Stroke Deficiencies

I wish there was a magic pill I could take to make me a better swimmer. Swimming, the most technical of the triathlon disciplines, is the hardest to master. I am not a bad swimmer, nor am I particularly slow. My stroke just has some deficiencies that need to be corrected.

I’ve long suspected this fact. This is because I am just not making that quantum leap into being much faster. My swimming fitness is increasing. I am able to swim for long distances without fatiguing, but I am not getting faster.

My swimming problem was revealed this evening when I dropped in on my coaches swim clinic at Asphalt Green. It is a triathlon specific swim clinic, which focuses on proper stroke technique and strategies for dealing with mass swim starts during Triathlons. Video taping is conducted on each swimmer and an analysis is conducted on the pool deck after the swimming session. It is amazing how what you think you are doing is often completely different from what you are actually doing.

Besides not having a magic pill to make me turn me into a Spitzian swimmer, no tools are available for the individual swimmer to monitor his stroke. Cycling has computrainers, power meters, power cranks and specialized bike fit specialists, all to get you to peak cycling form. Running has shoes for every foot and it is easy to setup a video camera to view your form. In swimming, you are on your own unless you have someone chasing you down a pool lane with a video camera. Even then though, you need to somehow translate the deficiencies you see into a better stroke. This is much harder to do than running and biking.

Oh well. It is late so I will sleep on it. Maybe that will help.