Taking to the water....What motivates you?

Taking to the water!!!

Ummmmmm, I could probably list 50 words or more off the top of my head as to why people take to the water. 

Active Blu Open Water Venue. 
However by asking the squad this question we get a real insight of their journey since joining Active Blu - I asked them to do this as we do not celebrate ourselves enough and often we do not think we have achieved enough to write or tell people about....

However I believe most people are amazing and therefore try and encourage them to share their stories. Most people have to juggle work, kids, relationships, amongst other things to come training and it is important to acknowledge this.... :)

ASA coach assessment day 2014

Many of the squad have responded and agreed to write and share their stories....they have mentioned by writing this it did make them realise how far they have come in such a short time. I hope this helps inspire those in the squad that sometime doubt their performance, everyone has to start somewhere and the way you get there that is normally quite exciting. Even if thats on reflection. 

Assessing the coaches. 2014

However I did get one member of the squad say... "Emma, not only do you give us 2 swim sessions a week to follow in our own time, you are now giving us writing tasks, its like I am back at school". !! Too funny I keep giggling about this as it is so true :)

Pleasure / Pain of squad life
As a coach I know the importance of working with the individual and their motivations. What works for one person does not always create the same enthusiasm in others. With this in mind it is important that with in the squad environment the individuals needs are understood.  



The Sunday Squads are re testing their CSS this weekend after 9 weeks, however although these are really important for the swimmer to see their hard work and training is paying off. It becomes more and more apparent that the social aspect of the sessions are just or even more so important.

John shares his story of the last 12 months with us.....

So after joining Emma's pool Squad in January this year this is what happened

Well I've got a bit quicker yes but more importantly I have new friends, I am enjoying swimming more it just feels better plus I have started open water swimming.


I did one of Emma's intro to open water sessions in May my only objective was to stay in the water over 6 seconds that being the time I stayed in when I was around 16 in August 1968. I managed it for 40 mins at 13.9C. But  I didn't return to open water probably due to lack of confidence or just fear till 31st August again at Brockhole as a swimmer in a coach training event Emma was hosting.

Brockhole 2014

But then they closed my local pool for a month on 1st Sept and I thought maybe I should try a local open water place in Cheshire. So on 3rd Sept off  I went. Hired a wetsuit ,did all the stuff Emma had taught me on her open water course splashing water on face etc and set off. First time round  lots of stops at and in between buoys but did 5 circuits gaining confidence with each one. By the end I was hooked and decided to buy a wetsuit maybe in December when they would be Cheap! ready for next year.

ASA OW Coach development

Anyway a few days later bought myself a wetsuit as I couldn't wait. Got in a few more open water sessions near home then Kat one of my swim squad friends suggested we try to swim Buttermere just over a mile or Crummock water two and a half miles.



So on 21st September I found myself on the shores of the chosen lake - Crummock Water with Kat and her friend .Our lift had gone so only way back was to swim so thanks to the two girls support and nine months in the Squad we had a  nice gentle swim down the lake. 

Can't wait till next Year  

John Woodward

P.S I am 62 its 80 miles from home to the squad and I haven't got a swimming background only been swimming since I retired so unless you can come up with a better excuse for not  joining one of Emma's Squads you had better sign up NOW!  

 ( I did not pay John to say this) 

Thank you for sharing this John, it is lovely to see how far you have come, especially as last time you entered the open water was in 1968. Getting to know John this year has ben remarkable and he is a solid member of the squad. Showing everyone what can be achieved. 

:)

Just Keep Swimming


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Keeping it simple.

Image
Swim Smooth Squad - Perth   Today on Poolside - CSS Set - Week 9 of 10. Returning onto pool deck in Perth, after 6 months back in the UK was a fantastic opportunity to see just how much the swimmers had improved over their winter period. It was insightful and also encouraging to see just how many of the squad had developed. Many of the swimmers had not only improved their technique and swim times, they also had increased their confidence whilst in the open water. So the question is; How did they do this and how can we achieve those results? Firstly, it is good to know these people are normal, they have families, hold down jobs and have every day  commitments. Squad Session - Perth. The key: Is KEEP IT SIMPLE - get your training right and being consistent with it. If we look at the Perth Squads , we can identify how their training week works and make sure that you too are ready for next years Open Water and Triathlon season. Answer These Question
Read more

Meeting Sue

Image
Sue Oldham – Getting better with age. "My advice to other swimmers, or non swimmers, is don’t put off doing things, life goes by so quickly and one never knows what will be around the corner so make the most of this time, it can never be retrieved”. (Sue, Oldham, 2013) An inspiration to many wishing to challenge themselves this year. Sue is an inspirational, modest Character, having only started swimming in her 40`s, She is best known as the oldest women to swim across the English Channel. At the age of 65 Sue entered the record books finishing her swim in 17 hours 11 mins. However the list of records, stories and amazing accomplishments is endless. Based in Perth Australia, I had a rare opportunity to catch up with Sue and ask her a few questions regarding her swimming back ground, who inspired her and her greatest Challenges to date. Emma:   “Please tell me about how and when you got into swimming”? Sue:  “ About 20 years ago a friend suggested I
Read more

What a Difference a Month Makes.

Image
I wanted to congratulate the Open Water and Squad swimmers this month. Training In Lanzarote July 2013  The New Swim Squad has now been running for 7 weeks at the Lancaster 315 Pool. On week 1 we tested the squads Critical Swim Speed. (CSS). Check out what this means at:  http://www.swimsmooth.com/training.html . This basically gives you an indication of the pace you can sustain every 100m for your 1500m swim. It is also useful to help monitor progress and reduction in swim times. An example: If your CSS is 1 min 30 secs per 100m, this will give you a time of 22 mins and 50 secs for your 1500m swim. Identifying What hold you back in the water.  We retested 2 weeks ago and all the squad members had reduced their CSS time. Some reducing it as much as 7 minutes, with most members seeing a 2 to 5 minute improvement for their CSS. This is above average and a remarkable achievement. Most of the squad have just started training regularly and using a structured progra
Read more