Below zero outside = indoor Training

 

February 2012

Training Location: Indoors

Why…..Check out the photo below, that has this Kiwi tucked up indoors for a bit.

 

 The Winter before my English Channel swim is finally here, my last cold water swim of 2012 is long gone and for the past 10 weeks I have been tucked up indoors, when I first returned to the pool I felt trapped, the water felt hot and it was challenging to sell myself on the regiment of back and forth, back and forth and back and forth some more. Luckily for me I have a goal to keep me motivated, the thought of the Channel is with me 24/7, all my workouts are geared towards the soul purpose of getting me as prepared as I can for what the Channel tosses at me on the day.

 So with that in mind the winter months have been geared towards swimming 40,000 meters each week, the goal is QUALITY meters, each set has goal times and ends with a beat the tide BIG PUSH, the beat the tide swims hurt, but I make a game out of it and imagine driving hard towards Cap Gris Nez, France, it is always a great sense of satisfaction completing a beat the tide push, my face is usually beet red and I am breathing heavily, often the sets are from the deep end to allow me to practice treading in between repeats. In addition to pool training each week contains 2 sessions of strength training to build muscle and reduce the risk of shoulder impingement ,2 sessions of Yoga to improve  Flexibility and getting outdoors for some sort of activity once a week. 

 Each Day starts at 5:15am, by 8pm I am toast, for me it is usually lights out by 8:30pm. Sunday is my rest day, which is often dedicated to ” Channel Logistics’ , planning and preparing for the Channel itself and the travel to get to England.

Below is my winter training schedule, I am fortunate to have company in the water most days through swimming with the Stowe Masters workout group at The Swimming Hole and also from the support of my kind swimming buddies who are willing to join me in the trenches for some long distance sets, the company helps so much. Friday is the day for my weekly massage from Kate Graves, I look forward to the session all week, her massage, assisted stretching and energy work restores me, come Saturday morning I always hit me best times thanks to Kate’s session the day before.

 

Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday	Saturday
Masters Swim	Solo Swim	Masters Swim	Small Group	Masters Swim	Small Group
3000	4000	4000	5000	5000	8,000
Teach Fitness Class	Teach Fitness Class	Teach Fitness Class
Weights	Masters Swim	Weights	Masters Swim
	4000		3000
Solo Swim			Solo Swim
2000			2000
Yoga 1 Hour			Nordic Ski	Massage	Yoga
5000 meters	8000 meters	4000 meters	10000 meters	5000m	8000 m
40,000 Meters	WEEKLY	Sunday REST

 What else have I been up to?  Eat, Sleep, Work and……

 The One Hour Swim January 2012

In January I competed in the United States Masters One Hour swim, this is an event you swim in your own pool under the watch of a lap counter and verifier who records your splits for each 50, once complete you enter your results into the National Event.

 On January 7th, I completed the 2012 One Hour swim, I was very happy with my swim, my distance covered was 4,310 meters, my goal was to hold the fastest possible pace and even splits, my 100’s remained a consistent pace for the hour and I felt in control, it felt great.

Next Up……Logistics continue, Planning Planning Planning…and more swimming of course!

Closing Thought: Motivation is a fire from within

                                          – Stephen R Covey