Here I am on vacation, trying to deal with the end of a four plus year relationship, finding myself working out. Something that I had never done before vacationing with my former love in France a few years ago. She dragged me on runs around the city wall and through the little park and she wanted to go swimming, so we went swimming. We even rented bikes and had an easy cycle between the grape vines that over looked the towns below. Before this I might go for a hike on vacation but I viewed vacation as a time to relax and do nothing but eat good food and dink wine.
So here I am the first day doing an 11km afternoon run after walking on the beach for an hour and a half. And yesterday I cycled, on maybe the worlds worst bike, an hour so I could go swimming in an outdoor pool. Before I get into what was going through my head let me first say how impressed I was with the city’s recreation facility. It had a number of full sized baseball diamonds (4 by my count), batting cages, soccer fields, tennis courts, an outdoor basketball court and the swimming pool with a diving tank all of which were under lights. And they were building an indoor gym.
So as I was biking to the pool my love was all I could think about as has been the case since she left almost 4 weeks ago. I am sure anyone has been through a break-up knows the different feelings that go through you. There is the nervous energy, there is sadness and there is the crippling pain that sits twisting in the pit of your stomach and swims in your head making each moment a challenge. While, once I got to the pool that last feeling started to settle in.
For the longest time I couldn’t figure out why. Here I was at an outdoor pool on a sunny day about to do something I love. Every swimmer loves swimming outside. It really is the pinnacle of swimming because you have the sun, the warm breeze, you have clouds and trees and birds and you have fresh air. It really turns a lifeless pool into something that is alive and gives you an energy to feed off. So I jumped into the pool, because diving wasn’t allowed, and took a few strokes. I very quickly realized that I wasn’t right. My body was trembling and weak, feeling as if I was sick with the flu minus the fever.
So I took a few more strokes and looked at the bottom of the pool to see my shadow. That is when the memoirs started to flood back into my mine. First I saw her face and then pictured her on the pool deck. Then the memories became stronger. I picture the workout we did in France. I remember swimming with her the last few years and really lingered on swimming with her at the local outdoor pool. I think started thinking about conversations. I started thinking about how much I loved that she understood swimming and how I could talk to her about my frustrations with lanemates that did dumb things. About good practices and bad practices. I could talk to her about something that I loved which only made me love her more. And then I thought about how unlikely it will be for me to find someone that I can do that with again.
It wasn’t just that she was my partner, she was my training partner. As I mourn the loss of her love I am finding more and more things that I loved about her. The idea crossed my mind of loving her as a partner vs. a training partner. Training was really part of the total package but a part that I never thought about until I was sitting at the wall in pool staring at the birds in the trees, trying to fight back the tears, wishing she was in my lane with me. Wishing she was there so I could share that moment with her, wishing she was there to push me, wishing she was there to suffer with me and to talk to. Wishing she was there so I could see her smile while she rode her bike to the pool and smile at the sun in between sets.
Maybe it is my swimming background, but I have found that those people you train with and suffer with in the pool end up being the people you have the strongest connection to. Maybe it is the time spent together but, really, I think it is the bond that is created while you are doing a hard set and your stripped down to your purest self.
I guess it should come of no surprise that our relationship fell apart shortly after we stopped training together. But yesterday, I missed my training partner and I found out just another way that my former partner was special to me.
Tuesday, March 9, 2010
Saturday, February 20, 2010
Don't be 'that' guy!
I was going to pick on triathletes again for only wanting to do freestyle, hating rest and avoiding flip turns but that can wait for another day. What is freshly on my mind right now is a fellow at swimming that I affectionately refer to as Tweedledum.
By all accounts this is a nice fellow but I wouldn't know because the way he swims makes me not want to know him. In fact it pisses me off so much that it is all I can do to say hello to him. And I don't want to say that Tweedledum is a moron but he certainly swims like one. I don't think he does it on purpose, I just think he is oblivious to what he is doing. And that my friends is something you don't want to do. He is the prefect example of someone that you don't want to be like, so I say 'Don't be like him'.
