Continuous swimming - how do I get beyond 50 meters?

[jenson1a]

Lloyd

You said in your post:

Initially, when learning how to swim with TI, in 2014, I had that elevated heart rate/ breathlessness issue after just a 25 yard length. I would need an average of 3 mins rest time. Now I can do sets of 10 X 25 yards with 2 minute rests before getting a feeling close to that. Doing consistent drills has also helped. Yep a 25 yard length feels effortless. In my case, I think the variables at play have been technique, body type and patience.


When you say you can swim 10 x 25, does that mean you swam 10 single 25 yards or do you mean that you swam that quantity consecutively?

Forgive my confusion, but sometimes I get hung up on some of swimming terms

Sherry

Suzanne, your remarks are very thrilling. I think it might be the first rather than the second problem. I'll check on that at my next training (on Sunday). I'll let you know. Thanks!

[jenson1a]

Originally Posted by CoachSuzanne

How unpleasant is your breathlessness? When you go for a jog and stop at a stoplight, is your breathing slightly breathless?

When I made the realization that it was Ok to be breathing heavily and continue on another interval, I was able to progress my training signfiicantly. What I found was that prior to that I wanted to be breathing at my resting rate before starting any new interval again.

I realized that I felt just as fine on subsequent lengths.

Physiologically, your breathing will reach a balance when your'e exercising any where above a "marathon effort" pace, and respiratory rate will remain elevated.

If you have trouble exchanging air when swimming you'll run into technical problems like breath holding or using a lot of extra energy to get air in, and that's a different type of problem.

Can you figure out which type you have? A techinical problem with air exchange or an emotional problem with not wanting tos tart a swim when your breathing rate is up?

This last paragraph left me wondering how to determine if the problem was technical or emotional (or psychological). Yesterday when I was swimming, I had the whole pool to myself. Near the end of my practice I decided to remove the wall (so to speak). I set my watch timer and decided to swim the perimeter of the pool rather than back and forth. The intent was to swim 1 minute and count strokes. When I got to 60 strokes I stopped and the timer read 1 minute and sixteen seconds or 76 seconds. No breathlessness and this was at the end of my practice session. Voila!! Even more so, when I had time to calculate my stroke rate, I was happy that it turned out to be 1:28

Now that I know the problem is in my head, I have to figure out how to replicate what I did on a lap to lap basis.

Sherry

[lloyddinma]

Originally Posted by jenson1a

Lloyd

You said in your post:

Initially, when learning how to swim with TI, in 2014, I had that elevated heart rate/ breathlessness issue after just a 25 yard length. I would need an average of 3 mins rest time. Now I can do sets of 10 X 25 yards with 2 minute rests before getting a feeling close to that. Doing consistent drills has also helped. Yep a 25 yard length feels effortless. In my case, I think the variables at play have been technique, body type and patience.


When you say you can swim 10 x 25, does that mean you swam 10 single 25 yards or do you mean that you swam that quantity consecutively?

Forgive my confusion, but sometimes I get hung up on some of swimming terms

Sherry

Hi Sherry, I am sorry to respond late . I only just noticed your question. Happily, I meant that I swam that continously. I too get hung up on swimming terms. Hey we learn every day.:)

[jenson1a]

Wow that is great. Extending distance for me has been a problem. One thing I noticed in your post is your rest time, which is a lot longer than mine. I am too much in a hurry to start the next set and I think that is also one of my problems. I do find that nasal breathing rather than bobs are much more helpful for me, but getting adequate rest time is important.

Looking fwd to your future post when you hit that magic mile!!

Sherry