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Base Week 1 Friday - 3000 meters of swimming

AM: 3000 meters swimming total - All drills (no timed sets)

1) Warmup: 500 meters

2) Strength Sets: 6x150m paddles (50m left hand only, 50m right hand only, 50m both)

3) Symmetry, Hypoxic Sets: 4x200m freestyle with snorkels

4) "Putting It All Together" Set: 1x500m freestyle (untimed)

5) Cooldown: 300 meters


Paddles can be tough when swimming normally with both hands, but with only one hand pulling, it can be extraordinarily difficult. Add to that trying to keep my form through the entire drill as my shoulders were tiring. So when I get to that part of the set where I can use both arms, I felt extremely smooth in the water.

The snorkels are another tough set. Try breathing through a straw and you'll understand how it might feel in the water when taking breaths. I usually do 100 meter sets with snorkels, but I decided to give 200 meters a try. That distance can make people faint if this set was done wrong. The object here is to keep everything constant and smooth so that I don't waste my breath.

The result of the paddles and the snorkels, is a nice, heightened sense of my stroke and my movement through the water in the 500 meter set toward the end. It just feels so great feeling the water just slip by me with a perfectly smooth stroke.

The paddles, fins, and snorkels are the perfect "toys" to develop a perfect stroke. If your pool doesn't have them, definitely pick them up at an online swim shop because they are essential to your stroke development.

Weekly totals so far: 6000 meters of swimming, 30 miles of cycling, 16 miles of running.

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