A Solution for Every Problem

By DAVID EVANS

This article is drawn from a series of posts David made on the TI Discussion Forum, with some feedback received from Steve Kelly and Terry.

I was really pumped up for the Weekend Workshop in Dallas at the end of October. I’d spent six weeks practicing drills and swimming with Fistgloves. The drilling did wonders for my stroke and I was feeling pretty confidant…until the first drill – Back Balance. I hadn't practiced that at all, since I’d been able to quickly achieve a comfortable Sweet Spot. Splutter, sink, move your head here, hold your back like so, you almost have it - time to move on.

And so on. As soon as I began to understand one step, Coach Bob Wiskera would start us on something else. Whenever it looked like I might catch up, he and his crew would throw out something new.

By Sunday afternoon on our final taping, my stroke count had actually increased. The weight of all the new details I was trying to fit in had fractured my delicate stroke equilibrium. Worse yet, I now had to go home, drill some more, and rebuild my stroke AGAIN.

After a few sessions in the pool, a new stroke began to emerge, one actually worth imprinting. But a new frustration surfaced. All those weeks of drilling seemed to have sapped my endurance. I couldn't complete more than a few lengths without gasping.

Fortunately I figured out that my problem was insufficient oxygen. Before the workshop I had been taking two breaths on one side then two on the other. After, I was breathing every three strokes. When I factored in my improved stroke count I realized I was losing about three breaths per length. Compounding the problem, I sometimes held my breath to bask in how silent my stroke had become.

So I adopted a new focus – listening to bubbles. An active exhale really does cure the breathless feeling. And to compensate for taking fewer breaths I’ve begun doing every 5th length on my back. The backstroke lengths are luxuriously “airy.” In addition, it helps in lap-counting and offers a refreshing change of pace.

This has worked so well that I can now swim two miles continuously in a 4-lengths-free, 1-length-back pattern feeling smooth the whole way. This is a half mile beyond what I had been able to do before. Plus I feel myself making small improvements virtually every session.

The benefit of hindsight suggests that the greatest benefit of the workshop was a knowledge of what makes a good stroke go bad. Even before TI, I could sense when my stroke was going well and when it wasn't. In fact, I rebuilt my stroke the TI way mainly to enjoy that stroke-going-well sensation more consistently. My self-taught TI stroke was a big improvement…but it also raised the bar on how good swimming should feel and I wanted more. That’s why I jumped at the chance to attend a workshop.

Now as I "listen" to my stroke, I can not only sense when something’s not quite right; I can identify a reason why. Was I looking forward? (I finally seem to have a handle on that.) Does my left hand suddenly “lose patience” when I breathe to the right? (Still working on that. My original chocolate side has become artificially-flavored lo-cal vanilla thanks to 25 years of bad habits.) Ah, that last length went so well because I speared my arm through its bulls eye. (I just started to focus on this one.)

A problem with no solution is just a problem. A problem with a solution is an opportunity.

David says: I am 50 years old and retired from a career mismanaging corporate misinformation systems. For the last 25 years I have been a lap swimmer whenever I could. A couple of years ago I drank the TI Kool-Aid and started trying to throw a lifetime of muscle memory out the window. Since then I have learned a couple of things. One is that takes a while to unlearn a stroke with a lot of miles in it. The other is that it is hard to swim after a breakfast of chilaquiles mexicanos.

Feedback from Terry:

1. I'm increasingly convinced that Back Balance is of greatest value as a simple exercise in relaxing into the water to improve sense of support for those who are least experienced in swimming, It's also the right place to start learning Backstroke skills and balance – albeit briefly – before rotating to clear one shoulder. However it can easily be bypassed in the freestyle learning process, particularly by those who have been swimming freestyle for several years.
2. Your realization that the breath is truly the non-negotiable foundation for efficient swimming was critical, and your choice to employ a "listening to bubbles" focal point was inspired.
3. Inclusion of "recovery laps" of Backstroke in your longer swims are exactly the same process Vik Malhotra used to swim his first nonstop mile – efficiently – as described in “First Mile Swim.” (Read of Vik’s latest breakthrough here.)

Feedback from Steve Kelly:
Don’t let a few backward steps distract you. After my annual swimming lessons at the TI Studio I was also advised to return to basic drills – again. This time of course I have a clearer sense of my needs. I’m having a lot of fun drilling this time round and feel so immersed in what I’m doing that my pool time slips by without notice. When I started with TI 18 months ago I began with months of drilling done with clenched teeth and no clear sense of what I should be feeling.

You’re fortunate to be a quick study and able to adapt and modify your stroke so easily. My learning process is murkier and involves backing into many dead ends before settling on a way forward. Swimming really well is challenging beyond my skill level but many small improvements have brought me much relief and satisfaction. Moving forward will require much diligence, discipline, and time to learn and absorb more refined methods.

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