i've never posted in one of these threads and have never been much of a fish.
i was a swim team kid, growing up, but never a particularly good pool swimmer. but i was also a beach lifeguard, and a surfer, and i navigate and feel the water pretty well. i'd say i've got a fairly strong stroke but a slowish one, and i sink like a rock. when i got my first wetsuit, though, a lightbulb went off in my head! so overall i'd say i underperform in the pool and overperform in open water.
after a long bloody time out of the pool, things have opened up here and i'm finally able to get in the water. my first swim back, two weeks ago, was sort of crap - rushed for time, expensive, and sharing a pool with a bunch of weird 'denizens' to head-up breast stroke, synchro swimming, and so on. and yet - yet! - it felt magic.
i've also managed to jump into the outdoor pool once last week. it was still barely 18 degrees, and after a little over 1000m i had to get out.
but finally, a few nights ago i managed to sneak out after the kids were asleep, and get in a quick late-night session at the local 25m indoor pool.
350 warmup as 50 float/100 kick/100 pull/100 swim
3x200 tempo w/paddles
2x100 tempo pull
4x50 sprint free
100 cool down
it's barely 1000m. and my times in the sprints were depressing. but dammit, the tempo sets still sort of felt OK, and my stroke felt like it was coming together again.
let's never take swimming for granted again!
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https://lshtm.academia.edu/MikeCallaghan http://howtobeswiss.blogspot.ch/