Swimming: Reducing Drag and Increasing Power

Michelle Simmons is a fantastic triathlete, and awesome coach, and a great swimmer. I was on Team Recovery e21 with her a few years back. This is a post that she wrote and posted earlier this week. One of the best that I have read on swimming. I asked her if I could shared it with my readers and she graciously obliged!

Read on people! Some really good stuff here! I added the large text on some of the points for you to concentrate on the next time you swim.

  Michelle Simmons

www.simmonsendurancecoaching.com 

I am a Wife, a Mom, a Coach, and a Triathlete... Living and Training in Paradise... 

Find me at www.mamasimmons.com

Swimming: Reducing Drag and Increasing Power
by Michelle Simmons

Seems like another post on swimming has been brewing in my head recently so I'll take a stab at it and we'll see how this goes!

I think I mentioned in a recent post that my swim sessions have been taken to the next level recently. Not surprised given that Marilyn is an Endurance Corner coach and the swim sessions that come from their website (when they post them) are always some of the most awesome sessions I see posted anywhere... I'm in love with the sets that Gordo's wife "Monsey" comes up with. Every time I see a session written by her I think NICE that's awesome. Awesome in a hard way of course, but awesome nonetheless.

Most of those sets require athletes to think and do math while swimming. I love this. Send-offs that vary so you have to swim faster to make them or can swim easier to recover before having to go faster again... This morning we did a set of 30x100's that were descend 1-5 (x6) and the send-off got 5" shorter through each rounds of 5. So we'd start at 1:50, then 1:45, 1:40, 1:35, 1:30... then straight back into 1:50, which was our recovery since the 1:30's don't allow much rest. Trying to do the math to figure out the send-off for each one was a challenge for sure but I love doing math while I'm swimming so this was no problem. And it makes the set fly by so fast because you're forced to think the whole time. I *much* prefer this type of set over 30x100's @1:40. Or worse, 60x50's @:50. Blah. Ok so I will admit that 60x50's @:50 has it's place and can be a valuable session but it still makes me want to scratch my eyes out when I see it on my schedule.

Anyway, it's been interesting to watch one of my newer local athletes, Sergio, develop as a swimmer. He was a decent swimmer to start with... as far as technique goes, his was good enough to get him across the longcourse pool in <45". So of course there are a few little things about his stroke that we can tweak but fact is, if you're capable of swimming a 50 in 40"(yards) or 45"(meters) then your stroke is going to be decent enough that technique is probably not your biggest limiting factor. If you can't repeat that pace for more than a few 50's then endurance is your issue and this is what I see very commonly! In Sergio's case, this is what we saw. He could swim a very fast 50! But that left him very winded and he couldn't repeat it without a ton of rest. So what we look to develop there is a better sense of pace (ie what is a sustainable effort?) and much deeper endurance. Essentially, he's been joining us for morning swims ~3x/week for the last few months and in the beginning we modified most sets so he could do part of it then get some rest then do more then get some rest, etc. He kept coming back consistently though and this morning I was so impressed- he knocked out ~4K swimming solidly the whole time and had this big AH-HA moment where he said The key is to take the easy ones super easy and save energy for the fast ones. YES. I love it that he got that this morning! Some athletes swim for YEARS and don't ever truly get that concept. Anyway, it's been really fun for me to watch Sergio's improvement these last few months. And it reinforces a lot for me too as far as how we go about improving one's swim. (I.e. suck it up and work your ass off consistently for several months. Or years. In most cases, years.)

I'm also back to teaching 1:1 swim sessions a couple times/week with some other local athletes. I'll tell you here a bit about what I commonly teach during those: Right off the bat, understand that swimming faster is either about 1) Reducing drag or 2) Increasing power.

~Reduce drag by: keeping head neutral; being more streamline off the wall; reduce excess body movement/fishtailing; avoid sinking legs by keeping head neutral and chest down; avoid crossing over with your hands upon entry; avoid a wide scissor kick, etc. Several of these issues (fishtailing through the water, scissor kick) are really a secondary compensation/result based on improper head position or crossing over with arms upon entry. So fix the root of the problem (head position, entry position) and that wide scissor kick that you're using for balance may just fix itself.

