When I first started running two years ago I couldn't go a full mile without having to stop and walk. So I could run for half a mile, walk 30 seconds, and repeat. I kept this up for several months, and could run up to 7 miles at a 10:00/mile pace by doing this. One day my wife came with me to run, and I stayed with her at a much slower pace (11:00/mile) for the start. She dropped off after 5 minutes, but I kept going at that pace. My runkeeper app notified me when I passed one mile, then two, then three. Before I knew it I had completed the entire 5 mile loop at Newport News park, all without having to stop. I had found the perfect groove to run in without exhausting myself too quickly.
Yesterday I had the same sort of breakthrough in swimming.
I forced myself to swim as slow as possible, really stretching my hand out forward on each stroke. I quickly fell into a good rhythm, and by the time I finished the first 100m I didn't feel tired at all. The second 100m was also easy, as was the third. It started getting a little more difficult after that, but still easy enough that when I reached 500m I kept going. I stopped briefly at 750m to get some water out of my goggles and to look at the clock: 15:17, a pace of 2:02/100m. In the final 250m my arms got noticeably more tired and my form started unraveling, but I finished the 1km in 22:11, a pace of 2:13/100m.
This sudden breakthrough is attributable to several changes I've made in the last week or so:
Yesterday I had the same sort of breakthrough in swimming.
I forced myself to swim as slow as possible, really stretching my hand out forward on each stroke. I quickly fell into a good rhythm, and by the time I finished the first 100m I didn't feel tired at all. The second 100m was also easy, as was the third. It started getting a little more difficult after that, but still easy enough that when I reached 500m I kept going. I stopped briefly at 750m to get some water out of my goggles and to look at the clock: 15:17, a pace of 2:02/100m. In the final 250m my arms got noticeably more tired and my form started unraveling, but I finished the 1km in 22:11, a pace of 2:13/100m.
This sudden breakthrough is attributable to several changes I've made in the last week or so:
- Doing 75-freestyle, 25-breaststroke breaks each 100m into small goals to swim towards. It also makes it easier to count my distance, which lets me focus on breathing and form.
- Breathing every two strokes instead of every three.
- Forcing myself to maintain a slow pace. In the past as I got more and more out-of-breath I would speed up in order to breathe more often, which is obviously a vicious circle.
- Exhaling harder under the water to make sure I get most of the air out of my lungs.
The first three are "training wheel" type exercises, and I will eventually stop doing them, but for now they're really helping me on the long swims. I walked away from yesterday's swim feeling amazing. For the first time all summer I'm not dreading the swim leg.
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