felt effortless. :) My breaststroke no longer looks like it came out of a horror movie, although one of my coaches is going to devote a whole lot of time to fixing my *** kick (god, it feels awkward). But my biggest turnaround is butterfly. What the heck? So before this week, I had done virtually no fly at all. On Monday, the coach tells me I'm picking it up quick but it was still exhausting and painful as all hell. Today, she tells me to stop bending my elbows on the recovery and now I don't understand what all the fuss is about. It's easy! The only thing that's remotely difficult for me is making sure I don't swallow a bunch of water when I come up for a breath. I honestly think breaststroke is the most difficult, personally. Oh, and it's official... my coaches are putting me in a 500 free at the champs. Good thing they're devoting all of next week to starts and turns.

RE: I'm new.... very new.

KEWebb18 — Sun, 22 Mar 2009 05:30:55 GMT

Great job! You are really progressing well! I really think that once you get your starts and turns better you will see an even larger drop in your times. Do you do any strength training? Anything other than swimming?

RE: I'm new.... very new.

Former Member — Fri, 20 Mar 2009 12:39:12 GMT

Fourth meet is over. And no, my parents ended up not coming. But they still insist on coming to one eventually. I participated in three events... 50-free: 31:08, first place (I was swimming against my fellow newbies). That time is a second and 22 milliseconds down from my previous 50 free event time- 32:50 (done a month ago). 100-free: 1:11:95, first place (newbies :) ). My previous 100 free was at my first meet... a month and a half ago, where my time was 1:19:92. Second place today was 1:17. Then my relay, where my friend and I were grouped with two seasoned sprinters. We dragged them way down, lol. I did not find out what my time was, but it was probably around 31. I was anchor! I tried my utmost to magically become Jason Lezak. I am still not completely sure if I'm starting these sprints right. I'm not sure how long I should be underwater dolphin kicking. My dive is still messy (shins/calves up, "thigh flops", etc...). I also have yet to incorporate flipturns into my races. Oh, and today, I was having trouble getting oxygen because the water was really splashy. Might that have something to do with the fact that I am used to swimming fast over a depth of 6-7 feet and not 14? I'm still pudgy around the middle and I still have to shave my rainforests (drrrrrrrrrraaaaaaaagggggg). In conclusion, I had to jump back in the pool after each of my races to go find my ass. :D I think I'm ready to up the ante. I've been swimming on average four days a week since January, anywhere from an hour and a half to two each time. I love the sport now. I think I'm ready to give it a little more sweat.

RE: I'm new.... very new.

Former Member — Wed, 18 Mar 2009 05:07:23 GMT

Of course it will only be funny if the mailman comes dressed in his uniform, pith helmet included. And Larry David can do his little stare down routine with the mailman.

RE: I'm new.... very new.

knelson — Wed, 18 Mar 2009 01:02:04 GMT

You are a funny guy, Mr. C. You should let Larry David know about your meet. The mailman appearance seems like a perfect Curb Your Enthusiasm plot. Of course it will only be funny if the mailman comes dressed in his uniform, pith helmet included.

RE: I'm new.... very new.

KEWebb18 — Tue, 17 Mar 2009 11:07:08 GMT

How did it go? Were you nervous?

RE: I'm new.... very new.

jim thornton — Tue, 17 Mar 2009 11:04:22 GMT

Uh oh. Now my parents want to come see. They're insisting on coming to my meet next weekend. It's bad enough that they're divorced.... but my dad even invited the MAILMAN! And the mailman has accepted! This is like the freakin' little leagues all over again... I need, like, a buffer zone. I need non-colliding worlds. ****! Why do I foresee a very radical speed increase in the near future? You are a funny guy, Mr. C. You should let Larry David know about your meet. The mailman appearance seems like a perfect Curb Your Enthusiasm plot.

RE: I'm new.... very new.

Redbird Alum — Tue, 17 Mar 2009 02:56:14 GMT

Well, you know you've "made it" in swimming when you start drawing a fan base to your swim meets! Have fun, swim fast, and always acknowledge the fans after your swim... it keeps them coming back for miore!

RE: I'm new.... very new.

Former Member — Fri, 13 Mar 2009 10:50:51 GMT

RE: I'm new.... very new.

Former Member — Mon, 23 Feb 2009 17:17:48 GMT

Okay, so potentially a new problem... a couple weeks ago my lower back felt a little uncomfortable. If I leaned backwards too far, it would act up. Not painfully, but something down there would let me know it was there, you know? I never noticed that before. I don't know if it's from the swimming and/or losing so much weight in a short amount of time. Anyway, it returns from time to time. I'm leaning backwards right now... nothing there. And now... keep in mind last time I did any swimming was Friday last week... I wake up this morning to veritable pain in my upper back, between my shoulder blades, on a concentrated spot just to the right of my spine. It's not agonizing or anything, just annoying. On a 1 to 10 of the pain scale (10 highest), this is a 1, you know? And now it's completely gone (I woke up an hour ago). Related to the swimming? Radical weight loss? I hope the latter...

RE: I'm new.... very new.

Former Member — Mon, 23 Feb 2009 13:53:45 GMT

Went to the training room earlier, someone showed me the tennis ball trick. Ow. Lucky for me, my dad is a big fan of foamrollers and can probably lend one.

RE: I'm new.... very new.

Former Member — Mon, 23 Feb 2009 13:20:31 GMT

Q - Thanks for the elaboration. I was thinking I needed a facial! :D lol, I meant to put the explanation in the first post. The first time I heard about it, I said "Ok, I understand what 'release' means." It is good stuff, and amazing how much pain a simple tennis ball can cause a swimmers back muscles.

RE: I'm new.... very new.

