Swimming

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GORDON
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Swimming

Post by GORDON »

One of the things I enjoy is when an old piece of shit is swimming with flippers and/or hand paddles, to step up my pace a bit so I am still out-swimming them with bare hands and feet. I got to do this to someone this morning.

With me when I see someone stronger or faster or better than me, it motivates me to try harder and improve myself... but I understand that for a lot of people being confronted with someone stronger or faster discourages them. That's what I want. I want them to get frustrated and quit and stay home and die.

:mrgreen:
"Be bold, and mighty forces will come to your aid."
TheCatt
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Re: Swimming

Post by TheCatt »

Yeah, it's nice to have other people in the pool for that competition. When I got back into swimming post-college for the first time, there was this girl who would kick my ass by a few seconds every length of the pool. Within 6 months, I was smoking her by 5 seconds per length.

She asked to have my babies, but I said no.
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GORDON
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Re: Swimming

Post by GORDON »

When I started swimming the only real prohibition written on the wall was "No Breath Holding," and "Life guards are the final authority in the pool." I assumed the breath-holding rule was because when peeps were trying to see how long they could hold their breath, and life guard wouldn't know if they just died down there or not.

Well then I started swimming laps, and working on my respiratory strength with minor hyperventilation and then swimming as far as I could without taking a breath. I guess someone noticed because there are now a new list of rules on the wall:

1. No breath holding.

2. All swimmers must take a minimum of one breath during a length of the pool.

3. No hyperventilation.

4. No swimming for distance without breathing.

Those fuckers must have been studying my shit hard. It's not like I filled anyone in on what I was doing, but they hit all the major points.

I really hate being told what to do by small people.
"Be bold, and mighty forces will come to your aid."
Alhazad
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Re: Swimming

Post by Alhazad »

I actually don't understand why they felt the need to stop it.
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TheCatt
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Re: Swimming

Post by TheCatt »

On the one hand - That is crazy. On the other - there really is no reason to not breathe.
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GORDON
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Re: Swimming

Post by GORDON »

I was in training for scuba. I was in poor physical condition and working on my endurance. Not breathing wasn't ALL I did, but it was easily 25% of my workout.

And it DID work. In the scuba pool I was very comfortable under water and me and my kid... I also had him working it on Sundays, though he was in much better condition than I... could easily do the "out of air" exercises without even caring.

Basically I just needed to become a stronger swimmer, and that's one of the things I trained. Fortunately I got to about 85% of where I wanted to be before the new rules went up.
"Be bold, and mighty forces will come to your aid."
TheCatt
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Re: Swimming

Post by TheCatt »

I could argue that your body would have become as efficient just by swimming, etc.
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GORDON
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Re: Swimming

Post by GORDON »

TheCatt wrote:I could argue that your body would have become as efficient just by swimming, etc.
And I agree that could be true, but I know that what I was doing was hard, and over time it was becoming easier, and it made me feel stronger overall. Peeps was all saying "not breathing for 50m was bold," and I was nearly there. Now I know that if I have an air emergency 70 feet underwater, there's no doubt in my mind I can still make a safe, controlled ascent to the surface (assuming no deco stops are needed, of course).
"Be bold, and mighty forces will come to your aid."
Malcolm
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Re: Swimming

Post by Malcolm »

Have fun swimming in filth. Only a 12.5% chance.
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GORDON
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Re: Swimming

Post by GORDON »

Pshaw. I swim in a pool in which elderly people gather daily for hours and hours to socialize, and I know that all of them bathe regularly, and none of them have bowel or bladder control issues. I know this because I swim a mile a couple times a week and if they were disgusting and filthy that would mean I am getting their sweat, piss, and shit in my mouth and sinuses every day as I swim right next to them in a lap lane.

