Yes, Read the thread after, still 6:40 is a nice pace in cold open water
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400m race effort 7.29 - much quicker than I was expecting and that was with needing to overtake some people.
200m 3.39
CSS = 1.55
Maybe I haven’t slowed down as much as I thought.
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You know when you feel happy to be exercising?
Last night was one of those - just a beautiful evening to be out.
Seeing people swimming skins and the massive uptake in open water swimming, good chat with people before and after, too - just made me feel nice 
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Are other really enjoying getting into the water again? I realise that I have really missed swimming, its why I don’t do Duathlon
I just posted similar message.
OW still too cold in Switzerland this year, but outdoor pool is pretty nice.
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Nice effort, Its good to see that other people swim at my pace, rather than @funkster, @stenard and @Poet pace
My first 500m back in water were awful, but then it started to come back, not lost as much as I had feared
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I have a bit of love hate relationship with it. The amount of time a reasonable distance swim actually takes up is ridiculous compared to sticking on trainers and heading out for a run. But when it’s working and stroke is clicking it is really enjoyable and the distance just goes by quickly.
That’s it for me as well. When i actually get swimming, i remember that i do enjoy it.
But the amount of faff and kit admin before and after for my 28 min swim in the sea this week was insane. For someone that’s very time poor, it makes it hard for swimming to jump up my priority list (as well as the smaller relative gains to be had).
No fucking fins allowed in the pool! 
Nor snorkel
And remembered too late watch doesn’t record kick lengths 
So floated up and down on the breeze drumming my fingers on the board
1466m
400m as 6x66 alternating kick and pull buoy
1066m free style, mostly easy, mostly uninterrupted only a couple of traffic jams
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Argh - no paddles allowed in the pools round here.
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Yeah - fins are generally banned everywhere.
Unless it is super quiet 
Swim toys have not been a problem at any of the Nuffields I’ve swum in. And not a problem at any of the leisure centres around SW London I’ve been in either. Maybe I’ve just been lucky!
I don’t think I could live without drill mode anymore @joex. Was one of the main reasons I upgraded to the 920xt from the 910xt years ago. I do a lot of drills, single arm, kick, etc, and without drill mode I’d miss half my swimming.
Of today’s 2500m, I think about 1k of that was recorded in drill mode. A mix of kick, torpedo, sculling, etc, which would all never record properly in standard mode.
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You’d miss recording it.
It’d still be there. 
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Well, yes. You know what I mean!
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Yeah I’ll go back to the Swim.com app, it has drill mode plus some other stuff
I’m actually wondering if being weak might improve my swimming.
I have no strength in the front half but it might have highlighted a poor catch - which when stronger I can bully through. If you’re v v good should the catch feel effortless?
Hmm. The effort is in the pull surely? In the catch only/maybe some effort in extending…?
Well, I mean the catch and first ft of the stroke.
To use an analogy with running (less complex), if you heel strike it can reduce your momentum as you land and there is more ‘brake - accelerate’ in your running motion. If you land on the balls of your feet with them underneath you then you conserve your forward momentum and there is far less ‘brake accelerate’. It can be very noticable in how it feels, even if you don’t actually go faster (that last bit is a concession to those who think it makes no difference 
)
So if you get the catch just right, you aren’t causing any deceleration and it will feel ‘easier’.
Am sure it’s a fine art. There is a similar issue in rowing with how you move up the boat to take the next stroke (and catch - same term), but most novices, or even intermediates wouldn’t appreciate the subtlety.
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Garmin went mental this morning, so lost of the sets
5 x 200m off 3:30 (2:58 / 3:04 / 3:04 / 3:02 / 2:59)
9 x 100m (last one was 200m) as swim / pull / paddles
Then the Garmin froze, then started working, then said I’d swim for 17 minutes and done 25m
After @Poet ’s session this week. I tried each 100m differently
Swim was about 1:30
Pull about 1:33
Paddles about 1:25
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I can’t recall the catch ever feeling like it’s braking, but I have rationalised that the entry and reach forward must have some - perhaps negligible - braking effect. I’m guessing the the position the reach gives you gives an exponentially greater pull than any braking your arm/hand/fingers cause. The alternative is to dive your hand down and back immediately I suppose which would have less force.