So, sometimes I get reminded that life is to be enjoyed always. Recently, I had the pleasure of working in the Bahamas for five days. Traveling and maintaining my workout/sleep discipline is a super tough challenge for me. Add all the distractions and libations at the Atlantis Resort and I was very concerned.
Typically, when I travel to a remote location I end up working long days, easily 7am to 10pm. The schedule had start times of 6:45am so, this trip was destined to be more of the same. However, I also needed to get my workouts in. No excuses.
I decided to get up at 5 and hit the pool. The weather was warm and the pool was outdoors and ready for laps.
I’m so glad that I did drag my ass out of bed and down to the water. It felt like a tropical paradise (well, really, that’s what it is). The sun was just beginning to rise over the horizon, the sound of palm fronds blowing in the breeze had a wonderful calming effect on me. There were no people! I heard the birds chirping. It was a perfect moment in time.
I wanted to try to get some video of my swim technique. A baseline of what I’m doing now so that as I progress, I will be able to look back and see what I was doing in the beginning? I used a GoPro and an iPhone.
Johnny, my coach has me working on head position, body balance, breathing and stroke timing. Last week he told me to start swimming laps while putting it all together. I’m not only learning new ways to move in the water, I’m trying to stop swimming using my old ways. It’s pretty easy to to stay focused on the new technique when I’m fresh. But, when I start to fatigue (my shoulders, or my arms) or my attention wanes, I seem to always revert to my old methods. Popping my head up to breath, dragging my legs, sinking my shoulders etc.
So, while in the Bahamas, I intentionally didn’t swim fast. I wanted to swim at a steady pace but not get too fatigued so that I would be more likely to maintain my composure and reinforce the new techniques. As I look at the video, I seem to be swimming in sloooow motion. It sure didn’t feel like I was moving that slowly. But, the lap times definitely proved that I was filming in real-time. Now, I’m glad that no one else was at the pool.
Surprisingly, I noticed that my distance per stroke is greater when I use the new techniques, about 14 strokes per 25m as opposed to 18 strokes per 25 meters when I swim the old way. AND, I’m not fatiguing myself nearly as quickly……there is something to his method lol.
