Masters and Minimalism

SWIM: 2000y in 60 mins WU=100, MS=2x200, 3x100 kick, 3x400 as 50f, 50e, 100f, 50e, 150f for #1 and #3, reverse intensity for #2
RUN: 3.5 miles in 35 mins on treadmill, about 1hr after swim. In Kinvaras.

It's worth getting up early for this swim. Compared to any other swim I do during the week, this one hurts the most. It's the structure, the other swimmers, and the knowledge that you aren't suffering alone. There's 3-5 people in your lane pushing you to keep going and they all look ragged after a long set.

Maybe not as ragged as I do, though.

I'm not sure what's different from last year, when I left Masters near tears and didn't come back too often. I'm not that much better of a swimmer now compared to then. Are there more "beginners" coming to MMM, thereby letting me feel more at home? Or is it some of that Iron Self Confidence, just knowing that I've done a 2.4 mile swim in a lake? Gotta admit, a 2000y Masters class doesnt seem all that hard compared to a 4224y bash-fest in IMWI.

And in proof that I'm still not that great of a swimmer, CHG worked with me a bit after the practice on some drills. Elementary drills, I should add. Here's the problems: My top arm is on my hip, my forward hand is too low and my arm under my head, I'm pressing the buoy too much, and my hips are high in the water. It all adds up to my biggest hugest problem: my head is too low in the water to easily turn and breath. The fix: top arm tucked alongside the body, my forward hand higher in the water and along my head, less 'push' on the buoy, and let the hips fall a bit. A few test laps of this had my forehead out of the water!! So my goal in the end is to have air on the back of my neck. Right now it's a few inches underwater.

This has been a long time problem for me. When I rotate to breath, my face is still underwater. I'd started to think that this was just me, just how I swam. I'd started to give up on it. But it seems there's a fix.

My other problem is my left arm. The elbow bends the wrong way and I don't grab the water. I need to focus on arms close to the body in my "slipstream" moment, and wide arm outside the body during the catch/pull phase. Narrow-wide-narrow-wide. But the other drills first.

And some of the problems are from me over-do-ing the drills. Pressing the buoy is something I learned with JM last year. Holding my forward arm tight under my head is from TI. Previously, I'd drill and drill and drill and drill only to find that drilling did not translate to reality. What I did drilling didn't happen swimming.

And so as always I'm psyched up about these new ideas and drills. Actually had crazy ideas of swimming at least 30 mins on my non-swim days just to drill. That'll wear off.

The run was at the Y treadmill. I wanted to ride in with DH to work and I was worried that the muy massivo ice storm and blizzard bearing down on us would keep me from running later in the day. So while I usually run later, I ran earlier and got it out of the way. The Kinvaras still feel good, and I still felt the strain in my calves. Not a pain, but an awareness. The only pain was from running on the ho-hum boring treadmill.

But I was done my 9am, meaning 5hrs into my day I had just over 1.5hrs of training DONE.

Yeah!