PD Swim-Bike-Run 2012, Instalment 1: The Swim

Folks! Here's the much anticipated report of the swim at the 1st PD Swim-Bike-Run held 28 Jan 2012. It's gonna have to be short this time.

If you recall, we were supposed to do loops of 500 m out and 500 m back. The plan was to have the anchor kayak paddle out 500 m and stay put while we swam to it. Thus we could do as many 1 km loops as we so desired. It's 'supposed' to look like Map 1 below...

Map 1: Grace & Kayak on 14 Jan 2012. 500 m out, 500 m back.

Why do I say 'supposed'? Because the Real Route the kayak took (Justin wore the Timex Global Trainer on his wrist) is Map 2 below:

Before Total Immersion: Video Analysis Workshop of Some Lady Trying to Swim

Hi everyone! As promised, here are the highly anticipated - and extremely embarassing (thank heavens it's not me!) - video and selected photos of the Total Immersion Video Analysis Workshop held on Day 1 of the inaugural TI Freestyle Course in Kuala Lumpur last week.

First things first
The subject in the photos and video IS NOT ME! For your information, I am an awesome swimmer, and in fact I am so amazing that I can swim 750 m and even 1.5 km (See evidence HERE and HERE). It's obvious the lady swimmi... no, make that *trying* to swim in the vids here is moving a lot but going nowhere. No way she will last even 25 m. Now that this important fact has been established, let's start tearing into her stroke style :D

Underwater screenshots of video of some lady trying to swim.

Total Immersion Has Come to Malaysia!

Summary of Post

My experience with the Total Immersion (TI) Freestyle Mastery Level 1 three day course at the National Aquatic Center, Bukit Jalil. Day-by-day brief of what we did, and how my swimming has been totally transformed. Links to the detailed daily stuff, including video analysis of my swimming. Tips on how to improve your own swim and links to free TI resources. And... a $25 discount when you sign up for TI Level 1 in Malaysia! (Just say Grace sent you). TI is for swimmers at any level. The only requirement is that you can swim 25 m freestyle (i.e., forward crawl / front crawl). It is especially helpful for triathletes because it improves stroke efficiency by at least 20 %, thus conserving energy for the bike and run legs.

Dead Man’s Float Cannot Die One

I learnt to survive water and even enjoy it at an early age. My dad brought us kids to the public pool every week and early taught us the “dead man’s float” and drown-proofing (but I’m still afraid of drowning!). I always thought of swimming as tiring and thought if I increased my fitness through swimming lots of laps, I would tire less easily. I learnt to relax more in the water and recently completed Sprint and Olympic distance swims without feeling too tired at the end (read race reports for PD Triathlon Sprint Distance and Olympic Distance, and about an EPIC swim). However, my mindset was that swimming is a ‘good workout’ for my arms, legs and whole body – I need to reach and pull with my arms, kick to propel myself forward, etc. TI has totally changed the way I approach swimming.

What is Total Immersion?