These three words are what makes an open water swimmer. Efficiency being the most important results in Speed; Power is nice to have for the start and at the bouys.
Lately in the water my efficiency has been coming back slowly to the point where this morning I felt as efficient as ever. I think the main technical points that help efficiency are: staying long throughout the body (fingertip to toe), balanced rotation (from bilateral breathing) and a still flat head position.
THis mornings swim was 5.4k which is becoming more and more routine. A good set of 24x50's (4band only, 4 Fast) followed by a speed endurance set of 8x200 (2moderate, 2 at pace) and then a steady set of 3x400 (pull, fins, swim). Sharpie and I battled it out on the last two 200's, guy is swimming world cup pack speed at 18 years old!
Short run after the swim and then a second run this afternoon at UVic.
Next weekend the NTC is hosting it's 3rd annual run/walk for the homeless at Beaver Lake. Details on the event, for the whole family, can be found here
Tuesday, November 18, 2008
Friday, November 07, 2008
99.9
Seeing gas under a dollar today was quite a nice surprise and put some light into a day of good solid rain. Yesterday was the biggest rainfall day for the year in Victoria.
Today I got wet 4 times. First time was a swim, 4.2k of smooth swimming. Thanks A-Mac for letting me ride your stern wave for 3k of it. 2nd time was a great cross ride with the same partner in crime across various parks and puddles in Victoria. 3rd time was a run thru shin high puddles at the bog. 4th and final time was a scottish massage (forget swedish) with none other than Gibson . Every time i come out of there i feel like a million bucks ready to take on as many miles as i can before the next one.
Quote to finish off:
"If the mind is not first trained to enjoy hard work, to relish suffering, to address the unknown, then no program, no amount of training can be effective."
Today I got wet 4 times. First time was a swim, 4.2k of smooth swimming. Thanks A-Mac for letting me ride your stern wave for 3k of it. 2nd time was a great cross ride with the same partner in crime across various parks and puddles in Victoria. 3rd time was a run thru shin high puddles at the bog. 4th and final time was a scottish massage (forget swedish) with none other than Gibson . Every time i come out of there i feel like a million bucks ready to take on as many miles as i can before the next one.
Quote to finish off:
"If the mind is not first trained to enjoy hard work, to relish suffering, to address the unknown, then no program, no amount of training can be effective."
Tuesday, November 04, 2008
Balanced Stroke
When thinking about swimming the other day I had a few thoughts to share.
A good quote from patrick spurred on a bunch a thinking about balance in the water.
" You need to breath bilateral to balance your stroke, you don't have to race breathing to both sides but training that way will make you a better swimmer when racing"
After thinking about it he couldn't be more right. See, often when you have your stroked analysed you will have a flaw that is predominate to one side. Hand placement, catch, pull or whatever will be off slightly and often to one side. This is because your stroke isn't balanced. Perhaps you are producing this flaw as a way of trying to balance out your stroke. Breathing to both sides allows you to become balanced and correct this flaw to some degree.
Balance in the water might often be disregarded in comparison to other dry sports like say rowing, but it shouldn't. You need balance fore/aft, laterally, and torsionally to obtain the most efficient path through the water.
If you think about how you swim in open water as opposed to in the pool this theory of balance may become more apparent. Do you ever find yourself swimming off course in the lake? Yup, that's stroke imbalance.
There are a lot of drills to assess your balance in the water. One of my favourites that I try ever now and then to see if I have improved is doing a floating starfish on your front. To stay balanced requires your core recruitment and balance. After a while your legs are sure to sink as mine always do. With movement through the water though your legs will stay up. This drill isolates the fore/aft balance I mentioned eariler.
Swimming right for me is chugging along at about 20k a week. Litte effort is being done right now, focusing more on technique and feel.
A good quote from patrick spurred on a bunch a thinking about balance in the water.
" You need to breath bilateral to balance your stroke, you don't have to race breathing to both sides but training that way will make you a better swimmer when racing"
After thinking about it he couldn't be more right. See, often when you have your stroked analysed you will have a flaw that is predominate to one side. Hand placement, catch, pull or whatever will be off slightly and often to one side. This is because your stroke isn't balanced. Perhaps you are producing this flaw as a way of trying to balance out your stroke. Breathing to both sides allows you to become balanced and correct this flaw to some degree.
