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 [...]

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 [...]