As I wind down and taper for IM Boulder, I’m trying to take a more effective approach to my swim preparation. I had hoped to put in some more volume over the prior week of travel, but was limited my access to a pool. I also had begun to notice a few twinges in my shoulders, which I’ve tried to pay attention to, especially with a recent increase in swim volume that is completely new to me. Tapering for each discipline has its own unique applications. Normally, the taper for a 2.4 mile swim should literally be less than a week. Hence, my plan to continue to put in swim volume up until the final week, and then get a feel for how I’d like to taper my swim.
One of the key elements to a good swim is maintaining the “feel” of the water. When I got in the pool today, with the idea of doing a long swim, I didn’t do a traditional warm up. Instead, I just started doing 50 yard repeats, but tried to focus on the key elements of my stroke during the first few. In reality, that should approximate what I do at Ironman, where there really isn’t an opportunity to warm up. My goal today was to complete a volume of swim distance greater than what I’ll be swimming on race day. For a variety of reasons, I’ve broken my workout into repeats of different increments, starting with 50 yards, then increasing to 100 yards and then 500 yards. Ultimately, I even did a 1000 yard interval as well. As I got about 2/3’s of the way through my workout, I realized that my form as getting a bit “sloppy.”
First, I’ll comment on what “sloppy” means. I’ll start with what feels “right” first. When my stroke is on, I’m in balance. I literally feel a “fish-like” rotation of my body. My body feels stream-lined as my outstretched arms literally make me feel like an arrow shooting through the water. I don’t lift my head up, but turn it toward my armpit. What does it feel like when I’m getting “sloppy?” I suddenly feel like I’m slowing down with my stroke, and I don’t feel “long,” nor do I feel smooth and balanced. I realized today that I was getting this way and took the opportunity to focus my last 500 yard interval on getting my form right.
I have a few triggers for keeping my form correct, these were recently given to me by my new swim coach. The first one that jumps to mind is “slapping” down at the water. While it really isn’t my goal to create friction, it’s really about having my hand entry correct and consistent. The other important movement is keeping both hands in the “front quadrant” together. This is key to feeling “long.”
I spent 90 minutes in the water today, and 80 minutes were spent swimming. Completing 4600 yards during this swim felt fine and comfortable. I could have swam a little longer, but wanted to be careful about not pushing my shoulders too much. I anticipate getting another swim like this in at altitude over the weekend. From there, I’ll have to play my swim “taper” by ear over the week prior to IM Boulder.
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