Last year I hated going to the pool. I struggled so much. I thought it was my fitness that held me back and not just technique. I knew I was doing something wrong, but I didn't think it was that much. I was ignorant and I knew it at the time.
I know for a fact that now my fitness level is much higher than it has been in years -- since spring of 2008 I think. I feel healthier now though. And I like how I'm getting stronger because I want to instead of because my job requires it.
So I had a swim lesson Tuesday evening. I look forward to my swim lessons. One thing I like about Bill's teaching style is that the first few basic drills you learn, he returns to time and time again because of different elements. Each drill has an original purpose, but then can be used for a different focus point. His one-arm drill seems to be his go-to drill. It's a good one though. His no-arms swimming drill is difficult, but the hardest drill for me is one he showed me on Tuesday: no-kicking.
The purpose of the drill for me is to help with the awareness of what my legs are doing behind me. Yeah.... Mine go all over the place. Great. It felt like no matter how tight I kept my core, hips and legs, they just kept waving back and forth behind me. I was hoping that at the pool yesterday I could improve this. Not really. >:/ Makes me frustrated, but in a much better way than swimming did last year. Pull buoy is cheating, btw. I have to keep my hips floating on my own without kicking and without a pull buoy. Oy that is tough.
I have a problem when I do an all out swim; my body acts like a teeter-totter. Errrr. After my initial swim during my lesson he asked me, "How did that feel?" I said like I was a see-saw. He laughed and agreed. So during the lesson, we addressed that quite a bit. Every now and then during laps, I had moments of freedom where I didn't feel like a see-saw. But I don't know what I did to do that! Makes me want to scream. Yesterday at the pool I had the same problems. Not a happy camper.
Bill says that my size inherently works against me on the swim and bike. I'm going to have to work very hard on being as efficient as possible and using as much power as possible. A bigger person has more mass and gets more momentum through the water. I told him a little about the duathlon I did Sunday.
The men started the race 3 minutes before all the women. During the initial run, I told him that I passed a 240 pound man at about the half-mile mark. Blew by him would be more accurate. About halfway through the bike course, I was pedaling hard on one of the few downhills; he blew by me not even pedaling. >:( I was going about 30-32 mph, he had to be going about 40 mph and not even pedaling. He was in a full tuck (looked rather funny because he was so large -- Lol) and hauling ass. Didn't even start pedaling until halfway up the next hill. I had to pedal the whole damn time -- not fair. Bill laughed and said it was because of his mass, which makes sense. I mentioned to him that I blew by him at the half-mile mark on the second run. Lol. Vengeance is sweet. Bill said, "So we need to get you to the run then?" I said, "Yes. At this point, I'll be able to bust out 8 min/mile pace during the run on a triathlon." I told him that I figured I could make up the most time by improving my run time and getting trained on swimming properly, instead of dumping $1000 into a new road bike.
I think I've made a good choice so far.
I now enjoy my swimming workouts, which is a wonderful change. When I was at the pool yesterday, I noticed that my heart and lungs still haven't quite recovered from Sunday. I still can't wait to go back! I think I may go back this evening... :)
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