I've noticed that I am struggling in the pool (relative to others) due to what I feel is a kick deficiency. I know I don't have a strong kick, kind of just a flutter. I think this is a product of a subconscious decision at some point over the years to reduce kicking due to the need to save the legs for the rest of a triathlon.
Here's the full story. I'm 45, no formal swim background, no HS or college team, no Masters classes, etc. Just a guy who grew up around the water. In relation to my competition I'm a good swimmer, but not great by any means. This is my 4th year of triathlon and pool swimming.
My local pool is short course/yards. I've been swimming with a guy this year that is a former open water Navy rescue swimmer. He's been out of it a few years, but is still pretty strong.
In our sessions we are swimming 100's coming in between 1:24 and 1:28. 50's are usually :38 to :40. He regularly beats me by half to a full body length. Today we decided to mix it up and swim some 300's with the pull buoy. I started crushing him, coming in 3 and 4 body lengths ahead. We talked about it after and I asked about his effort level, etc on the 300's to make sure he wasn't just cruising it. He said he was swimming his best with a similar effort to the open sets.
So by taking the kick out of it, I went from a body length back to a body length up per 100. Seems like a big difference. So does this guy have a great kick or does mine just suck? I suspect it is the latter. By developing a strong kick I know I can get faster, but at what cost to my bike/run?
Here's the full story. I'm 45, no formal swim background, no HS or college team, no Masters classes, etc. Just a guy who grew up around the water. In relation to my competition I'm a good swimmer, but not great by any means. This is my 4th year of triathlon and pool swimming.
My local pool is short course/yards. I've been swimming with a guy this year that is a former open water Navy rescue swimmer. He's been out of it a few years, but is still pretty strong.
In our sessions we are swimming 100's coming in between 1:24 and 1:28. 50's are usually :38 to :40. He regularly beats me by half to a full body length. Today we decided to mix it up and swim some 300's with the pull buoy. I started crushing him, coming in 3 and 4 body lengths ahead. We talked about it after and I asked about his effort level, etc on the 300's to make sure he wasn't just cruising it. He said he was swimming his best with a similar effort to the open sets.
So by taking the kick out of it, I went from a body length back to a body length up per 100. Seems like a big difference. So does this guy have a great kick or does mine just suck? I suspect it is the latter. By developing a strong kick I know I can get faster, but at what cost to my bike/run?