Here it is February and I have been consistently swimming since November of last year (2 – 3x a week). On my last post I reported problems with bi-laterial breathing. I have finally settling into breathing on one side, every other stroke (instead of every third stroke as with bi-lateral), BUT I switch sides every 25-yard lap.
It seems my times for a mile are still rather slow, despite having plenty of endurance (42-47 minute miles). Last week, I asked the student coach at my pool to evaluate my kick technique. She said she noticed that my legs were sinking more than they ought to. Per her suggestion, I took a small paddle board and worked on kicking. Oddly enough, I still was not able to get my feet out of the basement…they just sink, causing a ton of drag (despite dropping my head down in front of me with the paddle board in my outstretched hands). After reading this site, I suspect my problem might related to my age-old ankle injury. My left ankle ankle, despite weeks of physical therapy, does not flex more than 10 or so degrees. Because I cannot point my toes, this could be causing a ton of drag, slowing down my overall performance.
Per this site, Karli Wilkinson says “In freestyle swimming, having flexible ankles can be a key part of your kick mobility. Increasing flexibility in your ankles allows your feet to act like flippers and gain more propulsion in the water.”
Hmmm….not much I can about that. In fact, at one point, I was considering having my ankle fused to reduce the pain when walking or hiking.
Author: Rando Richard
I’m an old guy (age 69 in 2023) who enjoys aerobic, endurance sports. I call myself a cardio-junkie. Perhaps the more appropriate term would be “ultra” endurance sports. Since I was a teenager I have always enjoyed “slow twitch” outdoor sports like backpacking, ice climbing, running, mountaineering, hiking, alpine skiing and randonnée skiing (alpine touring, backcountry skiing or skimo). In 2005 I starting running with more regularity — except this time it was not for the intent of getting ready for a mountaineering trip, but as an end to itself. From 2005 to 2007 I managed to eek out two seasons of ultramarathons — that is competitive trail runs up to 50 or 100 miles. Due to a nagging ankle injury from the 80s (an accident while ice climbing in the 1980s where my lower tib and fib were badly broken), I had to cease that grueling, but rewarding activity. I then migrated into ultra distance road cycling or randonneuring. The rides are called brevets (pronounced bruh-VAY, it’s French) and are minimally supported — they are similar to ultrarunning and backpacking where one must be self reliant. Although brevets are non-competitive, they do have have cut off times to qualify as a finisher. They are usually are done in groups, which can have a competitive slant to them. Today, I continue to participate in long distance cycling including some ultra-racing, randonnée skiing (a blend of cross country and downhill disciplines) and still get out on an occasional mountaineering trip.
Since 1996 I have been designing, manufacturing and selling camera bags. That is Kinesis Photo Gear (kgear.com). In 2005 I started selling cycling bags under the Kinesis label and eventually expanded it to including other sports like SUP (stand-up paddle boarding and some skimo). Consequently, it become eoGEAR — the “eo” stands for endurance outdoor.
My wife and I are empty-nesters now and we live and work out in the boondocks of central Utah, half way between Salt Lake City (great powder) and Moab (great red rocks).
Well, I guess that is all for now. Safe travels mate! Perhaps I’ll see you on the road or trail.
— Richard Stum
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Aaahh…the mysteries of good swim technique! If I had it all figured out I would certainly share with you Richard. Good luck and keep posting. I will share if I ever have any tips that I think might help. In the meantime, perhaps I will learn something myself.
Larry
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