Now, I am sure you are wondering what it is that this fellows does. Don't worry, I'd risk you being like him if I didn't tell you.
It all starts with warm-up. He dives in the water and starts with a spirit. Its not that spiriting in warm-up is bad, it should be incorporated, but it can be annoying if your just sprinting on the feet of the person in front of you. No one really wants someone on there ass at anytime but in warm-up it can be particularly annoying because each person has their own method of warming-up. People like to switch up strokes and do some drills from time to time.
Every now and then Tweedledum will decide to pass, which is fine. If your swimming faster than someone in warm-up you should go around instead on sitting on someones feet. But if you do decide to pass you owe it to the person who is now behind you to maintain pace and space. But Tweedledum will, for some unknown reason, break into breaststroke for the next 200 meters. This is a piss off because it is not easy to pass breaststroke kick without being kicked. So your options are now slow down or risk getting kicked.
Warm-up is a little more relaxed than main sets so you can get away with a little more so all could be forgotten if Tweedledum swam the main sets like a sane human-being. But he does not. I don't know if he has an over-sized ego to match his gut or if he is just a idiot but Tweedledum always insists on starting main sets near the top of the lane. And none of us really bother to say anything because the alternative is swimming in front of him and having him sprint until he can touch your feet and then either a) dragging him or b) having him ask to go in front. But the problem is that, to my knowledge, he has never ever finished a set without blowing up like an atomic bomb. It really is very spectacular. First his back turns red and then his round face starts to resemble a rotting tomato. Then he starts huffing and puffing and foaming at the mouth like a rabit dog.
Of course this means that if you were going behind him you now have to make a 5 sec jump in your pace. Which can be tough if your already under stress. It is almost worth the pain to see him completely broken, slumped in the corner of the lane struggling to find the energy to say 'go'. If your lucky your now going fast enough to prevent him from getting right on your feet. And if that is the case, Tweedledum will continue to drop in the lane until he finds someone that has unknowingly volunteered to pull him through the rest of practice.
Finally, the last thing Tweedledum does that pisses me off is cheat during kick sets. One morning we were doing 100s kick with the first person leaving when the 3rd person touches with about 8 people in a long course lane. Tweedledum decides to go 3rd, I was going 2nd and rather talented swimmer was going 1st. I was completely out kicking Tweedledum and the rest of the lane, expect for the guy leading, as would be somewhat expected, which is why we had that order. But Tweedledum, instead of doing the set properly wanted to keep up with us and swam breaststroke. Given that he was setting the pace for the lane this was an inconsiderate decision that resulted in the rest of the lane being dropped.
So, please to sum up, don't be that guy. Don't swim up the person in front of you's ass. Don't start a set balls to the wall if you don't think you can finish it balls to the wall. And please don't cheat in kick set or race drill sets, they are given to you for a reason.
By all accounts this is a nice fellow but I wouldn't know because the way he swims makes me not want to know him. In fact it pisses me off so much that it is all I can do to say hello to him. And I don't want to say that Tweedledum is a moron but he certainly swims like one. I don't think he does it on purpose, I just think he is oblivious to what he is doing. And that my friends is something you don't want to do. He is the prefect example of someone that you don't want to be like, so I say 'Don't be like him'.
Now, I am sure you are wondering what it is that this fellows does. Don't worry, I'd risk you being like him if I didn't tell you.
It all starts with warm-up. He dives in the water and starts with a spirit. Its not that spiriting in warm-up is bad, it should be incorporated, but it can be annoying if your just sprinting on the feet of the person in front of you. No one really wants someone on there ass at anytime but in warm-up it can be particularly annoying because each person has their own method of warming-up. People like to switch up strokes and do some drills from time to time.
Every now and then Tweedledum will decide to pass, which is fine. If your swimming faster than someone in warm-up you should go around instead on sitting on someones feet. But if you do decide to pass you owe it to the person who is now behind you to maintain pace and space. But Tweedledum will, for some unknown reason, break into breaststroke for the next 200 meters. This is a piss off because it is not easy to pass breaststroke kick without being kicked. So your options are now slow down or risk getting kicked.
