As I am finding out, swimming is not like cycling & running where fitness is the main player for performance. Swimming is not about power, not about fitness, although they do contribute.....Swimming is about technique and efficiency.
I decided to go back to basics and learn how to swim, yes swimming lessons (I have felt like I am 10 years old going to learn to swim). For those that know my back round, I did swim as a youngster, however let it slip by in my twenties. With having the back round that I have had in swimming in my early years, I didn't think that it would be long to get my technique back from the "early" days. Yeah right, the first realisation was how bad my technique is. Obviously, fitness was what got me my 57 min swim at Ironman, not technique!! After a few session, Coach Paul decided to give me an insight of what my stroke looked like and how to fix it. WOW!!! A long way to go.
So in saying this, Paul has totally pulled my stroke apart and started with the basics again to get me to get a "feel" for the water again. Following the black line during training is boring and hard enough, let alone doing sculling drills to try and help out (and I suck at drills). Another thing I have found with swimming is that you might be fit, but when you swim efficiently and effectively, the fitness you thought you had does not exist as the muscle group used was the wrong one to get maximum benefits!!
With 2 sessions per week, pumping out a massive 1.5k for each session, I am feeling the benefit of these sessions already with my technique improving and my times becoming some what faster. Even though the distance is short, my times are decreasing. The "new regime" has been very refreshing and I am reaping the benefits with both my swimming and running to date.
Gone are the days of just swimming along the black line slapping and splashing my way through the water, with the investment of a swim coach (who, mind you has national swimmers on his books) I am looking forward to shaving minutes of my swim times.
With drills & technique it is a long slow process, however the benefits at the end of it are far greater than your everyday swim squads/sessions that make you "red line" for most part. I am looking forward to the journey of improvements ever if I am no good at the drills for now.
My running is also seeing some improvements, which I expect that it should with a smart program to follow. Unlike last year where I ran when I felt and for how long that suited me, I am on a structure that has enabled me to build to over 70+k's per week and with the forecast being close enough to 100k's per week in the near future it is not daunting. Previous training has seen me tackle sessions that took me 2-3days to recover from, as I was unaware on how important a build was to get the body used to running consistently (especially important when you are 95kgs).
The time in the saddle is about to increase from the 4 hours per weeks currently to something that I have been more familiar with. I am hoping that the riding will no take away from my running, with the effect that one will compliment the other.
My first race for the season is a mere 8 weeks away, which has snuck up on me, however this race will just be a gauge on how everything is going. I have no expectations for Yeppoon except a solid performance that will be the stepping stone for bigger things to come.
For now...
X-Man
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