~Create more power by positioning your arms/hands upon entry in a way that will allow your lats to get involved and do the work. This one can be a bit more complicated for some but essentially this means pressing the water down and back with strong wrists while keeping an 'open armpit'. I find the open armpit analogy works better for many than 'high elbow' cue b/c you can keep a high elbow while simultaneously shutting off your lat if you're leading your pull with that elbow first. This is probably the most common thing I see when working with a new athlete. Very few swimmers generate the power they could because they are missing opportunity to create power/propulsion because the elbow leads the pull. Instead, focus power through the wrist and you'll find that's how you can get your lats engaged. One last tip I give all the time: the water should feel heavy because you're pulling so much of it. If it feels easy, like your arms are just slipping through the water, it's because your arms are just slipping through the water! Don't do that! PULL the water, every stroke, feeling tension and resistance from your wrist up your forearm and into your armpit. This will probably make you more tired at first, but that's the feeling you want.

Anyway, so there you go. Focus on form for sure, especially if it takes you >2' to swim 100M. But once you're down in the 1:30/100 range, then you're going to get a lot more gain from doing real sets off real send-offs. Sometimes those send-offs should be roomy and allow plenty of rest so you can practice going FAST. Other times those send-offs should be tight so you can practice repeating efforts on very little rest and just holding pace. And finally, KNOW your pace in the pool. I'm constantly astounded by how many swimmers don't pay attention to their pace in the pool.

OK that wasn't really my final point... I still have more to say, and I'm BatShit Serious! Learn to flip turn! And swim more than 2000 at a time! And get in the water at least 3x/week! There. I said it. Now I'm done. :)

Posted by Michelle Simmons

Gator Bait Triathlon!!!!

It's been almost two years and a knee surgery since I've raced a triathlon with a run longer than a 5K.  I've been babying my poor knees and when I run 6 miles the left one likes to lock up (I think from internal swelling) and hurts like heck. 

Moving to Mississippi posed a little bit of a challenge for me to find enough races to fulfill my sponsor requirements - so I saw that Vicksburg had an Olympic distance race and went ahead and signed up.  The Gator Bait Triathlon - first year race - sounds like fun!  Love the name of the race.  My friend Deanna signed up too - another girl's road trip!!!  And then I talked our friend Judy into signing up for the 1500 meter Open Water Swim!  Deanna had a friend, Carla who is a photographer who wanted to come and see her race - we had a really fun road trip planned!

Carla, Deanna, Judy and me!

We loaded into Deanna's car on Friday afternoon and headed to Vicksburg.  Judy had decided that if the race organizers let her that she was going to go ahead and change from the open water swim to racing the triathlon.  It would be the longest race that both she and Deanna had ever done. 


Race morning came and we were happy with some cooler air temperatures!  Got everything set up in transition and went for a really quick jog just to see where the run started.  After my little run I grabbed my swim cap and goggles and made my way to the water to get in a warm up.  Saw Dave and Jim at the boat launch - two swimmers from USM.  I think this was going to be their longest triathlon ever too.  Dave is a super fast swimmer and ended up having the fastest swim split of the day!

There were only three swim waves - this was a small race with only about 100 competitors.  A far cry from my last race in Shreveport where there were 1100!  The women and relays went off in the third wave.  Funny that even with the small number of people in my wave that I had two people (men) swim across in front of me going left to right and one girl right on my shoulder with her arm swinging over my head.  Fortunately for me she didn't swim straight and moved off at an angle to the right.  The water was warm and the swim was long.  Judy swam into a dead fish and it freaked her out - she worried about alligators for the rest of the swim.  This was Deanna's longest open water swim and she was a little stressed by it but did just fine.  I ended up with the 10th fastest swim split of the day.  Judy had the 4th fastest time!  My speed suit rubbed a little place on the right side of my neck - should have used some Aquaphor before the swim!!

Garmin HR Avg: 170 / Max: 174

The bike course was flat and fast, just slightly downhill at the very beginning, I remember looking and seeing 23+ miles per hour.  It was an out and back course and the only complaint I have is that at the turn around there wasn't anything very visible to let you know it was coming.  Usually there is a traffic cone in the middle of the road.  There was a volunteer standing on the side of the road and once you got to it you could see a red line painted across the road.  A slight breeze and some shade from the trees on the way out was really nice!  My plan was to take two gels during the bike (I was trying something a little different today - usually I would just take one for a 40K). I took one just after I settled in on the bike after the swim and another at about mile 20. I'd also rubber banded my tic tac container of Recovery e21 onto my handle bars and transfered it to the pocket of my tri top so I'd have them for the run as well.  Took two e21 about a half hour into the ride. I passed Judy and one other girl who were both out of the water ahead of me and didn't see any other girls on the way back.  I was leading the women's race!!!! This has never happened to me before on the bike!  Deanna had the fastest women's bike split of the day - that girl can ride fast!

