xeon wrote:
DJRed wrote:
In a weird way, I think a guy like Phelps, while appreciated by the masses for his medals, is actually underappreciated for the freak that he is. The general public has little appreciation for what they are watching when these elites go at it.
For sure... he's a swimmer which is popular every four years in his home country. He's famous no doubt but only during the couple of months during the Olympics. Outside of that he's a fringe athlete just like the rest of us.
The guy is a once in a lifetime kind of athlete IMO.
On thread topic, I need to do more kick drills. I've gotten lazy with my kicking and my swim times have plummeted this year, especially in non wet-suit races. I can sprint a little over 1:10 for a single 100 in a 25yd pool... I can't even imagine kicking that or faster!
I asked the coach of the local Y team if he would do some 1-on-1 to help me learn how to lift my legs. His schedule didn't permit recurring private lessons with me, but he did offer about 15 minutes right then to look at my stroke and provide some training tips. The thing he told me most was to kick, kick, and kick some more. Kick fast, kick slow, kick long, kick short. He said once I got my legs in shape, the rest would follow.
Strange advice I thought since I don't have an ounce of upper-body strength but my legs are strong from running. His team is really good, though, so I figured why not. As a result, I've adjusted my approach to kicking and have seen an improvement in my times.
I've read plenty that triathletes shouldn't kick to save their legs and, in a wetsuit, kicking breaks streamline so it's slower, etc. I bought into that and have done much more pulling than kicking in training. At this point, though, I think I need to reevaluate as it seems kicking will help me learn body position that I'll hopefully be able to replicate when I swim.
I guess at a minimum it'll get me into a faster Master's lane and I might enjoy swimming more since I'll be less slow.