swimming

[Elfric]

[quote="marco"]400 metres is a bleedin long way... I dont make it to the 18th stroke without needing a breather!!!

[siwickm]

Marek here again. Marco, in terms of the pool swim I will be able to tell you after the weekend as am doing one on Sunday. So far I know that this is in a 25 metre pool, they are splitting everyone so you have 16 people in the pool at any one time.

We do 16 lengths and they show you a paddle under the water, or if you are doing breast stroke they hit you on the head with it to show you have two lengths to go.

I presume that you come straight out of the swim and go straight to the bike, I don't think you get time to have a warm shower to wash off the chlorine and towel down to then get dressed in your cycling kit. I think you have to wear pretty much what you are going to cycle in, so yes you may get a wee bit chilly.

Although I do think that after doing 400m front crawl you will be warmer than you think when you exit the pool. I am thinking of taking my water proof with me on the ride just in case the wind chill is high and therefore this should keep me warm.

Hope this helps

[Dan B]

It may be my Minnesota blood, but I was actually quite warm Sunday after the 500m swim. I went out into the open air to transition, but I don't seem to remember being cold. I was wearing cycle-length lycra shorts from the Gap that I bought years ago, then put on a shirt at T1.

Most pools are 25m, like Ardingly's on Sunday. I've never heard of a pool 33m long. 50m pools are a rarity - the Welsh swim team just celebrated getting one - as I think there's only 3 or 4 in the entire country. Crystal Palace, Loughborough, Cardiff and Manchester, maybe. I still haven't swam in one, that would rock.

There were 4 racers to a lane, two people counting laps for you, and a stick in the water indicating 2 lengths to go. You can rest at the end of a lap, provided you don't get in the way of others. Crashing only occurs if someone is trying to pass, very rare as most folks are seeded near the same speed.

Also - and this surprised me - flip turns are legal this year. Not that a lot of people are fazed by this, but apparently most races outlawed flip turns because most people don't know how to do them properly. But the BTA has put its foot down, and races now allow flip turns on the proviso that competitors use their own discretion about their abilities. As a result, I think three or four of us were doing flip turns.

You can use a towel - some were wrapped up coming out of the pool. Dry feet are essential when trying to put shoes on. A lot of racers will coat the insides of their shoes with talc.

As far as bulking up for TI, you don't have to. The idea is to be as tall and skinny in the water as possible - I'm handicapped both ways! - as efficiency, not thrust, is the goal. You then come out of the water less puffed, with more energy to devote to the bike and run. Still, most people do find that they get quicker in the water as well!

[siwickm]

I think that 33m pools are quite common, I have swam in a few, although 25m do seem to be most popular.

I went to swimming training on Monday after my poor effort in the Blandford Tri and my coach gave me a few hints on how to improve the length of my stroke and technique.

When you stroke you need to try and roll your body, when I was swimming before I was trying to keep my body still while stroking, this is not correct. You need to try and roll your body as the arm goes over and in, this increases the length of the stroke as you are rolling your shoulder forward and therefore increasing the length of your arm.

I was told not to worry about putting my hand in the water before my arm is fully extended, as long as extend through the water with a relaxed hand and then pull back under the body and round again.

The rolling technique is quite easy when you get used to it, and helps with breathing. If you are having trouble getting the hang of it you could think that rolling your body is similar to what you would do when you take a breath, instead you are not taking your head out and you are rolling on every stroke.

Hope this makes sense, I am not a coach so don't find it too easy to explain these types of things.

Cheers.

Marek...

[Jon H]

In the dim and distant past when I was a student in Leeds, I used to go swimming in the 50m pool there. This may have been one of those urban myths, but the story was that the pool was actually something like 49.99m long because when it was built they forgot to allow for the thickness of the tiles. So, if anyone broke any records they wouldn't count.

Closer to home, I gather that a group of tri type peeps train at Tooting Bec Lido. It's a bloody long pool (something like 80m I think) and unheated, so they use it to practice for open water swimming with their wetsuits on. I think this shenanigans goes on early in the morning before the pool opens to the general public.

[siwickm]

I would be up for going to the Tooting Bec Lido to try that out one morning. Anyone else up for it, we could do an early morning raid with our wetsuits on and escape before opening time.

[AodanH]

Marco, Try a few drills to get a feel for the water.

legs only, face down
leg only, lying on left side
legs only, lying on right side
These will help with core strength and balance from toe to finger tip. These can be suprisingly hard so try them every second length.They will work the lower abdominal muscles and top of thigh

catch-up. stroke with one hand at a time, the other hand being stretched out in front of you. This gives you a feel for how to glide through the water.
Search for the feeling of gliding through the water after the stroke rather than dragging yourself through the water during the stroke.

