Training DYN

I've added about 1kg at the waist and this seems to make my DYN technique balanced. This morning I did five 100m dives, concentrating on preparation and relaxation. The first two I did in 1:33, the second was slower but I missed the time, then 1:48 and 1:44. I had about 6-8 minutes rest in between each one. The third and fourth were quite easy with a very late urge to breathe 85-90m. The preparation I used was 60 seconds purging until signs of hyperventilation, 60 seconds relaxing, full pack and hold for 10, 90 seconds relax then two full exhales and go.

The technique I used was 3 soft kicks - glide. I'm sure the technique was not great : )

After the last, I took 60 seconds then swam 50m continuous kick without the urge to breathe.

Did a slow 50m in a new PB of 3:26. I still had some left but chose not to risk it.

The 100m from this morning

There's plenty of room for technique improvement - the knee bend in the glide (my body position is not very straight) and the amplitude of the kick is too big. I can see my feet lifting during the glide, but I'm not really sure what I can do about that issue - more weight at the waist may help, I can't exactly put any weight in the fin!

New DYN PB

After doing two solid 100m swims on Thursday, I thought I'd have a go at some longer dives this morning. I felt pretty good when I got up, though not great when I got down to the apnea part, and decided after a 75m just to go to 100m (which Wal filmed, before his battery ran out). I probably went a little quickly and was feeling ordinary ('heady') at 85m.

After a break and some swims from Wal, I had another go with the intention of turning at the 100m and maybe going to 125m. I started very slowly, thinking about those slow 50s I've done, using continuous/random kick glide combo. I got past 75m before the urge to breathe and did some stronger kicks to the 100m. Out of the turn I did some stronger kicks then went fairly fast (a little too much so) to the 150m, where after signalling and saying I was okay I didn't breathe enough and had a decent samba...

Anyway, that's a new PB that wasn't really expected. So I'm happy with that.

Things to do differently - continue to relax into the 3rd 50m, finish at the shallow end or at the side of the pool/lane, BREATHE more consciously, use a touch more weight at the waist.

Technique-wise things look okay. A little too much knee bend, but fairly level in the glide (though the feet are too buoyant)

Monofin progress

It's becoming more comfortable - there's a fair bit of pressure through the top of my feet and ankles, but I'm not really getting cramping or injury. I got through 16x50s this morning. 2 kick-glide feels the most comfortable, but I'm alternating with continuous kicking, because I'm obviously going to need that at some stage. A new mask has arrived - it's good though needs some cleaning.

Monofin Madness...

I'm just being dramatic! Got the fin last week and it's going quite well - after some alterations though. The toe end of the footpockets was way too tight, though after much stretching (jamming marbles first, then lead weights into the end then filling with boiling water) there's now enough room. I used it with relative comfort today, all up for about 500m. Hopefully I'll get more used to it soon.

On the positive side, I can't think of anything I'd want different on it. I have good control, the angle feels perfect and it's a tiny bit stiffer than suits me at the moment (which is about right as I'm planning on getting a bit more strength/conditioning into my legs).

Right now I'm at 12 kicks for 50m of kick-glide in 35-40sec, depending on how hard I kick. 20 kicks got me 80m - it's certainly easier than small fins.

Tough swim

Just got home from a hard training session at CISAC. Did 10 x 50m on 2:00, straight into 20 x 55m on 2:00 with the last as a 67m. All up 1600m + of apnea, which is probably the most I've done in one training. Did it with heavy neck weight, packing 10 times on each dive, and fastskin pants. I'm feeling a little tired now.