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Late to the pool today, so I just got in and got on with what I could in the time available. Swam 80 lengths front crawl and then covered another 400m practising turns again, attempting them at the shallow (1m deep) end of the pool for the first time in quite a while. Last time I tried I usually bumped into the floor of the pool on the way out of the turn. At least that didn’t happen today, though I was still quite close.

Not being able to breathe bilaterally is something of an embuggerance and I’m going to have to face up to learning to do so at some point. At the moment I find myself reaching the “T” without the appropriate time for another breath to my left (the only side I can breathe on) before the turn, which can leave me gasping for air on the way out. Of course handling that may also become easier with practice, or perhaps that’s just wishful thinking.

Total distance for the month: 35,100m
Total distance for this year: 92,700m

Another attempt at the previous Swimfit session. I’m determined to get to the point where I can manage this set competently, even if it doesn’t come easily.

14 lengths easy front crawl
Rest up to one minute
6 x 1 length moderate front crawl, rest for 20 seconds
5 x 2 lengths fast front crawl, rest for 20 seconds
8 lengths fast breaststroke
Rest until breathing returns to normal
8 lengths fast front crawl
Rest until breathing returns to normal
12 lengths easy front crawl

Once again the breaststroke is the killer. It’s a little frustrating that I can swim 1,000m front crawl with comparative ease, but 100m breaststroke is a real fight. More work on technique required, I guess.

After this set I made the distance up to 2,300m with some front crawl turn practice.

Total distance for the month: 32,700m
Total distance for this year: 90,300m

Was feeling a little tired after a fairly busy weekend, but everything seemed to get easier once I’d started. In the end I swam 1km non-stop, followed by two 500m swims, ten fast 50m swims practising turns and a final 500m easy cool down, all front crawl.

Might be time to try some turns at the shallow end. I’ve avoided this in the past because I was hitting the bottom of the pool on the way out of the turn, but I think I have things under a lot more control now.

Total distance for the month: 30,400m
Total distance for this year: 88,000m

Got my days mixed up and arrived half an hour early for the public session at the pool (though I didn’t realise at the time). The school session prior to the public session were getting out and the lifeguard was apparently content to be there so I got in the pool anyhow. Very kind of him. I swam a fastest ever 1,000m front crawl to start with (not even really trying; it just worked out that way) followed by some turn practice and general stroke work covering another 1,500m.

Total distance for the month: 27,400m
Total distance for this year: 85,000m

Repeated the Swimfit session from earlier in the week today:

14 lengths easy front crawl
Rest up to one minute
6 x 1 length moderate front crawl, rest for 20 seconds
5 x 2 lengths fast front crawl, rest for 20 seconds
8 lengths fast breaststroke
Rest until breathing returns to normal
8 lengths fast front crawl
Rest until breathing returns to normal
12 lengths easy front crawl

The breaststroke was better but still nowhere near as good as I’d like it to be (I couldn’t do the entire eight lengths non-stop), so I’ll be doing it again next week. After that I made the distance up to 2,300m with some more front crawl and turn practice.

Total distance for the month: 24,900m
Total distance for this year: 82,500m

There was one other person in the pool when I arrived today and I had a lane to myself. I got in, found the groove and didn’t stop to rest until eighty lengths of front crawl later. I could have gone on too. For some reason today felt really easy.

After that it was back to turn practice, taking the total distance up to 2,800m. Now I’m doing the fly kick when starting the turn it seems to be working very much better, though it still requires too much concentration. Hopefully it will become easier over time.

Total distance for the month: 22,600m
Total distance for this year: 80,200m

Returned to doing a Swimfit session today. In fact it was a session I’ve already done but wasn’t particularly happy with:

14 lengths easy front crawl
Rest up to one minute
6 x 1 length moderate front crawl, rest for 20 seconds
5 x 2 lengths fast front crawl, rest for 20 seconds
8 lengths fast breaststroke
Rest until breathing returns to normal
8 lengths fast front crawl
Rest until breathing returns to normal
12 lengths easy front crawl

The breaststroke is the real killer here and I still struggled with it. I was keeping pace with the person swimming front crawl next to me, but I think that says more about their front crawl than my breaststroke 🙂 I think I might end up repeating this session a few times and I’ll move on when I find it a bit easier.

There was a little time left so I made the distance up to 2,200m with some easy front crawl and whilst I was swimming decided that I’d set myself a target this year of swimming an average of 10km per week, or, given time off for good behaviour, 500km for the year. That probably means I’m a little behind target as things stand, ten and a half weeks into the year.

Total distance for the month: 19,800m
Total distance for this year: 77,400m

Another 2,800m front crawl swim with some turn practice. I realised over the weekend that I was not initiating my turns in the same way as we’re taught to coach them. I’ve been leaving out the single fly kick as I start the turn. Doing that kick at the right time is taking a little practice, but when I get it right the whole process becomes much easier. One very big improvement is that the turn seems much more stable and my arms can go straight to the streamline position after the final pull. Needs more practice though.

Total distance for the month: 17,600m
Total distance for this year: 75,200m