Tuesday, November 8, 2011

Swimming - another breakthrough in a list of breakthroughs

Swimming is a pretty cool thing.  You'll work on it for a while without seeing a lot of progress, but then one thing clicks and suddenly you can go faster.  Simply working harder does not work.  It often just means you splash more, and your form is off.  I've actually had situations where I work harder and go slower.

That's what's so cool about getting faster on the swim.  Something just clicks and all of the sudden, it changes your stroke.  This time, it was the phrase "swim quietly" that was said to me a week ago.  Now, that wasn't the only thing that was said.  There was also an explanation of how I was losing form and "smashing" the water when I tried to speed up.

But, it was the phrase "swim quietly" that gave me the clicking moment.  The very first fast length I did with that in mind I noticed it.  I realized how I was straightening my arm and smacking the water with the inside of my arm.  I was smashing the water, and windmilling, rather then keeping any real technique.

Then, last night, at the coached swim session, I had a breakthrough.

Only a handful of times have I swam 25 metres in less then 30 seconds, and before last night, everyone of those times was a full, all out sprint.  Only once before have I swam 50 metres in under a minute.  Again, that was an all out sprint.

Last night, I swam 25 metres, 8 times in a row, all of them 27-29 seconds.  I swam 50 metres in 57 seconds.  And the kicker?  It wasn't a sprint.  I was simply working hard, and holding form.

Now, could I go faster if I sprinted?  Well, yes, I can.  I just don't know if it is now or not. Right now, I need to work on keeping that form regardless of the speed I'm going.

I'm all about breakthroughs right now!  In the last month, I have achieved the following:

Broken the 50 pound lost mark
Run a sub-60 10K
Blown away the 60 minute mark, going way faster then I thought I could
Discovered the ability to go much harder on the bike then I realized I could
Swam my fastest 25 and 50 metres without even sprinting
Ran my fastest km ever (Somehow this didn't even end up in my blog.  What's up with that?)
Fit back into my Xena costume
Set long term goals and allowed myself to dream
Conquered fears and let go
Run my longest distance ever (24 km, 15mi)

Seriously, I'm on fire.  Maybe it sounds like I'm bragging, but this has been one of the biggest months for me ever.  I've let go of one limit after another and now, the sky is the limit.

7 comments:

  1. You are not bragging, you are celebrating!!! And there is nothing wrong with that at all!! Amazing job(s)! Congrats!

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  2. Woohoo! Congrats on all of your breakthroughs!! :)

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  3. You're doing awesome!

    I find a similar thing with swimming, when I try to go fast, I usually expend way more energy, lose my form and fatigue easily and in the end go about the same speed or even slower than before! Right now I'm concentrating on technique and easy breathing and it seems to be working well. I'm still slow, but I know it will come if I keep working.

    Congrats again on all that you have accomplished with even bigger and better things to come!

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  4. Very exciting! Now, if only I could learn to swim better! Swim quietly, hey? And congrats on all the other accomplishments, I look forward to reading about all those to come!

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  5. That is a TON of breakthroughs for one month! Congrats! And definitely not bragging - celebrating is right! Fantastic!

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  6. So fabulous! Congratulations to you!!! Amazing what you've been able to accomplish with your new and improved mindset. So inspiring.

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  7. Congratulations! What amazing and wonderful achievements , you should be very proud!!

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