Ready to Swim with More Ease?
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The art of trusting your limits. After I sent yesterday’s email about my own hesitation to turn the shower to cold, a few people responded. One person shared they look forward to cold showers, and another said they’ve done them for so long that a shower feels incomplete without a cold burst at the end. Thank you for sharing—these responses made me feel part of something! And then someone else wrote about a different kind of moment. They had a swim practice scheduled—something they usually…
AI Can’t Feel You can ask an algorithm for a training plan for your next 5k, 10k, or even a 20K swim. It will spit one out in seconds. It looks complete: distances by week, technique with recommended drills, threshold sets, open water skills practice, it even recommends practicing fueling and mental strategies. Convenient? Absolutely. But also completely missing the point. AI can write a training plan based on the latest in exercise science, but it can’t help you feel the water. And when…
LESSONS FROM THE WATER READ PREVIOUS ARTICLES WEBSITE SCHEDULE SUBSTACK Hi there, Earlier this week I sat down with a small group of swimmers and asked a question I’ve been sitting with myself: what feels sustainable right now? “I used to wear a watch to track my times and distance in practice — but I realized I had to take it off. Not because the data was wrong, but because I was stuck in comparing today to yesterday.” The watch wasn’t measuring progress anymore. It was measuring…
It feels like a chore. I struggle to build and stick with daily habits. I resent that every app wants me to track streaks – even my meditation app! Nothing disrupts my effort it be mindful like a pop up asking if I meditated offline yesterday. And yet, I can’t figure out how to stay engaged without tracking. I signed up for a 30 day yoga challenge and actually completed it! When it was over, a sense of pride washed over me, also relief. I was so glad that I didn’t have to find time to do yoga…
LESSONS FROM THE WATER READ PREVIOUS ARTICLES WEBSITE SCHEDULE SUBSTACK Hi there, This week I got an urgent message from one of my swimmers. She was spiraling about the unseasonably cool temperatures that could affect her upcoming race. What if it’s colder than expected? What if I can’t handle it? I know the feeling. Before swimming the length of Loch Ness I refused to get in the water before the swim start. I was afraid that if I did, I would psych myself out about the temperature. So when…
How to Balance Big Goals and Daily Life I’ve always had trouble sticking to daily habits and streaks rub me the wrong way, so how do I manage to train for big swims, raise two growing boys, be a present partner, get a podcast out into the world, email broadcasts weekly, and coach and teach swimmers locally and virtually? It’s a work in process; it will always be a work in process. But I think I’m starting to embrace that process. When I started my podcast, Marathon Swim Stories, in 2020 one…