With the proliferation of video cameras and the ease of uploading stuff to YouTube and from there to the U.S.M.S. forums, it occurred to me that it might make for a nice section of these forums to have a one-stop place were swimmers could post videos of everthing from starts and turns to the various strokes, and that others (like Ande, Chris, Leslie, Patrick, etc.) could lend their considerable expertise and advice.
I know that people have been posting their stroke videos hither and yon throughout these forums, but it might be nice if there were a single dedicated spot where you could do this and get feedback.
As an example of this, I am going to post a video taken at Colony Zones Sprint Classic this past fall. The two swimmers in here are Dave Varner, who leads the entire race, and me, who comes in second. The video was shot by a friend of Dave's, and there are times when I am so far behind him that I no longer appear in the view finder. Somehow, I managed to close at the end. I think he beat me by only a half second.
Anyhow, I personally would love any suggestions on my stroke. I suspect Dave would appreciate this too, but I am not positive. I am the one in the lighter blue FS I with the very langorous (almost lazy) looking stroke. Despite appearances, this was my fastest 200 in several years at 1:57.44. It felt at the time like I was trying hard, but it does not look like it.
My turns look particularly inept. Any suggestions?
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Just out of curiosity, what are 2 guys who are obviously very comfortably under a double 0 doing seeded at an :01 and a :02.4? Not trying to start a fight, or heap opprobrium (gotta work a Thornton word in here somewhere), just curious.
I can't speak for Dave, but I was sandbagging by a second or so. I had done a 1:59.98 earlier in the season, but didn't want to jinx my efforts by thinking I could repeat this feat. I was really surprised I did in the 1:57's. Throughout the race, I was telling myself, "You feel awful. This is bad. Don't worry about embarrassing yourself. Age comes to us all eventually. Maybe there's a blood clot somewhere. It will be okay--Leslie knows some local hospitals. It will be over soon, three more minutes max."
Evidently, the power of negative thinking paid off.
Anyhow, I admit to venial sandbagging, but not the mortal variety. My unexpectedly faster than anticipated time was an accident.
Paul, thanks for the tip. I will try it as soon as my sinuses allow me to submerge by more than a centimeter without an exaggeration of the excruciating pressure effects I am currently suffering, and have documented in a revoltingly intimate new vlog just posted, i.e., Soul MRSA, or something worse?
It just seems to me that Dave consistently gained so much on me in the turns that it wasn't really fair.
If I can't improve my turns, I think we should make Dave wear some kind of back "wing-like apparatus" to slow him down a little, like making the thin jockeys carry some extra weight.
If I can't improve my turns, I think we should make Dave wear some kind of back "wing-like apparatus" to slow him down a little, like making the thin jockeys carry some extra weight.
Sure as long as you agree to wear oh say, 40 pounds in sandbags during our next race?
One thing that you might want to focus on is the angle that you push off on your turns. It looks like you might be slightly angled upwards instead of straight out or slightly downward.
Dave's excuse:
Seed time was my best from Zones last spring, where I swam the 1000-500-200-100-50 and two relays over 2 1/2 days. This summer at Portland I swam a 2:13 LCM, which should convert into the 1:56-57 range if one believes the tables. Being early in the season, with just a day or so preparation, I opted for a more conservative seed time. It was a good summer, was able to train consistently, and I was not sure that the switch to less mileage and short course had not slowed things up a bit. Not interested in sandbagging in this case, generally just take pot luck with a seed time around my recent best.
In coming years I hope to retain fast times like Mr. Thornton, on the other hand a fun meet and good race is often enough. It is inspiring to see the talent and experience of so many going so fast at what used to be the traditionally downward slide ages. Just keep moving towards the light!
Jim, me carry extra weight? C'mon, I've got enough blubber for several winters already. The turn thing is hard when you can see under the bulkhead. More ab work? I need SDK's like crazy, how can Ande go so fast? First thing I think about is pushing off and grabbing a breath. My friends Jay and Stan kill me on the turns, I feel like I use them for a quick nap in comparison.
DV
I fully understand seeding conservatively. After some unfortunate experiences using converted times, I typically seed my most recent time in the same course rather than a converted time. Sometimes I end up beating that time by a fair bit if it's been a while since I swam it, but I know it was a real time.
Actually, I was curious to see where you guys were prior to this swim. I swam an :00 at Austin, and am hoping to break that magic barrier this year. When I saw your seeds, I wondered how close they were to your prior swims. Your outstanding swims gave me some hope that I can get there. Good job.
Each of you do 10 x 25 SDK underwaters on :40 as absolution, and you're off the sandbagger hook. At least with me.
Dave Varner would appreciate any and all input, especially on swimming.
The obvious thing to me is you're not getting much distance off the walls. Your head seems to be popping up before the flags, although it could just be the camera angle.
Dave's excuse:
This summer at Portland I swam a 2:13 LCM, which should convert into the 1:56-57 range if one believes the tables.
DV
Hey, I remember that swim:
Heat 18 of 26 Timed Finals
1 Rodriguez, Rick A 46 OREG 2:25.97
2 Keen, John M 45 FACT 2:24.74
3 Nelsen, Steve N 48 PCAT 2:22.60
4 Sumerfield, Bill H 48 OREG 2:22.00
5 Varner, David J 48 FXCM 2:22.14
6 Sikora, Rod 48 DAMM 2:23.80
7 Campbell, Chris 47 MVM 2:25.91
8 Bragg, Robin 48 OREG 3:27.92
You checked out on me rather early, as I recall, and unlike Mr. Thornton I was unable to come back on you. I think I was really dehydrated from the heat for that race. I had leg cramps on the last 50, and basically just dragged them home.
That was a great swim; you put the hurt on some of the folks in the faster heat, too.
Portland was pretty hot, sorry about your ill effects....I was lucky and swam in the earlier parts of the day, but on my last day there I swam the 100 free about 5:30 and don't know how folks stayed through the day with that heat. The reaction pads on the blocks were burning hot. We went on vacation after that, heading up through Yakima back to the Sound for another week - was even hotter until we got into the mountains.
Yes, I need more distance off the turns. I seem to have lost lung capacity and need to regain the discipline to work on that part, it is definitely not part of my routine. Maybe that's why I prefer LCM and open water!
DV
