Learning about core strength and endurance

So........I added the swim into my workouts this week, which is good because I'm not running this week because my calf muscle is a bit sore again. Before last week, I hadn't swum since maybe July of last year. The second half of the season fell apart because of my drill schedule.  Anyway....

I've managed a 10-lap-anything-goes workout just to get in the water, followed by a workout of 500, 250, 150, 100. And then today I did a 600-500-400-300-200 ladder.  These aren't long distances at all but I can definitely feel that I have no endurance in my core for swimming. I thought that was strange, so I'm writing about it. When I try to "snap the hip," I feel a huge decrease in strength compared to what I felt in the beginning of the set, especially towards the end of the 400 when I had 1,300 yards completed.

If you look at my goals for this year, you'll see that I think I have a weak core. What that means but isn't stated so directly is that I think I can improve my bike and run through better core strength. I always thought I had good core strength for swimming. And maybe I did before a six month gap in swimming. I clearly have some endurance issues in my core when it comes to swimming right now. And of course, when one part of your form goes away, the rest falls apart, too. Might as well stop swimming at that point so I don't pick up any really bad habits.

Note to self: Early in the season is when to think about good form, how to get it, and how to keep it. Swimming tired leads to poor form. So, early in the season, even though you only have 1,500 yards done for the workout, it might be a good idea to call it a day if you are getting into bad form and bad habits so that you don't pick them up for the rest of the year.

On the good side, I have no kidding doubled my bike and run volume over last year's averages, and I can feel that my core strength for those is definitely better.

I guess this is what happens when you focus on specific events, or at least decide not to do a specific sport for a while.

The take-away: core strength is definitely something to think about if you're wondering why you're not progressing as expected.