The IM Lane

hey elaine! i saw your other thread about your turns but couldn't watch those videos anymore so here's my thoughts on my 400 im video unless you're intentionally holding on for a sec to catch your breath, there's no reason to reach up to the gutter on your fly turns. all you have to do is touch the walll in front of you, then "richocet" off the wall (the 3rd fly turn and your *** turns are more of what you should be doing on your other fly turns) are you able to stay longer underwater (streamline/flutter or few dolphin kicks) before your breakout in the backstroke? have you ever learned the old fashioned backstroke whip turn, as opposed to just an open turn? would it also make you dizzy? can you do it faster than an open turn? have you determined with your breaststroke experience, when you need oxygen and will forgo the underwater pullout? obviously, training to be able to do the pullouts at each turn would be helpful having never raced with freestyle open turns, i guess you're doing it as well as possible! the quicker/snappier you can get thru the turns, the better! with most of your turns, you don't need to reach as far as placing your palm on the wall (nor sink/pull into the walls with bent elbows, which i don't see you doing). all you have to do is touch with your fingertips, hopefullly with perfect degree of outstretch of your arms, and then bring your body around as quickly as possible (think the hand-over-ear body twist, like in breastroke turns) and legs placed in position for maximum pushoff power fly is my weak link as well. i've only ever swum the 400 im once (checked that off the list :) but for 200 im's, i try to just maintain easy speed and form during the fly; don't forget that race adrenaline usually adds a boost to your fly leg as well. since you're a breastroker, you don't want to tire yourself out too much on the back. try to build/maintain speed on the back, catching your breath after the fly and making sure you've got enough air in the lungs, going into the back-*** turn. breastroke is your forte, so Bring It on this leg, but maintain form and don't spin (unfortuantely, it's not the 100 im :D . freestyle, i would try to build to the point that you've figured out that you can do an all-you-have-left sprint. as a breastroker, i think you can really feel the building momemtum and finishing strong!, from the breaststroke through freestyle legs you'll have to play with the pacing, for each stroke leg, and for the race as a whole, to see what works best for you. remember there are FIFTEEN turns in a short course 400 im, so it's worth working on them! Hey there, chowsh! Thanks for taking the time to watch my video and post feedback on my strokes. I appreciate getting feedback from different swimmers, because everybody sees different things and provides a unique perspective. So, I take it all in and paste it into my ongoing Word Doc on stroke advice that I read regularly as a reminder on what to work on. Anyway, about those fly turns... :blush: Ya think? Yeah, I'll admit it; I used it as a great excuse for an extra breath! I am usually more disciplined than that and don't even do it at my home pool that is designed the same way. BUSTED. :agree: On backstroke, I am trying to get used to swimming it without a nose clip. When I use a clip, I am able to stay under longer, but I just can't get used to using a clip for the other strokes. So, I am not using it on IM. Since that meet, I have been swimming more and more backstroke without a clip and I am trying to get better at getting a good breath before the turn, so I can get some good kicking in off the wall. As for the bacstroke turn, the only one I have learned is a bucket/open turn. I am open to trying it another way; I just need to learn how to do it. And, while I am learning, I'll find out soon enough whether my inner ears will let me do it. :afraid: On breaststroke, I did a pullout on each of my turns. I always do; I have never skipped a pullout- ever. Now, I will admit I have surfaced from a pullout gasping for air on that first breath, at times, during a 200 breaststroke race, but I always do a pullout. I'll keep working on those turns; thanks for your advice! Cheers! :chug:

hey elaine! i saw your other thread about your turns but couldn't watch those videos anymore so here's my thoughts on my 400 im video unless you're intentionally holding on for a sec to catch your breath, there's no reason to reach up to the gutter on your fly turns. all you have to do is touch the walll in front of you, then "richocet" off the wall (the 3rd fly turn and your *** turns are more of what you should be doing on your other fly turns) are you able to stay longer underwater (streamline/flutter or few dolphin kicks) before your breakout in the backstroke? have you ever learned the old fashioned backstroke whip turn, as opposed to just an open turn? would it also make you dizzy? can you do it faster than an open turn? have you determined with your breaststroke experience, when you need oxygen and will forgo the underwater pullout? obviously, training to be able to do the pullouts at each turn would be helpful having never raced with freestyle open turns, i guess you're doing it as well as possible! the quicker/snappier you can get thru the turns, the better! with most of your turns, you don't need to reach as far as placing your palm on the wall (nor sink/pull into the walls with bent elbows, which i don't see you doing). all you have to do is touch with your fingertips, hopefullly with perfect degree of outstretch of your arms, and then bring your body around as quickly as possible (think the hand-over-ear body twist, like in breastroke turns) and legs placed in position for maximum pushoff power fly is my weak link as well. i've only ever swum the 400 im once (checked that off the list :) but for 200 im's, i try to just maintain easy speed and form during the fly; don't forget that race adrenaline usually adds a boost to your fly leg as well. since you're a breastroker, you don't want to tire yourself out too much on the back. try to build/maintain speed on the back, catching your breath after the fly and making sure you've got enough air in the lungs, going into the back-*** turn. breastroke is your forte, so Bring It on this leg, but maintain form and don't spin (unfortuantely, it's not the 100 im :D . freestyle, i would try to build to the point that you've figured out that you can do an all-you-have-left sprint. as a breastroker, i think you can really feel the building momemtum and finishing strong!, from the breaststroke through freestyle legs you'll have to play with the pacing, for each stroke leg, and for the race as a whole, to see what works best for you. remember there are FIFTEEN turns in a short course 400 im, so it's worth working on them! Hey there, chowsh! Thanks for taking the time to watch my video and post feedback on my strokes. I appreciate getting feedback from different swimmers, because everybody sees different things and provides a unique perspective. So, I take it all in and paste it into my ongoing Word Doc on stroke advice that I read regularly as a reminder on what to work on. Anyway, about those fly turns... :blush: Ya think? Yeah, I'll admit it; I used it as a great excuse for an extra breath! I am usually more disciplined than that and don't even do it at my home pool that is designed the same way. BUSTED. :agree: On backstroke, I am trying to get used to swimming it without a nose clip. When I use a clip, I am able to stay under longer, but I just can't get used to using a clip for the other strokes. So, I am not using it on IM. Since that meet, I have been swimming more and more backstroke without a clip and I am trying to get better at getting a good breath before the turn, so I can get some good kicking in off the wall. As for the bacstroke turn, the only one I have learned is a bucket/open turn. I am open to trying it another way; I just need to learn how to do it. And, while I am learning, I'll find out soon enough whether my inner ears will let me do it. :afraid: On breaststroke, I did a pullout on each of my turns. I always do; I have never skipped a pullout- ever. Now, I will admit I have surfaced from a pullout gasping for air on that first breath, at times, during a 200 breaststroke race, but I always do a pullout. I'll keep working on those turns; thanks for your advice! Cheers! :chug: