Connecting the Dots

Triathletes are supposed to take advantage of their off season and work on technique to become efficient as we are always looking for ways to conserve energy.  During this process, coaches often break our sports into parts and drill us.  Then some how, some way, you take that information and feedback and try and put it all together to become faster, stronger and better than you were before.  This is what I call "connecting the dots".  If only someone had numbered the dots, my picture might already be complete.  I am going to go out on a limb and say we learn more from the process of putting the pieces together no matter how long it takes to get there.  There are small moments of realization and eventually more of the dots are connected.  I am certain that athletes that stand on the podium are much better at connecting their dots!

I am feeling awkward and slow on my bike and run, but this week, I finally experienced what many call "feeling the water".  Swim was my strong sport, the one I was most comfortable with and it seemed to fall apart as I have spent the past year redefining my stroke.  If you allow a coach to dissect your stroke, be prepared for the work ahead in putting it back together.  As I am prepping for my base training, I am getting back in the pool and usually pick one thing to focus on at a time that coaches have pointed out and from ideas I find in books and on swim blogs I follow.  This week, I finally felt myself moving forward and producing some power with my arms.  I still feel a strong asymmetry that I am not sure where the root of is except for some tightness on my left side that I am going to try to even myself out with some stretching/yoga.  We keep finding possible culprits to my zig zagging and work on them, but in the end, I am still veering to the right.  I also found a paddle that was designed to help athletes "feel" the water.

The areas I work on are my head position, arm and hand position with high elbow, the pull and following through, extending my arms, hip rotation, and keeping my head close to my arm when I breathe.  The pieces are coming back together.

These small glimmers of hope are what keeps us going.  In my reading, YOUR BEST TRIATHLON by Joe Friel, he talks about being happy when you are coming back form your off season with decreased fitness/conditioning because that is where you should be.  You don't want to be performing at a high level all the time as your body cannot sustain the workload and the chance of peaking at the right time goes out the window.  So let all your friends pass you and smile when they do because that just means you are on track to begin your training.  It is not called a training plan for nothing....

Here is a poem I wrote in my head after one of my swims this week:
Humpty Tri-umpty Sat on a Wall
Humpty Tri-umpty Had a Great Fall
All the bike, run,& swim coaches & friends couldn't put Humpty Back Together Again

She reached out and "felt the water" today as though for the very first time
And Humpty Tri-umpty began to re-align
It is not easy putting delicate pieces back together
There may be hope for Humpty Tri-umpty even in this weather

2014 could be a fine year
From my pool to yours, wishing you many a good cheer.