Congratulations Simon Whitfield & Swim Camp News

I know he was beaten close to the finish, but what I find remarkable about Simon Whitfield (whom many of us who have lived and trained in Hawai'i and know or have seen race personally), is that he won gold in Sydney in the year 2000. So eight years later he is still right up there, bagging the silver medal and missing gold by only five seconds. That is truly inspiring.

Recently I wrote about having a Swim Camp this week, which really meant extra training sessions at the pool on my own. Well, this week has proved a difficult week for doing it. First, I have been inundated with work, much of which is quite urgent and, secondly, I have quite a heavy cold, probably because one of our sons had one a few days ago. Thirdly, the pool was really crowded in the afternoon when I went for that extra session. It is August after all and there are so many kids there, too.

On Monday morning, I did my usual steady workout, covering a total of 4,650 meters, which included a 200 meter race in 3m 08s at the end of it. Then in the afternoon I returned to the pool. Due to the crowded conditions, I decided to do 50s fairly fast (using more of a power stroke as opposed to swimming easy). In this way I could wait until there was sufficient distance between me and the next swimmer to at least get a good start and I could regularly review lane conditions. I covered a total of 2,000 meters in this way. It was not all 50 meter swims, as when conditions got better I occasionally did a more gentle 200 meters.

This morning (Wednesday), I clearly felt a little more sluggish and my pace was a little slower. I covered a total of 4,400 meters and near the end my friend and I raced over 200m. I went 3m 14s, which shows that I still felt rather beat. However, I realize that when I recover from all of that, I will be a little stronger and possibly faster.

What I learned so far, is that some speed work with fairly lengthy rests between swims is beneficial to me and will help me get the strength I need to swim faster and hopefully break 3 minutes for 200 meters. I also realized that there is no point trying to push myself too much when I am busy with work, etc., as I need more rest and there is no need to put myself under a lot of pressure. So hopefully in the coming weeks there will be more time to devote to these extra workouts, and then there should also be fewer people at the pool (after schools start up again).

I might add that the extra workouts or distance have not affected me in terms of injuring me. Like anything, if we build up gradually there is no reason why we cannot do more workouts. Just listen to your body.

All the best to Bree in Penticton. It is a big race for her as she competes with many fantastic athletes for three Kona slots. In addition, Congratulations to Lisa for finishing the Beijing Olympic triathlon despite having a nasty fall off the bike. Everyone in Holland and Canada (where she resides) is proud of you (as are many people elsewhere)!