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YeeHaa 6 lengths freestyle

pippip Posts: 170
[:D] high five!



When i started i could do like 3 by brute force and not breathing

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  • pippip Posts: 170
    And only a bit of water swallowed.

    Now i know that this doesn`t seem like much of a feat to all you boys and girls who swim freestyle all the time and make it look dead easy,but believe me 5 weeks ago i couldn`t do a length and flapped around like a drowning dog,so to celebrate i`m having a little drinky.

    Cheers Phil[:D]
  • BopomofoBopomofo Posts: 980
    When I first started swimming again I had about 6 weeks of swimming breast stroke in my lunch hour before I got up the nerve to chuck a length of crawl in now and again. I then tried 1 crawl, 2 breast stroke for a while, then 2 crawl 1 bs, then finally crawl all the time unless I got pooped (like every 5 lengths) when I'd chuck a slow bs length in.



    I think the important thing is that all the time I was thinking about how to make my swimming easier and more efficient, not faster. If you keep at it then in a year's time you'll look back after doing a 3km training session and wonder what the fuss was all about, seriously!



    While you're having that celebratory drinkie start to think about your next target... in fact, have a few drinkies first THEN set your target... that way it is more likely to be silly. Yeah, hic--, stuff it--- hic! Next time it'll be 1500m non-stop. hic---



    Congratulations! 5 weeks to go from 1 length to 6 lengths is good work indeed. Just remember.... if you can do 6 lengths, you can do 60 (that'll be your 1500m in a normal pool). Post in another 5 weeks and tell everybody where you're up to, pip!
  • JessterJesster Posts: 482
    Wooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo
  • JessterJesster Posts: 482
    oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo this is quite good fun ooooooooooooo! Well done Pip, let us know how youre doing!
  • Well done you! I start lessons after easter- currently at the one length coughin and spluttering stage - and that's in a 25m pool (lessons are in a 33m one [:-])



    Hope I get to 6 lengths soon!

  • moonshinemoonshine Posts: 335
    [:D][:D][:D][:D][:D][:D][:D][:D]



    tonight managed 4 on the trot last week could only just do 2 - the difference breathing every 2, also mastered tonight breathing either side - only 20 of my 70 lengths weren't crawl, most of the others were pairs - for some reason thinking of doing 3 makes me drown thinking 2 again doesn't!
  • Jack HughesJack Hughes Posts: 1,262
    Hmm.. Since starting swimming in February (and I mean starting) I've progressed to one length of FC. And hit a bit of a plateau. I'm actually working on technique - especially the arms. But breathing is a problem. I have timing issues, so am really trying hard on breathing OUT at the right point - even so, it does seem hard to get a reasonable quantity of oxygen in - I think my length is pretty anaerobic at the moment. I suspect I am improving, but progress is really really slow.



    On a brighter note, I finally got a place on a one-to-one training course! My worry is that I might have outstripped the level that would be expected though. Oh well.



    P.S Well done pip! It seems like a big achievement from where I am (at the bottom of the pool and looking up).
  • jibby26jibby26 Posts: 261
    Jack Hughes wrote:


    But breathing is a problem. I have timing issues, so am really trying hard on breathing OUT at the right point - even so, it does seem hard to get a reasonable quantity of oxygen in - I think my length is pretty anaerobic at the moment.



    I think the accepted (and the way I do it) way to breathe out is continuously while your head is in the water. Means you can get the best inhale when you turn your head. It took a bit of getting used to at first after lots of breast stroke but now gives me a nice long time to breathe in.
  • willtriwilltri Posts: 436
    Well done Phil!!!



    I think the swimmings the hardest to work on - if you run out of air you have to stop!!! No coasting like on the bike!











  • Pip

    well done. how did you feel after 6 lengths? I find swimming a bit like running - it takes a while for the body (& mind) to get into 'exercise' mode - once I'm there, and at a comfortable pace, I can keep going for a while.. but for the first 5-10 minutes, I keep wanting to stop.

    Have you had any swim coaching? I'm just getting into Tri, and had some 1on1 lessons on my swim, as my last swim lessons were probably 30 years ago.... in 3 hours of tuition, I now have a basic but usable crawl technique, and enough hints and tips to keep my mind busy whilst I'm swimming. Its _much_ easier having someone watch and point out your errors, than having to think of them yourself... I'd strongly recommend it... for the cost of some basic carbon tri-bars, you'll knock _much_ more time off your race!

    ciao

    h

  • julesojuleso Posts: 279
    It's really nice to hear of everyone's progress with swimming. When I started I thought I was the only person who couldn't do it. It's taken a while but with regular swimming the progress does happen, sometimes slowly, sometimes more quickly. Personally, I found a real sense of achievement in learning something pretty much from scratch, starting at age 29.



    Really well done, Pip.
  • pippip Posts: 170
    Thanks to everyone for all the positive feedback.Hey juleso at 29 you`re a spring chicken,i`m 45 mate and never swam front crawl properly.I never thought i`d get this far but i`ve got a fantastic coach,who`s never coached anyone before but swam for the GBteam and got a scholarship to an American University.The guy`s a superstar in my eye`s,he charges me nothing and gives up his own free time teach me,i`m a lucky lucky boy.I`ve tried to get him to do a tri but he`s no good at running apparently,but i`ll keep pestering him.
  • I have been trying front crawl since nov/dec and can still only do 2 lengths without resting. I swim about 3 times a week. Progress is slow and I feel very down about it [:(]
  • diddsdidds Posts: 655
    Pip... once you've worked you way up to a comfortable 400m non-stop (16 lengths) then I'd really recommend finding a masters session to go to.. it will be the cheapest bit of coaching you'll ever buyand will hopefully transform your swimming and give you some ideas to take away and work on.



    I went to three sessions, took away the ideas and have knocked 3 minutes (min) off my 400m time in about 5 months using that info. (Its still shockingly slow but these things are relative!)



    Way to go you :-)



    didds

  • SwizzlenapSwizzlenap Posts: 160
    Well Done Pip!!



    I just started swimming this weekend. Managed 12 lengths of breastsroke on my first go and yesterday actually finished with two lengths of front crawl with proper (ish) breathing. Ok, it was breathing every fourth stroke to the same side but it was face in water swimming not head in the air like a dog trying to keep his nose dry swimming.



    I'm looking forward to the day of 6 lengths freestyle!!
  • JulesJules Posts: 987
    Well done Pip, keep at it!



    Am I the only person in the world who thinks breaststroke is bloody impossible and f/c easy by comparison? My f/c still very much a "work in progress" but I had to do a length of breaststroke at swim class on Sunday and just one length too me forever!
  • julesojuleso Posts: 279
    Ditto Jules. I thought I'd dislocate my hip the last time I tried breaststroke. My solution - give that up and work on the crawl!
  • Hillsy555Hillsy555 Posts: 19
    I find i can swim forever with Breast Stroke but Front Crawl really tires me out. Must be my bad technique!!!!
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