Pulsing in the water....

I decided to wear my heart rate monitor during my swim today. I haven't worn a heart rate monitor during swim training for over a year. The reason is because I could never get my heart rate up over my aerobic threshold during any swims and figured it wasn't worth bothering to wear.

The only time I could get my heart rate up in the water was during a triathlon, and even then it would only get to the low 140's. I'd ask good swimmers if they could get their heart rates up when swimming and all of them told me "Yes" and that it wasn't uncommon for them to get up into the 170's. I was blown away and wondered why I could never do the same.

After implementing what I learnt at Saturday's swim clinic during Monday's swim, I decided I was going to wear my heart rate monitor for today's tempo swim and see if my heart rate would be the same or higher than it was previously. I was blown away, it was MUCH higher.

First off, my stroke is better and I'm going much faster. I did 6 x 100 meters and my fastest was 1:32 and my slowest was 1:34. The only problem was that I was not supposed to exceed 143 bpm and to do those times my heart rate was in the 150's. I've never even come close to having it that high in the pool, it blew me away.

I thought I did the entire session and looked at my watch and noticed that the finish time didn't jive. I recalled the laps and realized I didn't do two of the 100 meters at a hard pace. So I went back and did them. The last 100 meters was at the 2850 meter point of my swim and I still did it in 1:38, but my heart rate shot up to 168 bpm. I don't even get it that high on the bike and rarely when I run. To keep it at the 143 or lower, I'm going to have to swim much slower.

I noticed as the swim went on and especially on the hard effort sets, I started to lose my form. I'm certain that by reducing my effort to keep my heart rate in the zone I'll be able to focus on keeping my form for the entire workout. I can now confidently say I'm starting to improve my swim technique, the increased heart rate, sore upper body and faster times prove it.

I remember when I belonged to the Burlington Masters Club, the coach said something along the lines that getting faster requires you to go outside of your comfort zone. It was a statement that resonated with me because up until now, I never saw myself pushing it in the water. To me, swimming was a necessary evil and in races I just wanted feel confident in the water and finish without being too tired. Now that has all changed.

I'm doing two things I've never done before. I'm extending my arms far in front of me, which in the past, I've been afraid to do. I didn't think my body had the flexibility or strength to do it and I was mentally afraid of the pain. The second thing is I'm now prepared to go hard, into the "pain" zone.

Even during the swim, part of my arms were getting sore during the pulling drills. One of the guys in the lane beside me commented that I'm a fast swimmer. I replied " I am today!". I felt like a real swimmer. I loved Monday's swim, but this one felt even better!!!

I've never felt so good about a swim workout before. I felt like I did more than just putting in my swim time. It was challenging workout and I felt I was making some progress. My arms and lats were even a little sore. I'm also starting to understand why long swims can be beneficial.

Something I think about is my PFG buddy Carlos working on his bike speed. He is an awesome swimmer and cycling is something he wants to improve on. He would say it's hard for him to get his heart rate up on the bike and I'd say I have no problem.

Then I'd say I have a hard time getting my heart rate up in the pool and he'd say he has no problem. I think the difference is that I've learnt how to go into the "pain" zone on the bike, but not in the swim and he's learnt how to go into the "pain" zone in the swim and not the bike. It's obvious that I need to break that mental barrier and learn to love "hurting" in the water.

I've done it on the bike with the wind. I used to hate the wind, but then kept telling myself "I love the wind, the wind is my friend, I love the wind, the wind is my friend". Every time I'd ride into a wind, I'd say this over and over and then eventually, after a few years, I started to believe it. Now I can enjoy cycling directly into a head wind. My buddy Dale Dersken, who was an awesome cyclist in Winnipeg, taught me that technique.

It also reminds me of a something I heard from Steve Forbes young daughter. Her father was running for President and she was asked if she liked campaigning and her answer was, "like my Daddy says, either you like it, or you learn to like it". Words to live by.

Tempo Swim - 1:08:33 / 3000 meters

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