Warm-up is a little more relaxed than main sets so you can get away with a little more so all could be forgotten if Tweedledum swam the main sets like a sane human-being. But he does not. I don't know if he has an over-sized ego to match his gut or if he is just a idiot but Tweedledum always insists on starting main sets near the top of the lane. And none of us really bother to say anything because the alternative is swimming in front of him and having him sprint until he can touch your feet and then either a) dragging him or b) having him ask to go in front. But the problem is that, to my knowledge, he has never ever finished a set without blowing up like an atomic bomb. It really is very spectacular. First his back turns red and then his round face starts to resemble a rotting tomato. Then he starts huffing and puffing and foaming at the mouth like a rabit dog.
Of course this means that if you were going behind him you now have to make a 5 sec jump in your pace. Which can be tough if your already under stress. It is almost worth the pain to see him completely broken, slumped in the corner of the lane struggling to find the energy to say 'go'. If your lucky your now going fast enough to prevent him from getting right on your feet. And if that is the case, Tweedledum will continue to drop in the lane until he finds someone that has unknowingly volunteered to pull him through the rest of practice.
Finally, the last thing Tweedledum does that pisses me off is cheat during kick sets. One morning we were doing 100s kick with the first person leaving when the 3rd person touches with about 8 people in a long course lane. Tweedledum decides to go 3rd, I was going 2nd and rather talented swimmer was going 1st. I was completely out kicking Tweedledum and the rest of the lane, expect for the guy leading, as would be somewhat expected, which is why we had that order. But Tweedledum, instead of doing the set properly wanted to keep up with us and swam breaststroke. Given that he was setting the pace for the lane this was an inconsiderate decision that resulted in the rest of the lane being dropped.
So, please to sum up, don't be that guy. Don't swim up the person in front of you's ass. Don't start a set balls to the wall if you don't think you can finish it balls to the wall. And please don't cheat in kick set or race drill sets, they are given to you for a reason.
Sunday, February 14, 2010
Portugal.
This is my first wine posting. I figured it was about time I added a little wine to my whine.
Tonight I am drinking Terras De Monforte, a red blend from Portugal. I have come to appreciate what Portugal has to offer, especially the red blends made from traditional grapes that the average consumer has never heard of and is afraid to try. This wine has only served to reinforce this. I am truly impressed with this wine given its price point. It has a luscious nose of ripe red fruit, spice and vanilla. The mouth is full bodied and smooth. It is made with Trincadeira, Aragonez and Alfroncheiro.
Trincaderia is found all over Portugal and is also known as Tinta Amarela and is known for good tanins and blackberry-jelly fruit and some herbaceousness.
Aragones, more commonly known as Tempranillo around the world, is known to produce juicy, plummy, spicy reds.
Alfroncheiro is a relatively unknown grape which produces wines with good colour and blackberry and spicy flavours.
So if your looking for wines with a good quality to price point be adventurous and look to Portugal and their blends of traditional grapes.
Tonight I am drinking Terras De Monforte, a red blend from Portugal. I have come to appreciate what Portugal has to offer, especially the red blends made from traditional grapes that the average consumer has never heard of and is afraid to try. This wine has only served to reinforce this. I am truly impressed with this wine given its price point. It has a luscious nose of ripe red fruit, spice and vanilla. The mouth is full bodied and smooth. It is made with Trincadeira, Aragonez and Alfroncheiro.
Trincaderia is found all over Portugal and is also known as Tinta Amarela and is known for good tanins and blackberry-jelly fruit and some herbaceousness.
Aragones, more commonly known as Tempranillo around the world, is known to produce juicy, plummy, spicy reds.
Alfroncheiro is a relatively unknown grape which produces wines with good colour and blackberry and spicy flavours.
So if your looking for wines with a good quality to price point be adventurous and look to Portugal and their blends of traditional grapes.
