When I woke this morning and
walked into the kitchen, my coach asked if my legs were ok after my first run
yesterday. I told him that they were fine, no aches at all but if I had to search
for a sign, I can only say that there was the tiniest slightest sign that I ran
yesterday, right in the very top centre of my quads at the knicker line. Not any
pain and not stiffness.
My husband then asked where
his tea was.
Then my coach asked if I was
swimming this morning.
I announced that I was going
to the pool with him for the 6.30am opening at the pool and that I would get in
and see how I felt, no promises.
There was a lane completely
empty next to the animals’ lane and I slipped in there. I felt ok after a couple
of straight lengths listening to my body and since it was not complaining, I
decided to carry on and check myself out after ailing for a couple of weeks. What
I did was on the way up from the shallow end towards the deep end, I thought about one part
of my stroke in turn and on the way back swimming over the blue line which is
two oblong tiles wide, and made sure that my hands travelled along the outer
edge of the blue tiles from the front of the stroke all the way to the back
smoothly without any sign of a central V (that so many people never bother to try
to remove) when passing through from pull to push and all the way back in one
smooth movement.
First up length: Think…close
fingers…but not too tightly since that wastes energy
Two: Try to close the thumb to the hand without
stiffening.
Three: Touch leg at mid thigh
to make sure that the hand goes all the way back and has not gone too wide by
the end of the stroke.
Four: Make sure you have a
nice long axis rotation, both sides, making sure that the whole body is rolling
nicely and not just the shoulders.
Five: Nice high elbow on
recovery
Six: Watch your catch and make sure it is not
sliding out sideways; all the movement should be from the front to the back, no
slipping and sliding.
Seven: Make sure your head
is flat in the water and not lifting to breathe because if you lift your head
you will drop your legs.
Eight: Look at the water
line as you breathe and make sure only one eye comes above the waterline.
Nine: Make absolutely sure
that your hand does not go anywhere near the centre line, not at entry, not in
the middle of the stroke.
Ten: Keep a pace that will
allow you to complete a long swim without tiring.
I very often run this check
when I do a straight swim.
This morning, once I knew
that my breathing was ok, I settled in for 1900 mtrs. I count in two lengths; 50-100-150-200
usw. All the way through to the
end of the swim, rather than any other counting habit that people might use.
I check on the clock that is
on the wall on my left side going up to the deep end. This way I can check my
pace is steady and that I have not miscounted.
I was pleased that I appeared not to have lost anything on my swim during my time out with the cough. I did not cough whilst swimming.
Having done my 1900 mtrs, I
did 50 mtrs Back stroke as a swim down.
I always end with Backstroke,
usually much more than this, and count my leg kicks 1-2-3- one arm stroke 4-5-6
with the other all the way up and down.
My final check.
Swimming is not boring if
you concentrate.
It is swim training after all.
Not a social occasion.
When I got out of the pool and
walked past Steve, he asked me how I went (although I had seen him watch me under
the water a couple of times as he swam by) I told him what I had done and he
said “Well done, you’re back”. Glad to be back too.
Photos are all of Rebecca Adlington and Michael Phelps
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