Hi folks, I cannot imagine what my life would be like without regular meditation. How do people quieten their minds without it, I wonder. To sit quietly, mind silent, increasingly aware of your internal and external worlds, intermittently watching your mind so as to encourage inner silence. It feels great! Recently, I decided to gently explore different thoughts and feelings during my meditation ... Read more
For Triathletes Fast Is Good But Fast Is Also Dangerous
Hi folks, I just came from a great swim workout, where it was clear that my pace is picking up (thanks to Rick) giving me a sense of increasing efficiency and a better grip on the water. However, one false step and I'll strain a rotator cuff or something. In the pool this is only a minor risk, but on the run it is a major one. As you run faster your efficiency will improve, but if by chance you do injure ... Read more
Finding Hard Water In The Pool To Improve Your Performance
Hi folks, I think I finally found some hard water in the pool. It happened recently during a steady pull buoy workout. Towards the end of the power stroke, just before retracting my arm for recovery, there it was, solid water. I suspect that it is really an eddy flowing counter to my hand movement, giving the impression of solidity, but the effect was like pushing off of a wall. As the laps went by, ... Read more
Dealing With Foot Cramps In The Pool
Hi folks, If you get a foot cramp in the pool, your first temptation will be to stop and pull on your foot until it eases off. But you can't do this in an open water race, so why would you do that in the pool? My approach is to flex my foot, which turns it into a drag-anchor (but suck it up!), and relax. Now, this relaxing thing with a foot cramp is no easy matter as you try to hold your pace, but it can ... Read more
Use Cool Down Time In The Pool As Playtime And You May Learn Something Useful
Hi folks, Ironman training involves some pretty long swims sometimes, and often they are preceded by heavy weight room, bike or run workouts the previous day. You may hit the water sluggish and stiff, but after a few laps you'll loosen up, attacking each set with increasing enthusiasm. I find that around the two-mile mark (72 laps in a 25-yard pool) I start to tire significantly, and by the end of the ... Read more
Is It Acceptable For You To Add Extra Workouts To Your Coach’s Training Plan? Rarely!
Hi folks, I pay a coach to set my workouts based on his experience and my athletic background, combined with laboratory data such as lactate threshold and VO2 max. So why would I suggest that one might arbitrarily add a workout to his plan? The answer is that I consider it acceptable as long as it is not a physical workout, but a mental one. For instance, today I added a short early morning swim, but ... Read more
Keep Track Of Laps In The Pool Whilst Boosting Your Mental Discipline
Hi folks, If you have a long swim, you'll have no trouble keeping track of laps completed with a complex group of short sets, such as that in the adjacent figure. You just have to count each set and mentally tick off your workout on the plan stuck on the wall at the end of the pool. However, if you have a small number of long sets, say 4 x 1200 yards, it is not so easy. I discovered the perfect way ... Read more
Lazy Unilateral Recovery Swim Stroke Revealed By Paddles
Hi folks, I was swimming with my nice new yellow paddles the other day and noticed that from time to time my left paddle would touch the water. The impact of this contact was considerable, almost tugging the paddle off of my hand, disrupting my stroke. Diagnosis - lazy left arm recovery causing my elbow to drop too low. This is a nice example of the value of paddles in the diagnosis of defects in your ... Read more
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