Garmin:  21.3 moving speed.  HR Avg: 162 / Max: 187

I'd read someone's post on BeginnerTriathlete.com who had run the course in training and he'd said to take it easy on the way out because on the way back the sun would be blaring in your face.  So I decided to heed the advice and ran what I like to refer to as "gently" on the way out.  My legs were a little stiff from the ride and they loosened up right away.  A guy passed me just before the mile mark and told me that there weren't any other women any where near me and to keep it up.  I checked my Garmin and was running 7:42-7:50 miles - this made me very happy.  It didn't feel like I was running a sub 8:00, everything felt smooth.  I had my e21 in my pocket and took two at about mile 2 on the run and another at mile 5.  I slowed down a little on the way back and didn't push the pace.  Right as I passed the 6 mile mark my right calf tried to cramp so I had to watch how I placed my feet.  Thinking back I know I didn't drink enough on the bike, or the run for that matter.   First place Overall Female!!  I'm pretty darned happy! 

Garmin Avg Moving Pace: 7:56.  HR Avg: 171 / Max 179

After I finished I jogged back out onto the course to cheer on my friends Judy and Deanna.  Deanna won her age group and Judy won the Masters Female catagory!!  And befitting a race called the Gator Bait Triathlon - the awards?  A real gator head on a plaque!  They're mailing us little personalized plates for our plaques! 

A great time with new friends!  I can't wait to race with them again! 

Hattiesburg Triathletes!
Jim, Dave, Judy, Deanna and me!

Three more triathlons for me this season!  I'm going to hate to see it end.

Crawfishman Race Report

Crawfishman Triathlon - Grand Hills Estates - Bush, LA.  1000 yds / 18 mile / 4 mile

Pre Race:  Why is it that if you don't know anyone that everyone looks so fast?  A lot of very fit women in south Louisiana on race day.  I kept seeing women with 50 and older on their calves that looked like they would leave me in the dust.  I was worried.  Perfect weather that morning, a little breeze in the air, cool enough for a jacket.  Looks like its going to be an awesome day!  I raced in my Recovery e21 Kit!  I keep telling you - this product is amazing!!!  (Use Code: e21WINS for a 20% discount!)



Nina and Lonnie Borrouso!


The Swim:   The water temperature was perfect, probably around 81 degrees.  No wetsuit - hurray!!  I think the swim course was a bit long - my Garmin clocked it just at a mile.  Drafted off of a girl for the first half of the swim, she was swimming just a tiny bit faster than me.  Then for the second half she slowed the pace so I went around her.  I saw a lot of green swim caps in front of me in the water and knew that my swimming wasn't up to normal - not good.  Bill's sister Nina her husband Lonnie and my nephew Scott were supposed to come to the race but at race start they hadn't showed up yet so we thought that maybe they'd changed their minds.  As I came out of the water I heard a woman's voice yell "Go Ginger!" and I knew that they'd made it!!  We'd stayed with them the night before in Covington, LA and I was excited to have family at the race.  Average HR: 155 / Max HR:  171

The Bike:  Anyone who thinks South Louisiana is flat is misinformed!  You have to remember that I'm a flat lander now and that bike course kicked my you know what!  My right lower quad was tight and uncomfortable the entire bike.  I think it's from sitting in the car driving down from North Carolina.  I always run and swim to warm up before the race but should have taken my bike out for a little spin to flush out the legs.  I passed a lot of really young girls in their teens - great age group swimmers from the area.  Towards the end of the bike two girls passed me.  One was 46 and the other 57!  The 57 year old was a woman named Susan Boudreaux - I've raced against her before in Shreveport and on the coast.  I'd looked up prior year's race results from Crawfishman and saw that she always took the Masters or Grand Masters podium spot, and when she was younger was one of the top 3 Females.   Averaged 20.1 mph on the bike.  Average HR: 165 / Max HR: 175

