Nightcrawler's Journey to World Masters Swimming Championships 2017

23.06.2017 - Morning session - NONE (off)
Didnt swim in the morning in order to recover a bit. Looked forward to see at luch time session that whether this recovery beneficial or not and SAW!

23.06.2017 - Lunch time session - SCM - 1500m
3x500m freestyle (7:18-7:12-7:15)

Notes: Holy sh.t! Outlandishness is still! I could do these sets sub 7:00 easily a week ago, but now after 3x500m stopped and get under the coldest shower. I cant understand what is happening... Anyway, tonight we are moving to Antalya for a couple of days holiday, maybe oxygen-rich weather, brilliant sea and the sparkling sun may help me to find myself. I will take some videos and share with you in the days to come, keep following me.

25.06.2017-3000m- Around the cliffs of Antalya
15*200m on 3' (2:46 avg)

Some videos from today's session:
https://youtu.be/eEP8ahjHeh4
https://youtu.be/GY1reca1yys
https://youtu.be/FzptFc6YJ9Y

You are making us envious again!

Are you over gliding? Is there a hesitation before the catch or are you just pottering?

another video: https://youtu.be/ZqWCFLFUu4Q

cottmiler wrote:You are making us envious again!

Are you over gliding?  Is there a hesitation before the catch or are you just pottering?

it is energy conservation, yes also we can say pottering.

Are you extending a little wider than before? Still think you can put a bit more weight on your catch
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eEP8ahjHeh4

Last time I really got bored halfway my swim in the pool.Up and down between lines all the time. Felt like slave work and wanted to go home. Thats not a problem in that environment

SA wrote:Are you extending a little wider than before? Still think you can put a bit more weight on your catch
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eEP8ahjHeh4

Exactly!
Congragulations, you have a very good eye SA
I have been focusing on the wider extension and catch for a few days, that's why i m swimming slowly in order to observe its pros and cons. Wider catch increases my distance per stroke(cottmiler asked whether it is glide but it is not) and provides less stress on the shoulders during extension.

I am also experimenting with how wide you can go before drag starts to increase and when your stroke becomes shorter.
The stroke seems a bit shorter going wide, but you can  bend the elbow easier, making the relative effective strokelenght longer.
Its a fact that an entry pointing a bit to the centerline feels easier, but thats mainly because of what your shoulder is used to, not what is optimal for swimming.
And most people have rounded shoulders nowedays, so extending straight forward feels already very strange and wide.
Its best to experiment a bit with entry and extension trying from wide to narrow and back to arrive to some optimum.
Most important is where the arm is at the moment when the catch starts. You want it right under your bodyweight or a bit wider when your whole arm is ready to hold and launch your body over it.
Wish I could get it right on every stroke. Like hitting a bal right on the sweet spot of the racket.

try extending wide, but with your hand angled toward the centerline (like Sheila Taormine does)
this makes your hand and forearm feel more like one unit, and also makes it more natural to lift the armpit and shoulder together with the upperarm and elbow, setting you up for a good connection with your body to pull that whole big paddle back after catch.
You point the hand out, which sets you up for a dropped elbow. Or in other words, makes it harder to avoid a dropped elbow.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NXCw9t6bV8c

So the relative position of the hand to the arm, but with a wider entry as Sheila is doing.
She is entering too narrow. Too much drag on the outside of the (bended)arm.
Try it.It feels very different.

pieter vd hoogenband 2x olympic 100m gold winner
uploading images

I have almost 45 days to my competition in Budapest. This means 40 training sessions. In the sessions that i m making on holiday till next week i will be trying different mechanics and also timing. Mainly i m prefering classical freestyle with high elbow recovery, high elbow catch and 6 beat kick but also alternatively practicing 2 beat kick with a faster arm turnover. Both leg variations work fine with high elbow recovery and catch.

27.06.2017-4000m-Antalya cliffs
20*200m freestyle int:3:00(2:40 avg)

Some footages while swimming:
https://youtu.be/oDOltdaryG4
https://youtu.be/diHschiTQaI
https://youtu.be/wJ4DtcFAmis

Also some phootages of Mrs. Nightcrawler (first time swimming since a year-better than me )
https://youtu.be/rTLb095iTdQ
https://youtu.be/izINjIcGZL0

Lovely, maybe you should have been a travel agent!

Well, i have been thinking about it for a long time. Our flat in Istanbul is for sale at the moment, as soon as it is sold we will abandon Istanbul forever and move to Antalya for a new life. I m bored with computer engineering and living in Istanbul, very crowded and hell like traffic jam. In Antalya i may organize swimming holidays and clinics

Your girl has way above average extension quality. Add some power and underwater arm mechanics and she is ready for takeoff.

Are going to teach the special Nightcrawler no kick style?

