Longest Evaluation

It's windier today and the water's green. I think I'm getting stronger everyday. My backstroke's looking good. It just gets sloppy and get water up my nose if I'm careless. I just need to be more patient and I'm definitely seeing the gains already. My learning for today on the backstroke:
  1. It's difficult to start from a dead stop so a little momentum (hey, the Olympians JUMP out backwards, don't they?) is needed. Without turning my back, I'd do a glide with an arm forwards and then twist to assume an elemback. I push arms backward doing a single short elemback stroke with the arms and a quick frog kick.
  2. After a short elemback, the legs now flutter kick.
  3. Raise the left arm for the initial backstroke.
  4. To avoid too much water washing/ dropping on the face, assume a narrow 'Y' position with the arms.
  5. Push out the arms hard but avoid splashing too much water. This means keeping the arms just below the surface.
  6. Keep practicing at the deepend. Even if the length is short, get accustomed to not stopping up to the end. Don't stop moving using eggbeaters and move to back to the starting point. Build endurance. In time, one whole length will be easy.
I was surprised to see the advanced manual left on my table as I arrived this morning. It looks like it slept in a sack for weeks! It's been rounded on the edges and isn't the same neat flat manual I was keeping. And the verdict? A repeat. Ah well, I'm not too totally surprised, but I don't think I SO deserved that.

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