Top swim session last night - my stroke count has now plummeted from 37 per length to a mere 22 so I no longer resemble an octopus in shallow water and have improved my overall speed.
Best bit last was undoubtedly the doggie paddle lengths. It was great to be in a pool with 25 honed athletes (at least that's how they appear to me) all doing a four year old's stroke was very amusing.
But the amazing thing was how much sense it made and how much it improved me. Our coach - Phil Richards - has told us that improving the 'catch' is a key part of getting better. The catch is the bit when you put your hand in the water and begin to pull it back towards yourself to generate the power in the water. He explained it all in words of one syllable but still I didn't understands until the doggie paddle.
The only way of keeping your head above water (and thereby continuing to breathe) and generating forward motion is to make your catch very good indeed. All of a sudden I had an epiphany and could feel my arms carving through the water.
Next proper length I put my new found catch to the test and what do you know - fitter, faster and more resilient as a Radiohead OK Computer may have it.
Can't wait to get in that lake now. Cold weather pah, I laugh in your face and call your chill wind a silly thing