Swim Lesson

Well, after my 1st race and falling apart on the swim (at least I felt I did) I decided to get some private swim lessons.  I've noticed a bit of shoulder muscle pain as well.  So I figured that is not normal and most likely due to my stroke.

So the 30 minute lesson took place on Thursday with Grace Benes.  First, Grace had me swim an easy warm up 50 to observe my stoke.  She said not bad.  My position was good and level.  She said this is something most people struggle with, but I was good.

Next, she said I need to kick more.  I really don't like to kick, but I am listening.  It's much harder to kick more.

Then she said I cross over on my stroke.  That makes sense due to my shoulder pain.  You never think about these things when swimming.  I honestly thought I was pretty good.

So after several drills and observations, I started to feel how the stroke should feel.  What I noticed and learned is that it feels very different and I need to exaggerate the correct way to swim correctly.

During my practices, I have been able to get across in 17-18 strokes consistently.  I hit that on Thursday.  But, on Friday and today, I was able to get down to 15 and 14 sometimes if I really focused on long strokes.  That is a HUGE difference.

I notice it especially on my laps.  Now, the one thing I noticed immediately is that I am now working different muscles.  Going 500 yards or more non-stop is difficult and I didn't try it.  I just stayed at 100 and 200 and then 300 and 500 yards constantly today.  I kept most at 100 with 15-20 second rest.

I told myslef that I am relearning my stroke and I needed to keep the ego out of the pool and start slow again.  The improvement is huge so far and will only get better.  I can't wait until my next lesson.

I actually am looking forward to swimming now.