Slippery fish

A solitary swim session to try and put into practice the things I've been reading in Total Immersion, aiming to swim more like a "slippery fish" and less like a non-slippery human. I did a few lengths of the basic drills, finding my balance in the water, but to be honest I felt a bit daft doing "zen-like swimming" in the deep-water lanes when other people clearly wanted to find a lane and get on with their lengths. Nonetheless it did feel significantly different getting more horizontal, and particularly getting my head well down. I only did a little bit of the on-your-side, nose-down drill, but certainly felt the "swimming downhill" sensation the book mentioned whenever I got my head properly aligned.

Having read the emphasis on "fistgloves" in the book too, I did several lengths with closed fists, concentrating on a slow but powerful kick too, and was surprised to be getting 28-29 strokes per length. So, curious, I went over to open-handed swimming, and was absolutely amazed to be able to bring my total down to 24 s/l. It needs concentration - when I get tired, or distracted, it's up to 25-26 - and I think those lengths where I was down to 23 (and in once case 22) were down to a longer glide at the start.

But, to remind myself for next time, what seemed to be working was keeping my head down, rolling it (in alignment with my body) only as far as necessary when breathing, getting a good reach before pulling back, and always being mindful of the kick. Also it was good to be able to concentrate on one type of length over and over, rather than doing a length each of several different things and then repeating the set.

I did an hour, no real idea how many lengths, but probably around 60 due to the slow (er, zen-like) stuff at the start, and a few waits to synch with the other swimmer in my lane.