Balance in the water might often be disregarded in comparison to other dry sports like say rowing, but it shouldn't. You need balance fore/aft, laterally, and torsionally to obtain the most efficient path through the water.
If you think about how you swim in open water as opposed to in the pool this theory of balance may become more apparent. Do you ever find yourself swimming off course in the lake? Yup, that's stroke imbalance.
There are a lot of drills to assess your balance in the water. One of my favourites that I try ever now and then to see if I have improved is doing a floating starfish on your front. To stay balanced requires your core recruitment and balance. After a while your legs are sure to sink as mine always do. With movement through the water though your legs will stay up. This drill isolates the fore/aft balance I mentioned eariler.
Swimming right for me is chugging along at about 20k a week. Litte effort is being done right now, focusing more on technique and feel.
Wednesday, October 29, 2008
2008
I've had some time to think about all the times this year has brought in terms of triathlon for myself.
It began early last fall focusing on bike mileage and bringing my cycling up to where it needed to be. This was a lot of wet solo rides that gave A LOT of time to think about the upcoming year and what i wanted out of it.
By January my goals were set and it was time to prepare for the new season.
My introduction to cyclo-cross was something i am thankfull for. Many rides with stevo and brent stick with me as where I laid the foundation to my base fitness.
The first taste of racing come quickly with a 5km run and my first nordic loppett. Nordic racing is something that I really enjoyed and will revisit this year winter in more depth.
Then came Tucson which was the best month of training I have ever had in terms of quality, variety, weather, and friends. The lemon house is waiting for us to return for another spring training camp, heck we could probably buy the house straight up for a couple bikes with the market the way it is now.
From April to September I raced predominately draft-legal ITU in Mexico, Europe, and Kanada. Racing in Europe was where I gained a lot of race experience, ate too much, and got to see a lot of family.
Here are a list of some memorable times from this year:
Swim:
Pool - Fort Lowell, AZ - After eating a lot of junk food at the diamond backs/giants spring training game we had Bouy swim with 30+ people. Followed by the gauntlet. No upchucks, I was surprised.
Open Water - Thetis lake - On the 3rd of 4 efforts from the shore to small island i be a jerk and try to come around Scotty right at the end. MISTAKE, right before starting the last one scotty mentions this act of selfishness and say's "don't worry i've got a surprise for you on this one" and leaves me choking on his wake.
Bike:
Indoor - Roller heat session in pool office and being told to turn the music down.
Outdoor - First assault of Mt. Lemmon. See here for more details.
Run:
Shirts off Run in Mazatlan. Not a good first Impression.
Track:
3x1k all out at UofA track
It began early last fall focusing on bike mileage and bringing my cycling up to where it needed to be. This was a lot of wet solo rides that gave A LOT of time to think about the upcoming year and what i wanted out of it.
By January my goals were set and it was time to prepare for the new season.
My introduction to cyclo-cross was something i am thankfull for. Many rides with stevo and brent stick with me as where I laid the foundation to my base fitness.
The first taste of racing come quickly with a 5km run and my first nordic loppett. Nordic racing is something that I really enjoyed and will revisit this year winter in more depth.
Then came Tucson which was the best month of training I have ever had in terms of quality, variety, weather, and friends. The lemon house is waiting for us to return for another spring training camp, heck we could probably buy the house straight up for a couple bikes with the market the way it is now.
From April to September I raced predominately draft-legal ITU in Mexico, Europe, and Kanada. Racing in Europe was where I gained a lot of race experience, ate too much, and got to see a lot of family.
Here are a list of some memorable times from this year:
Swim:
Pool - Fort Lowell, AZ - After eating a lot of junk food at the diamond backs/giants spring training game we had Bouy swim with 30+ people. Followed by the gauntlet. No upchucks, I was surprised.
Open Water - Thetis lake - On the 3rd of 4 efforts from the shore to small island i be a jerk and try to come around Scotty right at the end. MISTAKE, right before starting the last one scotty mentions this act of selfishness and say's "don't worry i've got a surprise for you on this one" and leaves me choking on his wake.
Bike:
Indoor - Roller heat session in pool office and being told to turn the music down.
Outdoor - First assault of Mt. Lemmon. See here for more details.
Run:
Shirts off Run in Mazatlan. Not a good first Impression.
Track:
3x1k all out at UofA track
Friday, October 17, 2008
Revelstoke
Canada has many beautiful spots each with it's own character and presence. Winter is approaching and when the snow flies, Revelstoke is one place that becomes a winter wonderland. Check out this video that the resort did for the community. Opening day November 21!!