Note to adults learning to swim.
Look, I know triathlon is the in thing to do and I support that. I believe more people we can get involved in sport the better. But I need to ask you to be realistic. You need to understand your skill level and you need to stop worrying about your heart rate or your workout. You can accept that you can't run before you walk but you can't seem to accept that you need to float before you can swim.
Where is this coming from? Coaching. I have coached too many triathletes who want worry about hand placement before they can float and kick. Too many adults that want to go fast without thinking about their stroke. And too many people that want to learn 'how to swim' but refuse to master the basics.
What are the basics you ask? Body position. You must be able to achieve and maintain proper body position. Kick. You must be able to support your own body with just a kick. Rotation. You must be able to rotate you body in the water with ease. Breathing. Maybe this should be first but you must be able to breath naturally without losing or altering the 3 about mentioned basics.
As a coach I can tell you comes after those basics but if you can not master or at least be comfortable performing the basics what comes next will be a waste of time for you. So please, learn to walk. Then I promise you can start to swim.
Where is this coming from? Coaching. I have coached too many triathletes who want worry about hand placement before they can float and kick. Too many adults that want to go fast without thinking about their stroke. And too many people that want to learn 'how to swim' but refuse to master the basics.
What are the basics you ask? Body position. You must be able to achieve and maintain proper body position. Kick. You must be able to support your own body with just a kick. Rotation. You must be able to rotate you body in the water with ease. Breathing. Maybe this should be first but you must be able to breath naturally without losing or altering the 3 about mentioned basics.
As a coach I can tell you comes after those basics but if you can not master or at least be comfortable performing the basics what comes next will be a waste of time for you. So please, learn to walk. Then I promise you can start to swim.
Saturday, February 13, 2010
Streamline
So, I have been tasked with coaching streamlining. This naturally has led me to putting some thought into what streamlining is and how to convey the concepts. Now, I am not talking about the act of pushing off walls. I hope everyone already understands how to do that and why it is important. What I want to talk about is the streamline in the act of swimming.
As I was swimming today I was focusing on the streamlining. And I came to the conclusion that swimming begins and ends with the streamline. If you think about all the strokes they each have their own streamline. For free and back it is arm extended and rotated to the side. For fly and breast it is both arms extended out in front. These positions are critical for setting up the next stroke and for holding speed. The ability to reduce drag through streamlining may be the single most important factor to increase speed and endurance.
This then led to me next observation. Earlier in the week I was swimming a recovery practice behind a fellow who was working very hard. After 2/3rds of the set he started dying. At which point I was able to swim breaststroke behind hise backstroke and watching him swim. The more tried he got the more he struggled to hold pace. The more he struggled the worse his stroke got. The worse his stroke got the more he had to work to maintain the same speed. It was really very painful to watch. I tried to encourage him to work harder on maintaining his stroke efficiency and focus less on trying to power his way through the set. I failed. And I'll never understand why people will try to fight the water rather than try to work with it. If you fight water you will lose every time.
As I was swimming today I was focusing on the streamlining. And I came to the conclusion that swimming begins and ends with the streamline. If you think about all the strokes they each have their own streamline. For free and back it is arm extended and rotated to the side. For fly and breast it is both arms extended out in front. These positions are critical for setting up the next stroke and for holding speed. The ability to reduce drag through streamlining may be the single most important factor to increase speed and endurance.
This then led to me next observation. Earlier in the week I was swimming a recovery practice behind a fellow who was working very hard. After 2/3rds of the set he started dying. At which point I was able to swim breaststroke behind hise backstroke and watching him swim. The more tried he got the more he struggled to hold pace. The more he struggled the worse his stroke got. The worse his stroke got the more he had to work to maintain the same speed. It was really very painful to watch. I tried to encourage him to work harder on maintaining his stroke efficiency and focus less on trying to power his way through the set. I failed. And I'll never understand why people will try to fight the water rather than try to work with it. If you fight water you will lose every time.
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