My training diary – 24/1/2019
Warm up
100 fs
Main set
4 x 200 freestyle+ 30 seconds rest
400 freestyle TT
3 x 200 + 20 seconds rest
Cool down
100 backstroke
“I’m coming for you,” I said as I looked at my new squad training mate. “I”m right here waiting” he replied. “That’s ok you won’t have to wait long” smiling as I shot back my reply.
That was awesome. I had just finished my first squad training session in years. The best part was, I loved every minute of it. Last week I was approached by one of the triathlete coaches from Barnyard Fitness
that hire lane space at my pool. He had heard that I had started training again and asked if I would like to train with his squad. At the time I wasn’t quite sure, there was some doubt in my mind. What if I couldn’t keep up and got lapped hundreds of times. My ego doesn’t like to be bruised let alone at the hands of embarrassment.
Squad Training Time
Come Thursday morning I felt pumped and good to go. My training bag packed, my work bag packed and I was out the door at 5:20 am. That morning I had to do my coaching duties as per normal then on to my job at the university. After this it was back down at the pool for another coaching session which finishes at 6:30 p.m. Being organised and ready to go, meant that my swim bag in the right spot. I placed it down the other the pool where the squad was going to start. Come 6:30 pm I went and got changed and then hit the water for my first squad training session.
Jumping into a lane I remember thinking that they were just chosen at random. After the first lap, I realised my mistake. I had actually jumped into the fast lane which was a bit odd. Now you’ll have to excuse me if I appear arrogant however the fast lane really wasn’t that fast. After about two and a half weeks of training, I was keeping up with the fast lane. This made me ask the question were these guys slow or did I just train really well on my own. However, I think my years of experience was the real reason. Besides the squad looked good, they just need a little more pain under their belt.
Got to Love Endorphins
So we set off on the two hundreds which for me were great because they are my favourite kind of sets. I absolutely loved it. The rest of the session was a push which was awesome. I could feel myself running out of air and starting to have my endorphins kick in. The session went for just over an hour and all up and about 1900 metres. I was only short of the leaders of that lane by about 300 metres so I felt pretty good. After I hopped out and thanked Dan from barnyard Fitness on the squad session. I told him I absolutely loved the squad training session. I also added that I wanted him to push me, and not just a little push, I mean to push me until I was on the verge of throwing up.
By the time I got home, it was 7:45 p.m. and I walked in with a huge grin on my face. My wife asked me how the session went but she already knew I had a great time from the smile but I had from ear to ear. The next day I was expecting to feel sore and very tired. To my surprise I didn’t, I was a little tired but there’s no stiffness or soreness at all. That Friday by about 11:30 am there was an itch I couldn’t scratch and then l figure it out. I wanted to hit the pool again I wanted to get that same surge of endorphins and the rush of working as part of a team. It’s a great feeling when you actually work hard and you can look at other people in the eye and know that they work hard as well.
Keep Pushing
It doesn’t matter whether there faster or slower were they bigger or smaller male or female. Everybody puts their pants on one leg at a time, and this means that everybody is on the same level playing field. You could argue the point that someone might be bigger than you and have more muscle but if that’s the case you need to become technically superior. Make sure your technique is far better than 
there’s so you can be my become a more efficient swimmer and then. You could also argue that someone has been swimming longer than you Connor if that’s the case you need to work harder you are there to improve you. If someone has been working at something a lot longer than you have then it’s your responsibility to catch up it’s not your fault all their fault it’s just a simple fact of life that if you want to succeed you have two our people.
Away We Go
That Friday afternoon we had the car packed and ready to head up to the Central Coast I was looking forward to spending time with my daughter and wife on the beach. I was particularly keen to try and encourage my daughter to bodyboard. I knew she would be scared but I’she would love it once she got the hang of it. Whilst away I was also keen to catch up with another squad coach while I was there.
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