Learning to swim
Another post from Mr. Buckeye: This past summer was really the first year that the Mrs. and I started doing triathlons. We have been long time runners and the Mrs. is a great swimmer (struggles a bit with the bike). Well…everyone seems to have a weak link and mine is definitely the swim.
In the past, my idea of swim training for a tri was to hit the pool 3 times the 2 weeks before the race. So…pretty much no training at all. Going to the pool with the Mrs. was a painful exercise of watching her swim twice as fast as me….LITERALLY! Not to pile on myself but it is pretty bad.
I decided that this winter I was going to make a change and actually learn how to swim. The Mrs. was pretty active in a Masters Swim group and I bit the bullet and joined. I started going in early September. I was actually afraid to go the first time as I thought they would tell me I was beyond help. On my first day, I went to that far lane…oh, you know the one….lane 8 with other misfits like myself. I am not quite sure but I think in the first week I spent more time dangling off the wall wondering how the umm..errr..umm… “plus sized’ folks in my lane were kicking my ass.
I have stuck with it going 2 or 3 days a week. The coaches have been very helpful and spent some time working on my mechanics. I have come a looooooong way. For those of you in Masters group, you know that which lane you are in is really the ranking system of your skills. So here is my breakdown:
1) After 2 weeks, I moved up a lane out of the misfits..up to lane 7.
2) Lane 7 is the place for really bad swimmers (a step above the misfits). In general, they miss a lot of the cutoff times and do an incomplete workout. I spent a month here and eventually became Farmer Ted…king of the Dip Shits (a la 16 candles).
3) Lane 6. This is the first time of me actually swimming with real swimmers. Doing and completing the workouts. Hung here for a month.
4) Lane 5. My current home. I struggle to hang here, but I think that is good because it pushes me.
By no means would I consider myself a good swimmer but I have come a heck of a long way and I think it will help me in the coming year. I will never be one of the lane 1-3 sharks…..those guys and girls fly.
The work out on Monday was:
warm up: 6X100 (back, breast, fly)
kick: 300 IM (FYI I hate kicking!!!!)
2 X 200 pull
4X100 swim
do this 2 times
100 easy
75 breast
75 free
Off to the pool tonight. I try to remember the camera to snap a shot of the pool. On a side note, the grade school kids practice before we get there and it is fun to watch the kids while we stretch out. There is an 11 year old girl that bangs out 1 minute 100’s off the wall…impressive to watch.
In the past, my idea of swim training for a tri was to hit the pool 3 times the 2 weeks before the race. So…pretty much no training at all. Going to the pool with the Mrs. was a painful exercise of watching her swim twice as fast as me….LITERALLY! Not to pile on myself but it is pretty bad.
I decided that this winter I was going to make a change and actually learn how to swim. The Mrs. was pretty active in a Masters Swim group and I bit the bullet and joined. I started going in early September. I was actually afraid to go the first time as I thought they would tell me I was beyond help. On my first day, I went to that far lane…oh, you know the one….lane 8 with other misfits like myself. I am not quite sure but I think in the first week I spent more time dangling off the wall wondering how the umm..errr..umm… “plus sized’ folks in my lane were kicking my ass.
I have stuck with it going 2 or 3 days a week. The coaches have been very helpful and spent some time working on my mechanics. I have come a looooooong way. For those of you in Masters group, you know that which lane you are in is really the ranking system of your skills. So here is my breakdown:
1) After 2 weeks, I moved up a lane out of the misfits..up to lane 7.
2) Lane 7 is the place for really bad swimmers (a step above the misfits). In general, they miss a lot of the cutoff times and do an incomplete workout. I spent a month here and eventually became Farmer Ted…king of the Dip Shits (a la 16 candles).
3) Lane 6. This is the first time of me actually swimming with real swimmers. Doing and completing the workouts. Hung here for a month.
4) Lane 5. My current home. I struggle to hang here, but I think that is good because it pushes me.
By no means would I consider myself a good swimmer but I have come a heck of a long way and I think it will help me in the coming year. I will never be one of the lane 1-3 sharks…..those guys and girls fly.
The work out on Monday was:
warm up: 6X100 (back, breast, fly)
kick: 300 IM (FYI I hate kicking!!!!)
2 X 200 pull
4X100 swim
do this 2 times
100 easy
75 breast
75 free
Off to the pool tonight. I try to remember the camera to snap a shot of the pool. On a side note, the grade school kids practice before we get there and it is fun to watch the kids while we stretch out. There is an 11 year old girl that bangs out 1 minute 100’s off the wall…impressive to watch.
6 Comments:
as a novice swimmer myself, it's good to hear that we're not beyond help. great job in pushing yourself and making advances!
if she doesn't read this, tell Buckeye I said hi! hope you guys have a good holiday!
Congrats on moving up (I think) to lane 7! :-) At least you don't go backwards when you kick! I know people who do- I guess they would still be in the misfit lane!
Go for it!!!
(Hey, what happened this year at the Escape from Lake Erie? Did they cancel the swim because of bad weather or something????)
When I started swimming with the masters group I was in that "special" lane also. I referred to it as the remedial swimmers lane. Unlike you though, I never graduated. After about a year I decided I was too old to handle the unheated water when it was 45 outside and joined the Y. Haven't been back since and am still slow.
What lane does Mrs. Buckeye swim in? Hmmmm?
Let's just say the Mrs. is in those "shark" lanes. She says if I ever catch her, she will quit swimming....but it will never happen..me catching her...or her quitting!
PS. The swim was cancelled from the Escape from Erie....the lake was too rough
That Mrs. of yours is one serious shark! But hey, nice job on the lane progress! That's awesome! I'm sort of intimidated to even go to a master's swim. I love swimming alone, and it would probably be good for me to try a master's...but man, they are so fast! For now I'm stickin' to the teensy little WestShore Y. :)
That's quite a rapid progression up the depth chart, Mr. Buckeye. It's exciting isn't it? I went through the same progression last season when I joined a masters swim club here in Vancouver.
In our club, the "misfits" are in lane 1 and the fastest guys are in lane 6. Currently I'm the fastest guy in lane 4. Truthfully, I could swim in lane 5 no problem, but I prefer being the leader not the follower.
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