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 [...]

In Defense Of Fat

I think these links will be of interest to you  if you aspire to weight loss, or to adapt to open-water swimming. Not all FAT is equal, nor should be villianized in our swimmer bodies. Here’s a few links from The Daily News Of Open Water Swimming: TDNOWS – Staying Warm With Brown Fat TDNOWS [...]

Half-Over

A TI swimmer friend of mine heard me speak last fall and recommended that I read Haruki Murakami‘s book What I Talk About When I Talk About Running. I did read it recently and loved it. You might also. In this following passage from that book Murakami is describing his thoughts as a 60-something marathon [...]

Smart Speed Part 1

Smart Speed Part 1 – Your Optimal Stroke Length In this series of essays I will walk through the process of achieving speed through superior precision, rather than through absolute power. For anyone wanting to improve her triathlon time, expand the distance he can swim with confidence, or improve sprint speed while preserving enjoyment and [...]

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 [...]

Slide, Don’t Hammer

I had a great practice set in the pool early this morning- 1600 yards broken into 16 x (4x 25 yard sprints), with a rest interval based on my heart rate*. The objective- holding SPL (at 16) while increasing tempo from 0.95 to 0.83 seconds, using a Tempo Trainer. In the winter I like to [...]

Learning Requires Trust

Continuing on with the topic of Challenging Normal, I’ll share a simple example of how even I, a swimmer quite focused on the details of my body and each movement, can develop a ‘blind-spot’, and greatly benefit from some outside feedback…

Pain Is A Messenger

Pain is a messenger, not an enemy. First, I recognize that there are different kinds of pain, sending different kinds of messages: Some pain means healing or improvement is happening. Some pain is a warning that damage may come. Some pain is an alarm that damage is being done. Being a wise swimmer, a long-lasting [...]

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 [...]