Between The Black Lines

The swimming questions keep coming! Thanks so much for writing in, keep at it and I will keep throwing back the best answers that I can! Keep in mind that all of this is my big opinion. I have swum forever and it's my first love. I have had terrific coaches and they taught me all I know. So it's my opinion!

1. Do you like to pull? My favorite thing on earth might be pulling. I swear I was born with paddles on!

I love using pull sets for a few reasons; strength and catch. If you have no shoulder issues I recommend paddles. A few different types of Paddles are out on the market.

My favorites are the TYR Catalyst, shown here. Each color signifies a different size. I use both the red and the blue, and sizes are very individual. My shoulder health is terrific, as is my shoulder flexibility. If you are not sure where to begin or have shoulder issues, go for a smaller size, or skip it all together. Paddles should NOT hurt your shoulder. Using them with an existing shoulder injury, using them when you are not ready for them, using them too much, or using them with a significantly impaired (AKA BAD) stroke can cause a shoulder injury.

How do paddles help your catch phase? Take off the wrist strap. Your fingers must point to the bottom of the pool to execute the catch, or they'll flip up.

Great sets for paddles are 200-1,000 yard repeats. I can not stress enough the importance of shoulder health previous to using paddles.

2. You said you use Swedish Goggles, what are those?

I have used Swedes since I was a kid. They do not have the foam piece around the eye, they fit right into the eye socket. Swedes come in pieces so you can achieve that custom fit. I do not race open water in these as they do fog up. I don't care if they fog up in a pool. It is annoying if they fog up in open water, but I can easily get through a race if I forget my other duds. Swedes should not hurt your eyes. If they do they are too tight. If the eye piece is too big for your socket, then try children's Swedes.

Hint; best anti fog..... spit. Lick the insides of your goggles before hitting the water, do not rub with your finger, same goes for any other goggle. If you wear a special goggle for open water, never ever touch the inside of the lens with your finger. Most have an anti fog film already on them.

3. I always lose my pull buoy, should I go bigger or smaller?

There are a few tricks to keeping hold of your buoy. Go smaller, I use a children's size. It is enough to float my legs to the surface and small enough that I don't lose it on a flip turn. Another trick.... buy an inner tube. (deflated ;-) Cut it into strips and you'll have a great band to slide around your legs.

Note: if you area runner and you "band" your legs..... know that most runner's legs sink, so dropping your legs will change the dynamics of your stroke in a negative way. Band and buoy I always say, and keep your shoulders healthy.

4. Zommers or fins????? I am old school and I hate Zoomers. If you are putting on fins, put on fins. Many triathletes are addicted to Zoomers, which I believe are "fake fins." to me it is like drinking decaffeinated coffee or fat free ice cream. Use regular fins. I find the best pair to be the simplest pair. If you have issues with blistering or chafing you can wear socks inside your fins.

Fins will help develop ankle flexibility, as well as enhance your kick, emphasizing kicking from the hip rather than from the knee.

How is ankle flexibility? Sit on your knees. Then bend and sit on your heels. Does that hurt your ankle? If so, you need to improve your ankle flexibility. Nothing blows up your total immersion style than toes pointing to the bottom of the pool.

5. What can I do out of the pool to enhance my swimming? Keep it simple outside the pool. A simple set of cords will do. I have a Vasa Trainer and I have tried the TriTon swim trainer. Vasa is the gold standard. Nothing compares to it, but remember I used it all through college.

6. What were your events in high school and college? High school; 500 free, 200 IM and 200 Free. College; 1000 free, 1650 free, 500 free, 200 fly 400 IM.

All this talk about swimming has made me realize how blessed I am that my parents threw me in the pool at the age of 2. I don't work very hard in swim training to swim a good IM swim. My husband has to work a heck of a lot harder to swim the same pace. With all the tools and opportunities I have however.... I can regain some of those former swimming days.

Thanks for inspiring me... your great questions have motivated me to really find the pool focus again. Rather than hanging on in the stud lane.... I am going to go for it.

And please..... more questions!

:-) mary