Lately I've not been making friends.
I am hitting people during fly. Sometimes it is from another lane since I recover my right arm over the lane line, and sometimes it is a lane mate. I have a 76" reach so I am roughly as wide as a lane.
I try to look and f I see someone I can sometimes do an alligator arm recovery, but this does not always work. People come up fast and you can't always get out of the way.
Is there a trick to this, or is hitting part of the deal?
Sometimes I'll lead so I can at least do a 25 without an issue, but anything over a 25 and I am now paranoid.
Swimming aggressively is rude and potentially causes injury.
Avoiding fly when anyone else is in your lane is just looking for an excuse not to swim fly. We're masters: if you don't want to swim fly, don't.
The key, as others have stated, is looking ahead and anticipating. With even a little experience there should be very few surprises. An extra kick to avoid a hit shouldn't mess up your timing (if it does, think of it as a drill to help improve your timing).
Do one-arm fly when necessary, but it shouldn't be too often because it is easier than two-arm fly. I disagree with the poster who said it is a hard habit to break in a race, I've never had the slightest bit of trouble with this. (One-handed turns, on the other hand...!)
Swimming aggressively is rude and potentially causes injury.
Avoiding fly when anyone else is in your lane is just looking for an excuse not to swim fly. We're masters: if you don't want to swim fly, don't.
The key, as others have stated, is looking ahead and anticipating. With even a little experience there should be very few surprises. An extra kick to avoid a hit shouldn't mess up your timing (if it does, think of it as a drill to help improve your timing).
Do one-arm fly when necessary, but it shouldn't be too often because it is easier than two-arm fly. I disagree with the poster who said it is a hard habit to break in a race, I've never had the slightest bit of trouble with this. (One-handed turns, on the other hand...!)
