“Would you like to swim faster?” the gentleman in the next lane asked as I crawled out of the pool.”
“Yes, very much.”
“You must reach. You have choppy strokes, you bring your stokes down too soon. Reach for the water. This is why tall people swim faster, they have a longer reach. You are just average, you must reach, and another thing….”
And so I received my first swimming instructions from a delightful 70’s something gentleman with an accent heavy from his motherland, Greece. This man cannot only swim like fish but I have seen him absolutely tear up the elliptical trainer. He went on to point out that I drag my arms at my side instead of moving them in front of my body, hence another slowdown AND I only breathe to one side so I loose symmetry, breathing to both sides is faster. He obviously did not take into account that I was on the verge of drowning with just the motion of moving my head to one side.
Unfortunately, someone had taken my lane and a bunch of kids were in the open area, so I did not get back in the pool to practice. I was also pretty tired, today’s swim was a struggle, now I know why! I will get out and either bike or run this evening, then it is back to the pool in the morning. I plan to show up about the same time and hope that he is there again. His instruction is very appreciated.
Tuesday
Swim:
4×100 meters, 13.58 minutes
4×40 meters
4×20 meters
Monday:
Run: 3.0 miles, 33.57, 11:19 mmp
Swim: 4×100 meters, 13.50 minutes
