Swim Form

It's been awhile since I had a swimming lesson, so I scheduled one with a local swim coach who swims at masters with me and has given me lessons before. I just wanted to make sure my stroke wasn't too out of whack with all the yardage I've been doing lately.

Of course, there were issues. My elbow is dropping before I pull, my hands aren't wide enough, my catch isn't deep enough and I'm breathing too long. Her recommendation is for me to use the pull buoy and paddles almost exclusively and then wean myself off of them when I start to "get it".

Now, I don't want to be contradictory, but I simply cannot use paddles for that much yardage. Oh also, she recommends starting with 2000 yards and building up again. Well, my coach has 4000 on the schedule, so that's what I'll be doing.

I'm a fast learner. I implemented the changes today including about 1000 yards of pull/paddles. While I don't think I was any faster, I do believe I wasn't slipping as much and hope to improve gradually. It's all about the baby steps, right?

It would be cool if I could bring my 100 meter time through stroke improvement not stroke turnover. I'm keeping my fingers crossed!