I don't expect that many will remember the song Slow and Low, written by Run DMC for the Beastie Boys. I got it stuck in my head while swimming today because I tried something new. I wanted to see what happened if I swam slowly and didn't try to wear myself out so much.
It was nice. I actually swam the whole 800 yards faster because I wasn't stopping so much and felt like I had more in the tank at the end. Also because I was going slower I could concentrate on my stroke more and pay attention to the whole thing. But, I still have my bouyancy problem: I'm skinny. So I would sink at that speed if I didn't kick harder...and I don't want to sink.
With all of this, I know my stroke was better but I'm not sure if my kick was holding up its end of the proper technique bargain. So afterwards, I did my drill. I don't know the name of it so I'll just call it "kickies". I did five sets of "kickies", really concentrating on kicking from the hips, pointing my toes and doing fast short kicks. Man, "kickies" are hard and by the end I was kind of pissed that the pool even has a diving well for me to do these things. But I did them.
With all of the progress, I'm ready for my next stop: 36 laps next week. I usually test myself on Friday or the weekend to see what Monday will feel like with the new distance but I'm pretty sure if I keep it Slow and Low, I can do it.
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There's maybe another parallel with bike riding here.
ReplyDeleteDoing distance is all about finding the pace you can sustain - which is often harder than it seems. You may feel comfortable with a pace at first, but if it's too fast, you may not find that out until it's too late and you eventually bonk.
Usually, though, if you slow down before you bonk and just keep at it, you'll recover and start feeling better.
Maybe swimming's like that?