Swimming and stuff
It seems that lately, all I've posted here are race reports and course maps. That really wasn't the reason I started this blog. So why did I start it? Why do I feel the need to "reveal myself to the world"? Well, I don't, really, but I've always enjoyed writing and I also like the idea of having a permanent record, complete with pictures, of my progress in something that has become such a major part of my life. It's mainly for me, not for other people (but please keep on reading!).
So, swimming... Swimming used to be my favorite of the three sports. Not anymore. In fact, I went through a real swimming crisis not too long ago and just getting into the pool became a real effort. My times have gotten slower and my motivation to improve them had gone out the window. I'm not sure how I managed to "get over it", but I did. One day I decided I was going to "JFS" (just f*cking swim) and I did.
Last night, the main drill was three times 400 meters. I try to avoid posting my times here, as I know that to many people, they would be considered very slow, but I'm not a born athlete and speed has never been my strong point, so at the risk of being laughed at (and who cares, anyway? I can't hear you all laughing!), I'm going to start talking about my times again. My fastest ever 400 meter time was 8:04. This was more than a year and a half ago and I assume I was drafting off of someone, as I've never come anywhere near that time again. My "normal" time (not drafting) is 8:42. I have repeated this exact number more times than I can count. I hadn't gone below it in a very long time.
So last night, after doing the warmup, I did the first 400. I tried drafting for the first 50 meters, but that didn't work out because there were three of us in the lane and we kind of got into a "traffic jam" at one end of the pool and by the time we got ourselves sorted out, the guy I wanted to draft off of was too far ahead. So I did it on my own, not pushing too hard, as my coach said I could do 9:00. Imagine my surprise when I finished, looked at my watch and saw 8:35. Even drafting for 50 meters wouldn't have taken 7 seconds off my time and that first 50 meters wasn't slow, but it wasn't incredibly fast, either. I may not have swum at lightening speed, but it was an incredible confidence booster for me.
For the next two 400s, I drafted off of my favorite training partner (and no, I didn't just say that because I know he reads my blog sometimes). He missed the last 50 meters of the first one, meaning I could only draft for 350 meters. I finished in 8:23. The last one we did in 8:16. Drafting is so much fun -- I hardly had to swim! In fact, I think I spent more energy trying to keep his feet out of my face (and trying to avoid hitting them as much as possible, as I'm sure I was driving him nuts) than I did trying to move forward.
So now the obvious question is, if drafting is so easy in the pool, why is it so hard in a race? Why do I never seem to find the perfect person to draft off of???
And yes, I know that drafting off of other people is not going to improve my own swimming or make me faster, but I like the feeling of moving faster in the water and seeing the faster times (and keeping up with someone who is faster than I am) is very motivating to me. I will get those swim times back down (and then make them even faster).
So, swimming... Swimming used to be my favorite of the three sports. Not anymore. In fact, I went through a real swimming crisis not too long ago and just getting into the pool became a real effort. My times have gotten slower and my motivation to improve them had gone out the window. I'm not sure how I managed to "get over it", but I did. One day I decided I was going to "JFS" (just f*cking swim) and I did.
Last night, the main drill was three times 400 meters. I try to avoid posting my times here, as I know that to many people, they would be considered very slow, but I'm not a born athlete and speed has never been my strong point, so at the risk of being laughed at (and who cares, anyway? I can't hear you all laughing!), I'm going to start talking about my times again. My fastest ever 400 meter time was 8:04. This was more than a year and a half ago and I assume I was drafting off of someone, as I've never come anywhere near that time again. My "normal" time (not drafting) is 8:42. I have repeated this exact number more times than I can count. I hadn't gone below it in a very long time.
So last night, after doing the warmup, I did the first 400. I tried drafting for the first 50 meters, but that didn't work out because there were three of us in the lane and we kind of got into a "traffic jam" at one end of the pool and by the time we got ourselves sorted out, the guy I wanted to draft off of was too far ahead. So I did it on my own, not pushing too hard, as my coach said I could do 9:00. Imagine my surprise when I finished, looked at my watch and saw 8:35. Even drafting for 50 meters wouldn't have taken 7 seconds off my time and that first 50 meters wasn't slow, but it wasn't incredibly fast, either. I may not have swum at lightening speed, but it was an incredible confidence booster for me.
For the next two 400s, I drafted off of my favorite training partner (and no, I didn't just say that because I know he reads my blog sometimes). He missed the last 50 meters of the first one, meaning I could only draft for 350 meters. I finished in 8:23. The last one we did in 8:16. Drafting is so much fun -- I hardly had to swim! In fact, I think I spent more energy trying to keep his feet out of my face (and trying to avoid hitting them as much as possible, as I'm sure I was driving him nuts) than I did trying to move forward.
So now the obvious question is, if drafting is so easy in the pool, why is it so hard in a race? Why do I never seem to find the perfect person to draft off of???
And yes, I know that drafting off of other people is not going to improve my own swimming or make me faster, but I like the feeling of moving faster in the water and seeing the faster times (and keeping up with someone who is faster than I am) is very motivating to me. I will get those swim times back down (and then make them even faster).
posted by bari | 11:05
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