About to Pursue Endurance Swimming

During the past few weeks, I have departed considerably from my "rule" of taking a day off between training runs. It's a wise rule, since this gives my body the time needed to recover, repair itself, and grow. The idea I had been pursuing was to take those "off" days and devote them to upper body workouts instead, such as weight training. But I had become disappointed in my progress, mainly because I wasn't able to enjoy the same overall effect that I was able to easily attain after running for long distances. So I have been running considerable distances on strings of consecutive days, something that is probably not in my best interests. I need to find an activity that mirrors the positive effects from running but which works out my upper body while giving my legs and feet a break of sorts. And I decided that endurance swimming may be the answer.

I didn't learn how to swim until I was in the seventh grade, and since then have received zero instruction to improve my form. But I want to eventually become an endurance swimmer just as I have become an endurance runner. My lack of expertise with swimming may be ending, though, as I may have discovered the answer while browsing through one of my local bookstores. I was in their (very small) section of books devoted to swimming and came across something by a guy named Terry Laughlin.

Terry Laughlin is a long-time swimming athlete who is has made it a commitment to study and teach swimming form. He calls his own technique "Total Immersion". It is a step-by-step program that I intend to pursue during the next few weeks at my local YMCA pool. If successful, I should ultimately be able to swim as comfortably as I run.

More on my progress as I learn more and practice Laughlin's techniques...