Avoiding the Swim Freakouts

The NY Times weighs in on preparing triathletes for the "chaos" of open-water swimming. I've found that getting better at open-water swimming requires lots of, well, open-water swimming. You think there's some mysterious secret? There's not.

Long-time readers of this blog remember my rants about swim freak-outs and how they diminished only when I forced myself to race every two weeks all summer long - April 'til October. 15 races or so. I'll never be great but now my HR stays below 'aortic rupture' territory.

I'm fortunate to live near - and train in - Lake Michigan with its many moods - rip currents and 4-ft waves one day, millpond calm the next. Wetsuit: ON! Goggles: ON! Game: ON!

And if you're uncomfortable in the water, do yourself and other racers a favor: position yourself at the BACK of the pack (with me!) and maybe off to one side, not in the middle and certainly not the front.

Closing the Pool Is the TRUE End Of Summer

I don't care what the calendar says. Another week or two and the pool gets closed for the winter. Too bad. My swim form has improved a lot this summer despite the pool's short 40 ft. length.

Maybe the short walk down the stairs vs. the drive to the health club has something to do with it.

Time For A Swim Tuneup

I'm meeting with a swim coach at Lifetime Fitness this evening, as I'm way overdue for a tune-up on a swim stroke that was never very good and to which time has not been kind.

I sense a bunch of Total Immersion swim drills in my future. Yay.

MORNING AFTER UPDATE: Pretty much as I expected. Work is needed on stamina, positioning, balance, the catch, the pull, the recovery and a bunch of other things I disremember. The only positive, and quite unexpectedly so, was my kick. Go figure, the one thing to which I've paid NO attention is the only thing I'm good at.

Hmmm. Maybe I'll ignore a few more things and hope they improve on their own.