Journey to Kona Day 161: Trusting My Swim Form

I don't think I wrote too much about my swim on Saturday.  I swam with a friend of mine and ended up swimming 3 sets of 1000 yards at pretty much my "fastest" effort.  I don't like to use the word "hardest" effort, because swimming harder rarely equates to swimming faster.  I also had the complicating factor of getting a "hitch" in my right shoulder when I started.  I don't usually stretch before I swim, though this is a reminder as to why I should. I ignored the "hitch" and swam anyway.  Yesterday, my massage therapist worked out most of whatever was "stuck" in my shoulder.  But back to the swim.  Despite having pain in my shoulder during most of the swim, I managed to keep a solid pace for 1000 yards, three times.  The best part was that when I got out of the pool I didn't feel like I'd exerted myself at all.  I was really focusing on my form, but also focusing on going as fast as I could while maintaining both my speed and my form.

Why does all of this matter?  It matters because my fastest ironman swims have come with very fast, consistent efforts.  Granted, I had a current, and I was able to draft both times, but that's also the point.  Because I was drafting, I maintained a solid effort the entire time.  In almost every other ironman I've ever done, I allow myself to get into an "easy" rhythm, but in retrospect, it just allows me to swim slower.  In my quest to perform as well as I can in Kona, I'll want to maintain a solid effort throughout that swim.  My first opportunity to prepare for this will come in under two weeks in Santa Rosa.

I anticipate that the swim groups for the Santa Rosa 70.3 will be 25-29 minutes, and then 30-34 minutes.  If my recent swim set gives me some idea of how fast I should be able to swim at a 70.3, then 34-35 minutes is certainly a reasonable possibility.  In fact, if I truly focus and push myself, I might be able to go a little faster than that.  Mentally, I'm beginning to get in the mindset of jumping into the water and swimming fast, holding my form and maintaining a solid effort for the entire swim.    My form is solid and my endurance has been getting better by the week.  I just have to trust in my ability an keep my focus.