New World Championship Series
The ITU has unveiled a new format to racing next year. The Super Series will consist of Six Super Races in Iconic cities drawing the cream of the crop in short course racing. The idea is similar to Mens pro tennis (ATP) in that they have grand slam events which highlight the season numerous times, not just once at the year end.
This is a great new approach i think to the sport. The races will guarantee live tv coverage and with the racing taking place in large metropolitan cores the races will be well spectated.
Although the races have not been announced I couldn't resist trying to predict where they will be. These are my picksin the order they will happen:
Sydney, Australia
Seoul, Korea
Lisbon, Portugal
Des Moines, USA
Hamburg, Germany
London, UK
The series will also support a 'Golden Group' of athletes to ensure that these events in fact do attract the best pros. The golden groups consist of 10 men and 10 women. I chose these based on 2008 World Cup and the Olympic performances. Whether the group is subject to change throughout the year or not I am not sure but here is who i would start off with in no particular order:
Men
Rana
Whitfield
Gomez
Docherty
Kahledeldt
Henning
Unger
Frodeno
Kemper
Don
Women
Warriner
Densham
Fernandes
Snowsill
Moffatt
Norden
Ide
Bennett
Spirig
Tucker
UK finale
After the race in Vienna I came back to meet my aunt in England where I was planning to train for one more week before finishing my season at the Lorient World Cup.
No such luck. Upon returning i got an infection and a bad flu that left me no choice but to end the season early. Although i was a little disappointed I knew it was my body saying no and shutting down for some hibernation.
Good things can come of a situation like this though. I was able to be with family as my sister and Tim had come over to meet and greet everyone who couldn't make it to their wedding last year. A sort of reunion like atmosphere was felt when relatives from all over the isle came together for a memorable dew hosted by my aunt daphne.
With the season ending I had some time left in the UK that i hadn't anticipated. I made the most of it by renting a small small car and exploring the entire isle whilst figuring out how to drive on the wrong side of the road. Bigger than i thought I drove from London up the entire isle to durness, scotland visiting family and friends along the way. Some highlights from the trip included being blown sideways on a yorkshire moor, swimming in Loch Ness, revisiting my birthplace, hiking the most northern scottish munroe, and gorging in english/scottish food and drink.
If you have not visited scotland, I would advise doing so. The bad rap it gets with being wet and cold is not true. I had a week of sunshine in october that illuminated the highlands beauty and character. The beaches of the north coast are absolutely stunning with not a soul on them.
When flying home this week I was asked by my british seat neighbour what i was looking forward to the most upon landing on Canadian soil. Maple Syrup i told him, a good swig of real maple syrup is the best way to feel your in Canada. That and a good sniff of rocky mountain air.
Top of Ben Hope
Mmmmmm True Black Angus
Balnakiel Bay
Russell's and Steel's
No such luck. Upon returning i got an infection and a bad flu that left me no choice but to end the season early. Although i was a little disappointed I knew it was my body saying no and shutting down for some hibernation.
Good things can come of a situation like this though. I was able to be with family as my sister and Tim had come over to meet and greet everyone who couldn't make it to their wedding last year. A sort of reunion like atmosphere was felt when relatives from all over the isle came together for a memorable dew hosted by my aunt daphne.
With the season ending I had some time left in the UK that i hadn't anticipated. I made the most of it by renting a small small car and exploring the entire isle whilst figuring out how to drive on the wrong side of the road. Bigger than i thought I drove from London up the entire isle to durness, scotland visiting family and friends along the way. Some highlights from the trip included being blown sideways on a yorkshire moor, swimming in Loch Ness, revisiting my birthplace, hiking the most northern scottish munroe, and gorging in english/scottish food and drink.
If you have not visited scotland, I would advise doing so. The bad rap it gets with being wet and cold is not true. I had a week of sunshine in october that illuminated the highlands beauty and character. The beaches of the north coast are absolutely stunning with not a soul on them.
When flying home this week I was asked by my british seat neighbour what i was looking forward to the most upon landing on Canadian soil. Maple Syrup i told him, a good swig of real maple syrup is the best way to feel your in Canada. That and a good sniff of rocky mountain air.
Top of Ben Hope
Mmmmmm True Black Angus
Balnakiel Bay
Russell's and Steel's
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