By mixing these in with regular lengths the time passes a bit quicker. The more sessions you do, the "feel" you gain during the drills should transfer into your regular stroke.

[siwickm]

Use the force Luke, feel it flowing through your body.

[Dan B]

Stretch out with your arm - I mean feelings.

Tooting Bec Lido: you'll never find a more wretched hive of scum and villany. We must be careful.

[Dan B]

Balancing on your side is one of the keys to making yourself into a good vessel. If you're not balanced in the water you are creating drag somewhere - usually the legs - and making it harder to move.

Getting to the point of balance is difficult. I tend to sink, but so long as I sink the right way I feel I'm doing well.

One of the keys to this is 'hiding' your head. Maintain a neutral head position in the water, like you do when you stand. You should be looking at the bottom of the pool, with your head presenting like an iceberg - just the back of your head should be above the water. Any more and you are creating drag with your head, neck and chest.

[Marek]

Marco, as we discussed today, here are the prices for the Croydon Amphibians, this is for the Masters group which is separate from the main club. You will have to contact the team secretary for the prices etc for the main club. Anyway here they are:

1 session per week = £24 a month
2 sessions per week = £33.50 a month
3 sessions per week = £40.50 a month
4 sessions per week = £45.00 a month
5 sessions per week = £49.00 a month

There is a £15 joining fee and a £19 ASA Registration fee as well. You can contact the club sec on punypolaris@hotmail.com her name is Pam Pollington.

Cheers

Marek...

[Elliot M]

My local pool (Walton on Thames) as a kid was 33m, which meant the council had to make special swimming badges for 33 and 66m, BSA or whatever it was badges were in the wrong multiples...

[Marek]

Tooting Bec Lido
Tooting Bec Road
London SW16 1RU

Phone: 020 8871 7198


Bus 155, 249, 319, 355
Tube Tooting Bec, Balham
Rail Balham
Use the Wandsworth Travel Planner to plan your journey
Get a local map from Streetmap (opens in new window)

Opening hours: See below.
Facilities include: Open air swimming pool, paddling pool, cafe

The lido is open to the public from June to September everyday from 6.00am - 9.30pm.
From October to March the Lido is open everyday from 7.00am - 2.00pm for members of the South London Swimming Club.

Facilities for those with disabilities include showers, toilets and changing areas.
For more information please phone the Lido on 020 8871 7198.

[Matt_Ives]

As you said Marek, You have to be a member of The swimming club at Tooting Bec lido in order to swim there before opening time.

The pool itself is 100 yards long and is like an inland sea.
It's by far the best place to practice swimming in London not least because the water is far less chlorinated than other pools.
The only problem is when its hot, it gets crowded, but at other times its almost empty.Great,if you don't mind unheated water (you get used to it).

I haven't been for a few years,but there were some other TI swimmers that used to go there regularly. You can always spot them: long effortless strokes and can swim all day without getting tired. I seem to remember doing lengths of that pool in about 40 strokes.It's a great feeling to swim 3k and not feel remotely tired or out of breath at the end.Thats what TI swimming does.

Other than that, I suppose CP pool is 2nd best. 50m long, great if you can go during the day and get a whole lane to yourself for an hour.

[tridevil]

Marco sprint tris have several formats for the swim. some do it in groups say four to a lane and when they finish the next 'wave' gets in. some do arolling start where people join as the lane empties. some do up down, under the rope and up down next lane from one side of the pool to the other. Whichever way you should be seeded so you don't get in anyones way or they don't get in yours. In practice this often happens so pool ettiquette is very important. if someone touches your toes then stop at the end to let them pass and visa versa. When I started I could just manage to do a length then stop, rest and go again(front crawl, which is the only stroke worth bothering with) gradually I would rest less and then eventually could go on and on and on(bit like this post) It doesn't take long to get proficient and no matter what any one says it is time in the pool that matters. If you swim regularly it will come and thats the bottom line. Drills are very important and can speed up the process but most importantly is finding out 'what slows you down' remember swimming is not like running or cycling we have to work against a medium that is 1000 times denser and it is important to move through that medium with the least resistance. I worked out after a while that once I could do a length of a 25 mtr pool in less than 20 secs I didnt need to get faster over that distance I just needed to get fitter so I could do more lengths under 20secs as possible.