When The Student Is Ready, The Next Teacher Appears…

Date: Thursday, May 15, 2008

Workout: Swim (TI training session 2)

Location: YWCA Pool

Heart Rate Range/Zone: Zone 1

Average HR: N/A

R.P.E. : 8-10

Average Speed/Pace: N/A

Pre-Workout Hydration: 500ml of water 30 minutes before start of session

Pre-Workout Nutrition: dinner (see below)

Post-Workout Hydration: 500ml of water 30 minutes after session

Post-Workout Nutrition: half of a turkey and swiss sandwich with peppers, sprouts, cucumber and tomato (mmm mmm good), one banana, one Crispy Crunch bar

Activity:

• 60 minutes of TI drills

Positive improvements/habits: This evening was a definite mental breakthrough for me with this new TI method of swimming. I grasped the concepts that Peter explained to me quickly, and could really feel the difference in how I cut through the water. By the end of the session, I was able to think less and react more.

Valuable lessons: Relaxation is the key. I was so tense last night at UBC, demanding that my mind and body get it together and actually work in conjunction rather than causing me grief. Tonight…none of that. Peter is a very calming and stabilizing influence. Like I said before, Rome wasn’t built in a day, but the bricks sure seem to be going up fast….

Get it?

“Bricks”?

Yeah, I know…bad triathlon humour. Sue me, I’m tired.

Also, I learned a very valuable lesson this evening. My ego tends to write cheques that my lungs can’t cash. I ran out of breath in the middle of drills a couple of times because I felt that I was so close to really getting it that I pushed, rather than go into recovery and figure out what was going well and what was going wrong. Quality over quantity. The nice thing is that I’m so focused on the aspects of this new dolphin stroke that I’m no longer a bit freaked out when the bottom of the pool gives way and I can’t quickly stand up. I’m substantially calmer when I swim now - there’s a distinct conservation of energy going on rather than the standard ’splashsplashsplashgruntreachstrainsplashsplashsplashpantpantpant’. Instead, I’m so relaxed when I swim that, as I said to Peter, “I could do this all day.” I’m seriously tempted to swim the entire leg of my tri on the 25th in this kind of dolphin switch/sweet spot rest stroke combo. All of my taper workouts are going to be spent working on these drills now, so there’s a good chance that by the time I hit the water on t he 25th, I’ll just naturally go into this modified dolphin stroke. Besides, Peter and I agreed this evening that the swim is really the warmup event; it basically preps the body so we can kill on the bike and “survive the run”. We had a good laugh on that one; Peter’s not a big fan of running…if they ever make a freestyle/breaststroke/lifeguarding drill triathlon, he’ll destroy everyone.

Strains and Pains to Note: Little bit of stiffness in both hips, and my right shoulder was twinging a bit - I chalk that up to last nights 600+ meters swimming with a totally inefficient stroke. Middle finger on right hand is still insanely tender; it’s to the point where I’m just basically ignoring it now.

Why I’m A Champion: I’m learning to submit my ego to Peter. I see him as a teacher, and a coach; as such, I’m able to fight my inherent nature to be an obstinate bastard, and listen, learn, and internalize his lessons. I made the comment to him this evening that it’s great to find someone who teaches in a language that I can appreciate and understand because it makes learning and retention that much quicker and effective. This is a big step for me; learning to run wasn’t a problem, ego-wise, because I’d never done any sort of running other than high school gym class, so I was willing to listen to anyone who could run longer than two minutes without puking like they were a frickin’ Olympian from Kenya. With swimming, it’s a bit more challenging for me since I took lessons for years when I was a kid, all the way to my Bronze Medallion. Learning that I don’t know what the hell I’m doing was one step. Seeking instruction from someone who’s far more experienced than I am was the second one. Finding someone who keeps my interest, explains things in a nice concise and clear manner, and puts up with my incessant bad jokes and rambling monologues is priceless. He’s a great teacher, that Peter Scott guy. If anyone’s interested in learning the most relaxing and effective swimming method out there, check out his website - www.seahiker.com.

Besides, he might be reading my blog now, so I’ve got to give the big promo to him as a way of saying ‘thanks’.

Today’s Menu:

• Breakfast: 3 slices of Canadian back bacon, a medium bagel with 2 tbsp of cream cheese, 1 cup of pears in juice, 1 mug of coffee with 1% milk and 4 raw sugar cubes.
• Lunch: extra lean organic shepherd’s pie, one chicken roti, 1L of water, a Coffee Crisp bar.
• Dinner: one souvlaki chicken breast, 1 cup of rice, 2/3 cup of baked beans, 1 cup of peas and carrots, 500ml of water