Masters versus Mastery

I just read a Facebook comment from a swimmer friend coming to terms with aging and slowing down in the pool- a return to his Masters Swimming group after many years away (spent swimming impressively in open-water, I believe) where he now found himself in the ‘Middle Lanes”. Interpretation: he got demoted. What a world [...]

Simplified, Intuitive Practice

Here’s an exerpt from an email I received from a recent workshop student. I felt his question and my response may be helpful to those who feel overwhelmed or confused by what to do with TI in your practice times… I`m a little bit unstructured in my swim training so I need some advice. I`m [...]

Argument for Swimming Naked

I bet the title on this essay is going to get me in trouble on some search engines, but there is nothing inappropriate in the content, I assure you. The title just fits… I was swimming in the Mediterranean Sea in Antalya yesterday. April 8! The water was 18 C. I got fed up of [...]

Endurance

Endurance. What does that word mean to you? What kind of images of athleticism does it conjur up in your mind? For me it used to mean: Tough. High threshold for pain in the body, and a high threshold for monotony in the mind. Now: Effortless. Focused. Thrilling. This is how I swim 10km and [...]

Swim For Vision, Not For Fat

Interestingly, my blog essay Does Swimming Burn Fat? draws a large quantity of search engine traffic. No wonder. I am from a country obsessed with losing weight. I recently returned from a 2 month visit to the US with my family. Because of my work and my athletic activity I walk through many airports, drop [...]

One Amazing Stroke

When pursuing a new PR on my [insert your favorite distance here] why would I crank out more and more mindless yards, going harder and harder, hoping that improvement will magically appear one day? When does quantity ever lead to quality? My amazing 1500 (for example) must first be preceded by an amazing 500 meters. [...]

Control or Adapt?

One day last week I was in the community pool in 31 C (87 F) water. This was quite comfortable when entering and just floating. No effort needed to be at ease. But if I tried to move around at all it was anything but envigorating. Within an hour I had lost all ambition. The [...]

Change Is Risk

I’ve heard of this scenario a few times now- a swimmer comes to a TI course, realizes the physics and physiology behind the concepts, surrenders to the learning process, then begins to practice a new stroke skill with some success and growing excitement. Then she returns to her regular coach to show off the new [...]

Who is a REAL open-water swimmer?

Last week I met up with a couple from Lebanon. They heard about me in Antalya and invited me down to Kaş to give them an introductory TI lesson in the sea on their last day of vacation. I asked the gal if she liked to swim out in open-water. She started to explain how [...]

Guard The Heart

I haven’t written about my practice times in the water for quite a while. I was focused on other things. But I felt it would be helpful to discuss my experience today because of how I had to give particular attention to my mind and my heart- to promote their well-being in harmony with my [...]