The Run:  More hills - ouch!  It felt like I was running in slow motion.  I had my Garmin set to show me heart rate, pace and distance but I didn't have it on scroll mode.  Rats.  I did see the first mile split - 7:55, not quite as fast as I was hoping to run, but then the hills do slow me down.  At the turn around I saw the two women that had passed me on the bike, they were behind me.  Thank goodness for speedy transitions!  By mile 3 both of them were passing me.  I asked the one if she was Susan Boudreaux but she didn't remember me from prior races.  Hmmmm.... I guess I'm just not that memorable!   The last 1/4 or a mile or so was downhill to the finish.  I'd warmed up out and back up that hill and knew that it would be a fast finish.  I started picking up the pace and saw that I was catching Susan.  I honestly didn't think I stood a chance to catch her, she'd made up a lot of distance on me.  And I wasn't really planning on catching her.  But as we made the last turn onto the grass headed to the finish banner my momentum took me right by her.  She hadn't changed her pace at all on the downhill.  I heard her say "THAT'S JUST NOT RIGHT!" as I went by her.  It is a race after all, right?  8:04 pace. Average HR: 176 / Max HR: 190 



Susan in the red tri shorts.

Post Race:  Found Bill and the rest of my family and we went over to the festivities!!  There was Jambalaya, Red Beans and Rice, Hubig's Pies, Great Harvest Bread, Smoothies, Beer and Frozen Margaritas!!  Sweet!  While I was in the beer line I overheard a guy asking a girl if she took the Grand Master's award and she said "No there was a girl who passed me in the finish chute."  I tapped her on the shoulder and said " That would be me!"  The humidity was low and a nice breeze made the wait for awards pleasent!  Bill and I went to the car for me to get cleaned up - I hate hanging around in wet, stinky clothes.  Then we met back up with Nina, Lonnie and Scott to wait for the awards presentation.





Nina, Lonnie, Me and Scott*



I finished 12th Overall Female and Grand Masters Female (50 and older)! 

The award was so cool!  An original piece of artwork from a local artist, Jose Balli.  I found out later that he lives on the race course and we'd passed his home on the bike!

My husband Bill was amazing!  He and Scotty were running all over the place taking pictures.  He did an awesome job as Chief Photographer!!  After the race we went back to Nina and Lonnie's house for an awesome lunch of grilled chicken, sausages, roasted corn on the cob and salad - YUM!!!! 


*My nephew Scott Saladino lives in Virginia with his wife Christina.  They're both serving our country in the Navy.  Scott is at Keesler AFB in Biloxi, MS until August for training.  I think it's so awesome that he gets to see his family on the weekends and that he came out to cheer me on at the race!









Esprit De Corps

Esprit De Corps:  A common spirit of comradeship, enthusiasm, and devotion to a cause among the members of a group.

Training ride for Ironman Louisville with Dorothy, Joan, Mary and Tina!



Stonebridge Ranch Triathlon -  McKinney, TX

I've been lucky enough to have some great training partners over the years.  The one downfall from racing for so long is that the training partners come and go.  They get married, have children and stop racing. Or in my case three years ago, you move half way across the country.  Then it's time to find new ones.  I do most of my training by myself, but I enjoy being part of a group.  I've been a member of three triathlon clubs over the years, all located in the Dallas Metroplex area.  First there was Tri-Dallas, a wonderful group of people who helped me train for my first Ironman. Then there was the TRI-Umph! Triathlon club and finally Fit2Train. 


Team Aquaphor!!

Three years ago a friend of mine forwarded an email to me from Active.com, Active Ambassadors was recruiting for a national age group triathlon team sponsored by Aquaphor.  The team has been in existence since 2004 and they choose 200 athletes from across the country to race on Team Aquaphor. 

Aquaphor is a healing ointment formulated to create an ideal environment that protects and helps heal your skin.  It is wonderful in preventing and healing the discomforts, from blisters to windburn! I use it on every single bike ride to prevent chaffing.  Being on Team Aquaphor has made me train harder and really push myself in races.  Since being a part of this team I've had some of my best performances to date and through the team message board and Facebook I have made some great friends, and even though I seldom see any of them this team has been just what I've needed to boost my triathlon career.  I hope that I am lucky enough to be chosen in 2011 again to be on the team.

This month I applied for and was accepted for another race sponsorship, Recovery e21.  This from their website:  "Recovery e21 can assist your body to perform at its best. e21 is an organic full spectrum electrolyte replacement capsule. Because its 114 elements are derived from a natural, single cell marine algae these elements are totally bio-available to your body when it needs them. Other synthetic electrolyte products require the body to break through the synthetic chain they create and these synthetic compositions are often excreted before your body can use them." 

I'm excited to start using the product to aid in my training and racing.  I love that Recovery e21 is a natural substance.  They also make a joint fuel that I can't wait to try.