Here is what I want in a cycling computer:
Or perhaps a Festivus miracle. I don’t know which, but I swam today with very few breathing issues. A couple of nights ago I watched this video on youtube from Marc Evans. Please ignore the disembodied head, Coach Evans, if you’re reading this don’t wear a shirt that matches the blue screen next time!
I also read through the comments to the video which were really good. Coach Evans does a great job of answering all of the commentators’ questions. The thing he said that struck me most was when he said you should breathe in swimming like you breathe on land. Same in and out easy breathing. At first I thought, yeah right, but later I kind of translated that to “stop thinking too much when you breathe.” I took it easy, focused on my stroke, and let the breathing take care of itself. It worked out really well! I was even able to breath bilaterally (from either side every three strokes). It felt amazing!
In my opinion, the key to breathing is rotating and positioning correctly. I have heard two methods of positioning your head. The first is to put your ear against the extended arm when you rotate, the other is to put your chin against the shoulder of your recovery arm (the one that is about to enter the water). I use the chin on the shoulder technique. Either way, the whole purpose seems to be to ground your head to something so that you aren’t so panicky. It’s kind of like standing on a really high building. You get less freaked out if you are holding the railing. If you anchor your head to one of those spots, and you get the proper rotation, your mouth will come to the air on its own.
Another key is to not pull back your extended arm too early, and to not begin your recovery until the breath is done. What I mean is, freeze your recovery arm on your hip and don’t move either arm until you have taken that breath. Then you can rotate your head back and start your recovery. It helps keep things smooth. Once the pace picks up, it won’t look or feel like such a big pause, it will just flow.
So don’t freak out, think things through, have patient arms and mouth, get proper rotation, and anchor your head. Seems like a lot, but take it one step at a time.