That can't possibly be true, so I don't need to think about it. At all.
"Be bold, and mighty forces will come to your aid."
Malcolm
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Re: Swimming

Post by Malcolm »

Do you swim? In Ohio?
Yesterday (Aug. 11), officials at the public health department in Columbus said there has been a recent rise in cases of cryptosporidiosis, an illness caused by a hardy parasite that can survive in chlorinated pools.
...
The Crypto parasite is protected by an outer shell that allows it to survive in chlorinated water for long periods of time, of 10 days or more, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The main symptom of the illness is watery diarrhea, but the parasite can also cause stomach cramps, vomiting and fever, the CDC said. People become infected with the parasite in swimming pools after swallowing contaminated water.
Just in case someone gets mysteriously ill.
Diogenes of Sinope: "It is not that I am mad, it is only that my head is different from yours."
Arnold Judas Rimmer, BSC, SSC: "Better dead than smeg."
GORDON
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Re: Swimming

Post by GORDON »

Got in the pool for the first time in about a month, today. Swam 45 minutes, I wasn't counting laps but I bet it was close to a mile, if not a little over. Felt all sorts of fucked up at the beginning... a little out of condition... even my sinuses were burning from the chlorine. After about 20 minutes though I hit the stride and was able to finish ok. I paused for 60 seconds at 5 minutes, and again at 10, but then I didn't stop any more.

Now that the kid is back in school I plan on hitting the gym and pool at least 5 days a week. Diet is back on. Goal is 190 by the kid's spring break... I think it's going to be another few days in the Florida springs, diving.
"Be bold, and mighty forces will come to your aid."
GORDON
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Re: Swimming

Post by GORDON »

I swam the week of my previous post, then went and dove Lake Superior and didn't get back to the gym at all last week, but lifted yesterday and hit the pool again today... the plan is to go back on 5-days-a-week, plus heavy diet... no sugar, very few carbs.

DAMN I had no energy in the pool this morning. Nearly stopped at 20 minutes out of pure "fuck this." Kept going though, did 45 minutes. Not sure how I found the willpower.

I think I forgot how to keep water out of my sinuses during flip turns... I got used to the scuba mask that covers the nose. Now I have to consciously blow out hard during the flip turn or I spend half the length feeling like I am drowning, fighting a panic reflex, blowing the water from my sinuses.
"Be bold, and mighty forces will come to your aid."
TheCatt
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Re: Swimming

Post by TheCatt »

It's just a question of pressure. Push out more than water pushes in. :) I typically make a large inhale before flip turns, and slowly exhale out. Some people can do it without any exhale, but hell if I know how.
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GORDON
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Re: Swimming

Post by GORDON »

Hey did you ever find a swimming mp3 player? I am starting to look for a new one. Old one has lasted a year and is getting quirky.
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TheCatt
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Re: Swimming

Post by TheCatt »

GORDON wrote:Hey did you ever find a swimming mp3 player? I am starting to look for a new one. Old one has lasted a year and is getting quirky.
I have not. I haven't gotten back in the pool, and my wife decided she didn't want an mp3 player, so I stopped.
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GORDON
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Re: Swimming

Post by GORDON »

Well that doesn't help me at all.

I was eyeballing this one today:

"Be bold, and mighty forces will come to your aid."
TheCatt
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Re: Swimming

Post by TheCatt »

Looks decent. I was looking at the 3rd party shuffles that were waterproofed, but they were more than double that, iirc.
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GORDON
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Re: Swimming

Post by GORDON »

I am being peer pressured by the preacher's wife to join her in a "100 mile challenge" at the Y. My typical 2 days a week/2 miles a week would be cutting it close, so I'll probably try to kick it up to 1.5 or 2 miles per swim day.

As such, I was wondering about my stroke again. We mentioned this a while ago but I don't remember.... right now I breathe on a 2 stroke, always turning my head to the right. Do peeps ever do a 4-stroke? It will take some work to get my lungs trained for that, but I bet I decrease my lap time by cutting my breaths in half, and doing more pure strokes.
"Be bold, and mighty forces will come to your aid."
TheCatt
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Re: Swimming

Post by TheCatt »

The longer distance you are swimming, the MORE you should be breathing. For distance swimming, 2-stroke (every right, or every left) is correct. Your major constraint in distance should be your breath, not your stroke speed, and thus you maximize breathing.

Stroke efficiency is what you need to work on: S-curve, smooth hand entry, rotation of your body to minimize surface area/drag, etc.
It's not me, it's someone else.
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