Former Member — Mon, 23 Feb 2009 06:21:21 GMT

Myofascial release is pressing on a knot in a muscle (painful) until the knot relaxes and the pain diminishes. You can use a tennis ball pressed between your upper back and a wall to find the knots and put pressure on them. The rest of your body, a foam roller will be the best thing. Youtube has plenty of videos on what to do both with tennis balls and the foam roller. If you get a foamroller, try to get a decent one. The cheap ones are little more than a noodle, and will deform so quickly that they won't roll after a month of use.

RE: I'm new.... very new.

Former Member — Mon, 23 Feb 2009 06:16:51 GMT

Related to sleeping funny? Any number of things can cause muscles to knot up. If it persists, get someone knowledgeable to poke and prod you until they can explain what is going on. If your problems are simply knotted muscles there are a number of things you can do to prevent them, or deal with them while they are happening. Massage and myofascial release are two things you can try before the problem occurs and while the problem is occuring. Stretching is a good preventative. If it is a tear or some other damage, then the suggestions won't be of any help. But since your problems seem to be short lived, you probably just need to figure out how to relax your new found muscles.

RE: I'm new.... very new.

Redbird Alum — Mon, 23 Feb 2009 04:58:02 GMT

Myofascial release is ... Q - Thanks for the elaboration. I was thinking I needed a facial! :D

RE: I'm new.... very new.

KEWebb18 — Wed, 18 Feb 2009 07:42:23 GMT

Question for you: Do you drink water during practice? Muscle cramps can be caused by dehydration, or an imbalance in electrolytes, or fatigue. You need to make sure that you are drinking some sort of fluid during your workout (water or gatorade, whatever you prefer) to replenish your body. If the cramp happens again, make sure that you stretch the muscle or ask the coach to help you stretch.

RE: I'm new.... very new.

Former Member — Tue, 17 Feb 2009 15:37:36 GMT

Interesting thing happened in practice today. Cramped hip! I was the one-leg kicker for most of practice. And I still outswam all the other beginners. :) *adds cramps to list of things to be prepared for at the most inconvenient possible moment, like before or during an event*

RE: I'm new.... very new.

orca1946 — Sat, 14 Feb 2009 12:50:47 GMT

Good job. Have fun in all your swims. After 100 practices, you will pick up many tips & cues from the coach & fellow swimmers.. Keep us posted.

RE: I'm new.... very new.

Former Member — Sat, 14 Feb 2009 12:01:58 GMT

So if you do some other stroke faster than free, you could actually go ahead and do that, am I right? Wow, I didn't know that. q: Hah, actually last week I started practicing in a brief. And I wear the team suit at all meets.

RE: I'm new.... very new.

Former Member — Sat, 14 Feb 2009 11:53:20 GMT

Anyway, hahah, once I remember arguing with a swim instructor at a Water Babies school (and he was an Olympian) about the word "freestyle"... it was my first argument over semantics. He tells me to do some freestyle and then I start swimming backstroke (my favorite back then). I figure, "free... style", right? So I do whatever I want! How did they start calling it "freestyle" anyway? Actually in Competitive swimming in Freestyle you can do what you want except in the medley (butterfly-->Back-->***-->Free) you can do any of the strokes you have already done (Trudgen anyone?) (also correct me if i am wrong) though most people do Front Crawl by default... (I am basing this info on age group and High school swimming in PA) Every few meets I am at, someone will do the butterfly for the 100 free. (still waiting on them to do fly for the 500 free) and never gets disqualified. So (i dont know about the olympics) but you were correct about freestyle. :chug: Cheers.

RE: I'm new.... very new.

Former Member — Sat, 14 Feb 2009 08:14:54 GMT

Congrats Courboros! Have you bought a new suit yet? I can't imagine that your board shorts don't fall off now.

RE: I'm new.... very new.

KEWebb18 — Sat, 14 Feb 2009 07:51:37 GMT

Congratulations! :cheerleader:It sounds like you have made a lot of progress in a short time. The body takes about 6 weeks to adjust to a new exercise routine, so just be patient. Before you know it you will have decreased your body fat percent. You will probably not see a decrease in your body weight initially, as you will experience your body developing more muscle mass from the exercise. Good luck and I look forward to reading more of your progress!

RE: I'm new.... very new.

Former Member — Fri, 13 Feb 2009 14:26:34 GMT

Third meet. Over. Already. What a blast. I did two 50-frees, one of them in a 200 relay. The first one I raced alone because of some mix-up before and the relay we came in last (but we're all beginners! Everyone else was seasoned). My time on the 50 free was 32.50. Our time on the relay was 2:16. I tried to find out if I went under 30 on the relay, where I went first, but that information was not available. My endurance is getting better, as compared to two weeks ago when I did a 100 free at my first meet. Today after my 50 free I was totally ready to do another 50. :)

RE: I'm new.... very new.

Former Member — Mon, 09 Feb 2009 13:11:24 GMT

pwb, I am from the Bay Area. orca, I don't have any perspective though. I don't know when my body has gone "too far and too fast"... is when I feel like this so and so? or that so and so? you know what I mean? I did a 16-second 25y free in practice today, doing most around 19-21 seconds. I am still 18% body fat, at around 192 lbs. I'm just waiting for a lot of this fat and loose skin to go the eff away already. I think I'm finally figuring out what my starts should be like. They've been a mess before. And breaststroke... in the group I swim with (the novices), I'm the fastest at freestyle but the slowest at breaststroke. The hell? I wonder if I am doing it correctly, and if so, if that is the problem... because I'm doing it correctly. It sure doesn't look like the rest of the guys are! 19 team practices so far... and we've hardly done any butterfly. The suspense is killing me.