Yeah, she is alrwady ready, but has no time for swimming in Istanbul while working from 8:00 to 19:00. She already knows my nightcrawler technique but it is hard to imitate without having adequate power.

30.06.2017 - Morning Session - SCM 3750m
After driving 800km came back to Istanbul hell yesterday afternnon from Antalya heaven. Called the estate agent to learn whether any progress with respect to our flat's sale, still repeating the same tale that the economy is bad and the market is unruffled, so that we decided to lease out instead of selling it, this will also pour on the speed to migrate to Antalya.

In the morning at 5:30 I hardly woke up, i was reluctant and had a bit headache, on the weight I saw that I am still 75kg, happy to see that I didnt take any grams during holiday.

The pool water became warmer about 25 degrees at the moment, I liked it. I had not planned any receipt for today, swam simultaneously. The workout as follows:

5x200m freestyle moderate pace with paddles int:3:00 (2:50 average)
30x50m freestyle moderate pace  with paddles int:45" (41" average)
50x50m freestyle moderate pace  int:25" (20" average)

I used tempo trainer and saw that I cannot catchup with the tempo trainer's mode1 0.85 frequency which was easy for me before the holiday. Today I will write a one month workout template, 40 days(means 30-35 sessions) left for the Budapest.

Keep posting, we might be swim holiday customers one day!

cottmiler wrote:Keep posting, we might be swim holiday customers one day!

If I reside in Antalya and do swimming holidays and clinics there, for my Palstani folks it will be definitely free and also with pleasure, life is short, money is not everything!

That's a very nice offer!

1-2.07.2017-15000m
In 2 days swam lots of 50s and 100s in order to set a proper technique, not all but some.of them were wih 1:20 pace, the rest was around 1:26-1:28. I still couldnt return to my good form. I realized that when i dont think and talk about swimming i can swim faster.

03.07.2017 - SCM 2000 meters
10x50m free int:45" (42" average)
250m doggy paddle
10x50m free int:45" (41" average)
250m doggy paddle
10x50m free int:45" (41" average)

Notes: I returned back to my starting point in terms of my paces. The paces are not satisfcatory at the moment due to weight loss. In 5 weeks I lost 7 kilos, seeing 73kg on the weight, which I last saw in the year 2005.  Until the end of July(10 days before the race) I want to llose 3 more kilos and become 70kg. Then I will load carbohydrate, regain my power and hit with my best shot - I hope!

04.07.2017 - SCM 4200m
10x50m crawl R:5" - with shorts (7:37)
10x50m crawl R:5" - with race suit (7:16)
10x50m crawl R:5" - with boxer drag suit (7:22)
40x25m crawl one arm drill int:25"
10x50m crawl R:5" - with boxer drag suit (7:22, SPL:18)
10x50m crawl easy R:5" - with boxer drag suit (7:35, SPL:17)
10x50m crawl R:5" - with race suit (7:13, SPL:18)
100m crawl sustainable 1500m race pace test (1:16, SPL:18)
4x25m crawl 90-95% int:30" (average:17", SPL:18)

Notes: Today was fanstastic, swam by singing Ronnie James Dio's Holy Diver song, i liked the training and learned new things while testing different arm mechanics with different swim suits. My mind is more clear now, know how to progress in the following 30 days till Budapest.

05.07.2017 - SCM 4350m - 6:30-7:40AM
Set1: 10x50m crawl R:5" (7:27 recoveries included)
Drill: 8x25m crawl one arm drill int:25"
Set2: 10x50m crawl R:5" (7:29 recoveries included)
Drill: 8x25m crawl one arm drill int:25"
Set3: 10x50m crawl R:5" (7:23 recoveries included)
Drill: 8x25m crawl one arm drill int:25"
Set4: 10x50m crawl R:5" (7:25 recoveries included)
Drill: 8x25m doggy paddle drill int:25"
Set5: 10x50m crawl R:5" (7:17 recoveries included)
Drill: 8x25m doggy paddle drill int:25"
Set6: 10x50m crawl R:5" (7:21 recoveries included)
Recovery: 2x100m crawl easy int:1:40 (1:27-1:23)
Sprint: 4x25m crawl 85-90% int:30" (average:18", SPL:18)
no extra rest between
Sprint: 50m crawl 85-90%(37")
no extra rest between
DryLand: 30 pushups

Notes: I wore boxer trunk which creates a bit drag. During the session I focused on the proper rotation and side balance.

nightcrawler, how do you remember all this routine and timings?

I would only remember the 30 pushups.

Each set is leaving a scar in my mind
Thanks for your concern.

By the way, as soon as I get out off the pool(without any extra rests) I m doing pushups as much as I can, it improves my pain treshold. As you might have understood I like to finish the workouts as hard as I can.
I am not doing long recovery sets, because have only 70 minutes for workout, shower and dress off/on.