Training with the fin swimmers

It is Saturday morning, 6 o'clock and the alarm is waking me up. There must be a mistake why would it do that? It is time to get up to go to training.

So me and Elisabeth grab the mono fins and get going after a small breakfast. We meet outside the pool of the FEZ Berlin with a bunch of fin swimmers who look equally happy about the fact to be starting training on a Saturday morning close to 8 o'clock.

Everybody shuts up when the coach arrives. Volko Kucher is an ex-coach of the national fin swimming team and he seems a bit surprised to actually see me. On the phone he had told me that this training would be the only possibility to join the training during the week that Elisabeth is visiting me.

So we get in the water while the rest of the fin swimmers is getting into their tough training. I have searched Volko's council at the beginning of this year short after I got my first mono fin. Then, Volko was kind of skeptic whether a guy in my age would be able to get into the wave anyways, but he gave me some well received tips.

Soon after he tells us to start with diving dolphin kicks on the back (no fin) he looks at me amazed. Obviously I surprised him with my improvement. He tells me to use more tension in the body in order to turn that wave into a better propulsion, keep the knees together and kick down as much as up.



When we put on our fins and do some actual diving, he comes back with some more hints. He cannot help but tell me that I would really look like a fin swimmer now. He is timing me a couple of times. 26 s for 50m. That is fast for me and due to the extra hard up kick. The I do another one in 24s. That is way too fast because my legs are getting lactic. But it is good training. Good for the technique and good for the feeling.

Elisabeth enjoyed the training just as I did. Only she gets fewer tips. Actually it is only one, really. Increase the amplitude of your kick. If she was German, I am not sure if Volko would not try to get her on his team.

While the swimmers are doing their last laps, Elisabeth and I are going crazy taking pictures in the beautiful pool.

Then, it is Saturday morning 10 o'clock. Time for breakfast and maybe some sleep...