All the talk of SCY and M pools, I have to share that no such problem exists where I get to swim, as 50M public pools abound literally everywhere, with entry fees just over US$2.
Of over 40 public pools here, probably 35 are 50m pools, with many areas/districts having one for regular swimming of laps, and another shallower version for taking it easy, but both 8 to 10 lane wide 50M pools.
The official swimming season (April to Nov) just kicked off again so all the non-heated outdoor pools have just re-opened, and for the first month or so, depending on rain, overcast and cloudy days, they can stay cool into May, so if you go swimming, you can literally have the pool to yourself.
I hadn't swam for over a year but took the plunge yesterday with the goal of swimming 2K, optimistically planning to do 400, 4x 100, 300, 4 x 75, 200, 4 x 50, 100, 4 x 25.
Hehehe..., I knocked that idea on the head when I completed my first 100, and deceided instead do 20 x 100 as I had no endurance/fitness whatsoever.
#1 - 8 were in prep for it being too cold (I know, HTFU), a DeSoto T1 Black Pearl L/S top with board shorts covering a pair of Finis strap on pull buoy floats, to balance out the extra upper body floatation. No pool toys allowed so the board shorts were used to cover the foam pull buoy's strapped to each upper leg.
I used the tempo trainer as well, determined to get a quicker turnover back into my stroke, so I played around with 1:00 (too fast at this stage), up to 1:15, (counted by entering the water with each hand on the beep). 1:05 worked well, but having read Monty's and other's posts, Gerry Rodriguez's online info, etc., about a quicker turnover for open water compared to pool swimming, I threw in a couple of :85's too. Geez! That's fast!! Almost windmilling to achieve it, with a grab-grab-grab stroke.
So after feeling restricted and wanting to shed all the rubber, I peeled everything off and returned to the water in just my drag suit, (not a baggy one, but two layers of mesh, with the third being the lining, similar to the finis drag suit, but made locally and much cheaper (better value, long lasting).
I then did #9 - 16, still playing with the tempo, and all the time working on a high elbow catch (evf), that I am determined to nail and maintain this year, having felt it over the years, but due to lack of swim training, have never been able to achieve and hold onto as my one swimming stroke, through lack of practice, the aforementioned lack of endurance, and lack of strength to just hold the elbow up, always having it drop under effort as distance or intensity increased.
I finished with #17 - 20 on a recuperative 1:20 tempo, but also as a reminder that yes, at that turnover I was slowing slightly between arm strokes, something I want to rid my freestyle of, no matter how relaxing and/or semi-efficient it has been for me in the past on very little swim training. I then alternated with a 1:05, a 1;15, and a :85, for a total of 2K.
Splits were #1 - 8 approx avg. of 1.34 per 100. #9 - 16 were approx 1.26.
Because of my lack of swim fitness, I went on 2.30. so approx 55 - 64 secs rest, the only way I could maintain my stroke focus of a high elbow, reaching over the barrel, evf, etc.
I also did some single arm front 1/4 pulls (just the initiation of the catch) on some stretch cords I bought at a swim clinic/camp 17 years ago, and have used sporadically in the interim...
Using the cords at the beginning before swimming, and at the end when tired..., I highly recommend them to see, feel, and practice the specific movement that I want to take in the water, on every stroke. They're a great tool to have in your swimming arsenal of weapons, highly recommended.
Another great tool (resource) is Sheila Taormina's new book coming out in May, from Velo Press.
http://www.amazon.com/...aormina/e/B007FLLN4E Swimming Speed Secrets cut's to the chase of what is missing in most masters, age-group, and triathletes freestyle strokes, the catch, as Sheila puts it.
I missed out on attending her clinic when she came through town at the end of last year, but I did manage to pick up a copy of her now out of print book, "Call the Suit" from the organizers of the clinic.
In a nutshell Sheila says yes, work on body position, balance, etc., initially, if you don't have those in place, but that should only take a couple visits to the pool (debatable from what I have seen of fellow swimmers lack of body awareness, coordination etc.), but then if you want to get faster and are putting the training time in to achieve that, then you've got to work on nailing the catch, not further drag reduction or streamlining or whatever you want to call it.
And as she points out simply, amusingly, and in an easy to read format, that catch is something that hasn't changed fundamentally, since Johnny "Tarzan" Weismuller described it in his 1930's book.
Buy her book is my recommendation!
So a question for the 1.20 - 1.22:30 per 100m crowd, you guys and girls who can hold that pace for 500m up to and beyond 3.8km, in the open water?
Yes, just swimming more will give me a return on my swim fitness, but how to best approach nailing and maintaining the catch at all speeds and distances?
My awareness is good, my natural swimming ability is there too I feel as it's one of those things i can just do, where as running i have to work much harder at to get comparable results. So how to capitalize on this affinity for the water and with appropriate training, achieve what i feel and believe is possible, 1.20 pace across the board in all distances up to 5K?
Some back ground, on 20 x 100 one to two times a week similar to above, over a max of 7 - 8 weeks, I have always swam sub 1.40 per 100 for open water swims and tri swims from 1K upto 4K, although better and accomplished swimmers have often said I should be swimming faster with appropriate training.
So you 1.20 to 122:30 pace folk, what are your suggestions, thanks in advance.