Swim Clinic and 3K

Practical Coaching put together a real treat for us this morning. We had this awesome swim lecture from super fast swimmer Corey and then hopped in the pool to do a 3K LSD Long Course swim together. Corey's lecture was great because rather than covering stroke, he covered things like what distance swimming is all about, lane etiquette, flip turns, kicking and breathing technique. I am always scrutinizing my stroke so it was great to hear all of this expert guidance on the other aspects.

Hopping in the pool and doing a 3K long course swim immediately after gave me the opportunity to focus on the things he talked about, and since it was all my peeps in my lane, I felt comfortable to try new things and take more risks than I usually do.

For example when I want to pass someone in masters I will usually wait until the set ends and then try to politely start the next set in front of them. I rarely tap people's feet and I NEVER try to pass them swimming the length of the pool. I had the safety during this swim to do that and I'm sure I did some things wrong, but I felt like my teamates would give me the benefit of the doubt and not think I was being rude, just learning.

I also really worked on my entry into and exit out of my flip turns. I streamlined off the wall and took Corey's advise to take a full stroke after your flip turn before you breathe. I'm happy to say I got it down by the end of the swim and will incorporate that into my everyday swimming. It really helped me gain momentum on the flip and keep that momentum through the beginning of my next lap.

Another thing I tried that Corey suggested was breathing two breaths on one side, then two breaths on the other. I liked it a lot, but it will take a little getting used to before it's natural.

All in all this was such a great morning. I feel really thankful to have a team that organizes such great events to help us all out. And my 3K Meters while testing all these new tricks? 57:55. I'm happy with that. It's a great launching point.

Here is some video of us goofing off after the swim. I am in the green suit, with a green crazy cap.