Posted by heathweaver

I don’t know what I did differently, but I broke my 20 second block. I haven’t been able to break 20 seconds for weeks. Today I suddenly crushed my score sprinting 19.57 seconds. After a little rest I sprinted again and went 19.17 seconds.

This type of breakthrough is probably normal for more serious atheletes. After working on practicing proper technique again and again, finally you get the pay-off.

I had to do a double-take when I saw 19 on my watch. The practice I have been doing that has paid off consists of timed 25’s for about 45 minutes three times a week. I swim different types of drills: Hand-offs, three on each side, kick drills, eyes closed, etc. Every workout I focus on one aspect of my technique.

Today I was focusing on being long. The drills I do for elongating myself are swimming with my eyes closed and cycle counts. I find keeping my eyes open really distracts me when I want to feel the correct movement in my shoulders.

Things started off pretty poorly for me before I started on my drills. I was pace swimming, averaging 27 seconds per 25 meters. Anything over 25 seconds lets me know my technique is way off. This is usually because I am being lazy and using way too many cycles to get across the pool.

My target is 8 cycles with a 10 meter dolphin kick after the push off. I was swimming around 12 cycles with my legs too far apart at first. After I realized this I started the cycle count drill and brought it between eight and nine. This immediately dropped my average to 25 seconds. I closed my eyes for a few laps and worked on my reach and the reaching over a barrel idea. I also worked on tilting my right hand after recovery as it was entering the water so the palm was facing right and reaching until I felt my shoulder connect with the side of my head.

After those drills my average time was at 23 seconds, which I have noticed lately is the speed I go when I am doing things correctly. I normally don’t kick much when I am working on technique because it is hard for me to focus on both. 

It was a nice surprise to break 20 seconds and I hope I can repeat it next time.