starts and turns--yay!

We practiced starts and turns today--coached. My favourites.
Also, I missed two days of core work in there and got back at it today. Still :45 on, :15 off, on the original circuit.

Warmup (400m): swim, kick, pull, IM
Turns (200m+): a bunch of every kind of turn [fly-fly, fly-back, back-back, back-breast, breast-breast, breast-free, free-free]. Then 200IM starting in the middle of the pool.
Technique (600m): 8x75, 2x[two free, two breaststroke; drill/ another drill/ full stroke]. For freestyle, I did double catch-up & head up free for the first two, and double catch-up and finger-drag for the the last two. For breaststroke, I did two-kicks-one-pull and hands-back-all-kick, then three-up-three-down and dolphin kick.
Starts: all.
Timed 50 breaststroke (50m): at 51.8
Warmdown: walk to the hot tub
===1250ish

"Turn" things to think about.
-on fly and breaststroke, you can touch the wall with staggered hands (i.e., one hand lower than the other), but they must touch at the same time. I could practice this, because having one hand lower means you're closer to the "bow pull-back" and twist position coming off the wall.
-no looking backward on backstroke when I get close to the wall for the back-to-breaststroke turn. Just trust the count and drive into the wall.
-big thrust off the wall
-on freestyle, think of sharp snaps of dolphin kick, then transition to flutter kick before breaking the surface
-no breath into the wall or out of the wall

"Start" things to think about.
-on backstroke, think about having shins at a 90 degree angle to thighs at the tuck. Use thighs and hips to spring out of the water. Lift entire body out of the water, and target a donut further out that your entire body goes through--your hands, head, and feet all going into the same hole. Think about throwing your head back as you spring off the wall. Think about your arms in a Jesus-on-the-cross pose.
-all other starts, think about entering the open end of a tube that takes you to the other end of the pool. Tuck head.

And here's one fantastic coach's suggestion for freestyle arm entry. Note to self: check where and when the hand enters the water. Also on free, think about moving hand entry closer to the midpoint.