replying to the thread
Did anybody see the Laidlows interview. They said that they feel bad swimmers swim too much ingraining bad technique because they swim tired. Sam chose the other way around and swims little but goes all out on theses sessions but maintaining good technique
Another fact i learned is that Sam as a kid swam maybe once a week and finished like 100th out of 120 one year and in the top ten the next. His dad ( a former swimmer himself) insisted on the the technique aspect saying he wanted Sam to be able to keep his technique when he would grow up.
I think it also has to do with the talent aspect. It is also like when Jayson said that swimming is 100% technical and 100 % physical. Well technique takes a lot of effort and most triathletes do not enjoy the swimming part. And you are still limited by lack of flexibility which is a big talent/thing to work on when you just do not have it.
I swim with guys who are way much more gifted than i am at running and biking yet their swimming form/technique and speed is just awful. I went from 2' 15 to 1' 10 in 18 months at 26 when they are stuck at the 2' 10'' barrier but their age certainly makes it harder. Swimming 4 times a week with a good coach on deck does not help. I did not swim more than 3 times a week to improve that much. I felt i was learning a new language and loved the feeling of improving but feel i was really dedicated in my swimming. I enjoyed the process and loved breaking PR every week.
I find it funny that Sam 's training partner Arthur Horseau does not really improve despite swimming with Sam and being coached by his dad.
I also remember that Horseau said he took up triathlon and swimming in high school and swam up to 9 times a week (around 35 K a week). He also said that he worked too much and did not work enough on technique . At the time, he was racing the French Grand Prix but Horseau never really made the gap. He only said that he felt fresher out of the water. So again, hard work may be needed but quantity just does not cut it. If Lionel does not really want it and enjoys the process and is coached by a coach he trust, nothing will happen. And even then, chances are slimm
Ditlev may be one athletes who has improved quite a lot. I guess his length and age may help him but then Sam Long is also tall and young but his bad technique/lack of flexibility makes it hard for him to improve. Maybe Ditlev dedicated engineering mind also help him more than just bullying his way around.
One last point, i agreed with Paul, that swimming makes it hard for outsider. I remember i took me years to drop the open turns because i was afraid that it would be/look/feel ridiculous to tumble turn if i was not a real swimmer. i remember finishing around 10th in an open water 3K yet i was the first one over 20 years old (i was 43 at the time) so everything is relative. I swam ok but got lapped by kids who are Olympians, they were faast !
I liked it when Paul Newsome told Skipper that he was a good swimmer because there is no way you are a bad swimmer if you swim 54 min in a IM. I also feel that Sanders times are quite good given his technique/limitations. I know a lot of people who look better but most of them cannot swim 19 min for a 1500 m. I wonder what Paul Devashish times are on the distance as he is the typical gifted guy who has an eye for technique (i loved his thread about learning fly)
Did anybody see the Laidlows interview. They said that they feel bad swimmers swim too much ingraining bad technique because they swim tired. Sam chose the other way around and swims little but goes all out on theses sessions but maintaining good technique
Another fact i learned is that Sam as a kid swam maybe once a week and finished like 100th out of 120 one year and in the top ten the next. His dad ( a former swimmer himself) insisted on the the technique aspect saying he wanted Sam to be able to keep his technique when he would grow up.
I think it also has to do with the talent aspect. It is also like when Jayson said that swimming is 100% technical and 100 % physical. Well technique takes a lot of effort and most triathletes do not enjoy the swimming part. And you are still limited by lack of flexibility which is a big talent/thing to work on when you just do not have it.
I swim with guys who are way much more gifted than i am at running and biking yet their swimming form/technique and speed is just awful. I went from 2' 15 to 1' 10 in 18 months at 26 when they are stuck at the 2' 10'' barrier but their age certainly makes it harder. Swimming 4 times a week with a good coach on deck does not help. I did not swim more than 3 times a week to improve that much. I felt i was learning a new language and loved the feeling of improving but feel i was really dedicated in my swimming. I enjoyed the process and loved breaking PR every week.
I find it funny that Sam 's training partner Arthur Horseau does not really improve despite swimming with Sam and being coached by his dad.
I also remember that Horseau said he took up triathlon and swimming in high school and swam up to 9 times a week (around 35 K a week). He also said that he worked too much and did not work enough on technique . At the time, he was racing the French Grand Prix but Horseau never really made the gap. He only said that he felt fresher out of the water. So again, hard work may be needed but quantity just does not cut it. If Lionel does not really want it and enjoys the process and is coached by a coach he trust, nothing will happen. And even then, chances are slimm
Ditlev may be one athletes who has improved quite a lot. I guess his length and age may help him but then Sam Long is also tall and young but his bad technique/lack of flexibility makes it hard for him to improve. Maybe Ditlev dedicated engineering mind also help him more than just bullying his way around.
One last point, i agreed with Paul, that swimming makes it hard for outsider. I remember i took me years to drop the open turns because i was afraid that it would be/look/feel ridiculous to tumble turn if i was not a real swimmer. i remember finishing around 10th in an open water 3K yet i was the first one over 20 years old (i was 43 at the time) so everything is relative. I swam ok but got lapped by kids who are Olympians, they were faast !
I liked it when Paul Newsome told Skipper that he was a good swimmer because there is no way you are a bad swimmer if you swim 54 min in a IM. I also feel that Sanders times are quite good given his technique/limitations. I know a lot of people who look better but most of them cannot swim 19 min for a 1500 m. I wonder what Paul Devashish times are on the distance as he is the typical gifted guy who has an eye for technique (i loved his thread about learning fly)