Thursday, October 27, 2005

A bad case of runner's kick

Went over to the pool this morning. There was a gentlemen, much older and much out of shape than me, splashing around in the pool. I am sure this guy is a regular. The remarkable thing is that this guy freestyle non stop. I would stop after each length. This guy will keep going and going and going.

When he pass me, I went underwater and see how is he able to swim so well (no i wasn't checking him out :P). Then I saw what he is doing right and what I believe I am doing wrong. I am swimming with my legs and he is swimming with his hips.

Hmm..sounds a lot like runner's kick to me :). I also notice that after each length, my quads get very tired. A definite sign of swimming with my legs.

This is exactly what Mica said. I need to swim with my hips.

Also...here is a conversation I had in my head last night

"Cliff, you haven't run enough. You swim a lot now and you have to get back to running."
"Wait...when was the last time I ran."
..think think think...
"Mon, I went for a swim after work. Tues I ran in the morning."

..yeah I got to keep that overtraining Cliff from over taking my head

5 comments:

Oldman said...

check out total immersion swimming, it's the rotation that helpr propel you thro the water

Ann (bunnygirl) said...

Swimming is all about techique and patience. It takes awhile to find your "swim forever" groove, but you'll get there. It's confusing and embarrassing to not be able to swim more than a lap when you can run a marathon. But remember that these are completely different ball games.

At least you can swim to the end of the pool. I couldn't even do that a few years ago!

D said...

At least you're getting out there and swimming!

Kewl Nitrox said...

Hi, it's great to find another Christian Triathlete, even if we are at opposite ends of the world!

Let's find our strength in the knowledge that Christ came so that we may have life and have it abundantly. I find it helps to remember that mid-way into the swim or run leg when I start to wonder why a old man is taking up Triathlons. ;)

About hip rotation, I know of someone who went thru total immersion, and according to him, it is all in the hips! I won't know, as I am still only doing Sprint Triathlons.

Let's keep each other motivated as we train and blog!
kewlnitrox.blogspot.com

William said...

Maybe he can give you swimming lessons?