First off……well done on embarking on such an effort. As you now know, it’s far more challenging than most folks would believe. You have my complete respect! More than that, you’ve motivated me to get back in the pool, so thank you for that.

Second……I think you’ve hit upon the keys to your success. Concentrating on the mechanics you mentioned in your article, especially during practice, are probably your best bets to improve your time at this early stage of the game. The conditioning is important, for sure, but that will actually pay off more toward the end of the season as all the energy systems have been trained to compliment one another and you get to enjoy the panacea of taper!

Jeff’s a great coach, so you have chosen wisely on that score as well.

Anyway, good luck at the meet and perhaps most importantly…..have fun!