This little guy originally appeared over at YourSwimBook.com. Join Olivier’s weekly motivational newsletter for swimmers by clicking here.
In the midst of a long season, when you are feeling battered, bruised and exhausted, it can be difficult to rise your head out of the waves long enough to see how you are improving.
Especially during those tough bouts of training where you are living in a constant state of borderline exhaustion.
Here are a couple things to remember when you feel the waves about to take you over:
Remember that improvement happens in increments.
We have all had those swims where we drop a violent amount of time; whether it’s dropping a full second in a 50, or dipping a few seconds below 2 minutes for the first time in the 200.
Those crazy-large improvements are impossible to forget.
But they are also rare.
You won’t drop a full second on your best time in the 50 (or even 100 or 200) every time you swim it.
On one occasion you may drop a few tenths, or a couple one hundredths, and then every so often, you will get that grand slam improvement. On the other hand, there will be times where you add time, where you actually perform slower than your best time.
Whatever the case, it is important to remember that improvement typically happens in tiny increments.
It’s created in the small technical adjustments, in having just a slightly stronger finishing kick than the last time, in having a streamline that is just a bit tighter.
Which leads perfectly into…
Every session is an opportunity to be better.
There will always be days where you feel awful in the water.
Where your stroke simply feels like it is falling apart. Where you feel yourself getting gassed far easier than usual. Where no matter how hard you try, or how hard you focus, you can’t escape the feeling that you are swimming through molasses.
Whether you are training in your regular home pool or, thanks to Covid, using a swim tether to train in your above-ground swimming pool in the backyard, there will be moments where things feel particularly struggley.
The typical reaction in these cases is to consider the practice a mulligan.
Oh well, better luck next time, the thinking tends to go.
Not so fast.
Just because you feel like garbagio in the water doesn’t mean you can’t still work on your kick.
Or perfect your hand entry.
Or do a pile of sculling to improve your feel of the water.
There will always be something you can do to improve.
The difference between those who pull it out at the end of the season and those who don’t?
Taking advantage of every chance you have to get better in the pool, no matter how tired or exhausted you are.
When you are ready to swim a little bit faster…
And set yourself some goals that kick a ton of butt-butt…
Take Your Swimming to the Next Level
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