Christmas Holiday Details For Your Diaries!

Dear TEAM

Please, please take 5 minutes to read this entire newsletter as it contains some very important information about the holiday period and because you have just won $1,000,000 and need to collect your ticket from the bottom of this page...OK, so that last point was a bit of a fib! ;-)

BREAK:

Please be advised that the squad will take an official break of 2 weeks from Sunday 20th December to Sunday 3rd January (inclusive). The last session before the holidays will be our Saturday squad session at Claremont Pool at 1.00pm and the first session back in the New Year will be the Monday morning sessions at 7.00am and 9.30am - both focused on steady swimming with an emphasis on technique. If you keep reading you'll see the link to the download for the timetable for this period - print it off and you'll be all set!

ADVICE:

Over the 2-week holiday period I would encourage you to take a bit of "time-out" to relax and "smell the roses". Activities such as ocean swimming, jogs along a scenic coastal path or the odd cafe ride will keep you ticking along just nicely. Unless you are not training for a specific event (in which case you have a program to work towards in the form of our Master Plan posted a few weeks ago), don't be afraid to ease off a touch over this period. You'll find that you're a lot more energised and ready to go then in the New Year!

PAUL ON HOLIDAY:

OK, so as you all know, Adam has now left for the UK and won't be back until the middle of January. Myself, Michelle and Jackson will also be leaving after my last morning swim session(s) on Tuesday 8th December 2009. This is the first proper break we will have had since we started The TEAM CORE over 18 months ago and I am so looking forward to it! Its been a very busy time (new business, new baby etc etc) and we now need some R&R. We will be away for exactly 6 weeks, split as 2 weeks in Canada and then 4 weeks in the UK. This will be a great trip for Jackson to finally meet all his family and see where Mom and Dad come from for the first time! We are very excited!

Please note, I will still be checking my emails during the period and will be sending out the usual weekly email with "what's on" whilst away.

NEW COACHES:

It is of course, quite a "nervous" time for us also - being away for 6 weeks from a relatively new squad has involved a HUGE amount of planning and preparation in terms of sourcing, training and rostering suitably qualified coaches to run the sessions in my absence. It has literally taken 3 months of preparation - but it will be worth every minute! As we have informed you previously, we have sourced 7 new superb coaches who are all detailed here:

• Coaches Details = http://files.me.com/swimsmooth/g3oqym

We ran a full-day coaching clinic for these coaches in September to bring them up-to-speed with our practices and to have some fantastic round-table discussions about how each of them will bring something new and exciting to the squad sessions during this period. Over the past few weeks, all of these coaches have voluntarily given up their time to assist me on pool deck to get in some "work shadowing" and to also get to know many of you. Rather than just desperately getting in any coaching cover in a bid for me and Michelle and Jackson to take a break, we see this as being a massively important step to demonstrate how important this rostering is to us and how much we believe in all these new coaches. 

Here is when and where you will see them over the 6 week period whilst I am away:

• Coaching Roster = http://files.me.com/swimsmooth/4yeg6v

Through your support and enjoyment of all our squad sessions over the last 18 months, The TEAM CORE has grown tremendously to a point where it can no longer be a "one-man-show" (yup, I need a break sometimes too!). We see this 6 week period as an excellent opportunity for you to get to know and hopefully love all the coaches for their own individual merits. I have personally written every single session for this 6 week period, however, each coach has been instructed to add their own flair and personality to the sessions and as such we hope that you will really enjoy the variety! We have ongoing plans for each of the coaches to continue with some of the sessions even once I return from my break as well.

PAYG SESSION CARDS:

Please can I suggest that you have a quick calculation on how many swim sessions you are likely to attend over the 6 week period whilst I am away. If you do not have enough sessions on your current PAYG card, please can I ask that you order a new one online before the 8th December ( go to http://www.theteamcore.com/shop.html ) or pay cash or cheque this week and I will organise one for you with an extended expiry date. I am hoping to keep everything as hassle-free for the new coaching team whilst I am away and as such your support and forward-thinking on this matter will be much appreciated.

PLEASE KEEP ATTENDING!

So, to sign off then, the biggest way that you can continue to support our squad is simply with your presence at the sessions over this 6 week period. We are anticipating a slight reduction in numbers given the holiday season, but would really hope that you will all continue to attend the sessions wherever possible.

Thanks for your time and support everyone, it means a lot to me!

Cheers

Paul

Christmas Gift Ideas

Dear TEAM

Over the last couple of months many of you have been asking where you can buy a lot of the cool swimming gadgets that I often use in the pool sessions - the good news is that we have just become stockists through our www.swimsmooth.com website of many of these items and as such I thought you might like to know about what we have available, what they cost and also about our Multi-BUY discounts as well.

I'm not in the habit of using this Blog to "flog" stuff, but I hope that if you are hunting around for a few gift ideas for friends and family, or if you need to point your loved ones in the right direction for something you're after, this will be useful to you. All items are available to view in index form here: http://www.swimsmooth.com/products.html or read below for some more detail.

On our discounts, we have some great offers - buy 2 items and save 5%, save 7% on 3 items or 10% on 4+ items - full details here: http://www.swimsmooth.com/multibuy.html

All products will be shipped first class post from our Swim Smooth H.Q in sunny Wales, UK and should be with you within 7 to 10 days - right in time for Christmas (if you order now or over the weekend!). Full details here: http://www.swimsmooth.com/shipping.html

Here's what we have:

• BEST-SELLER! The Wetronome Pacing Tool ($90) - you've seen it in squad sessions and have witnessed first hand just how much it has helped everyone improve their pace awareness and in doing so their general efficiency and speed in the water with the new Lap Time function. Also use it to help improve your stroke rhythm as described here: http://www.swimsmooth.com/strokerate.html This is an amazing device invented by our very own Mr Andrew Holmes (Lane 1, 5.30am). The Wetronome has been an international best seller and has literally been selling like the proverbial hot cake - don't miss out! Full details here: http://www.swimsmooth.com/wetronome.html
• COACHES CHOICE! Finis Freestyler Paddles ($27 - small, $29 - large) - these are those pointy paddles that we use regularly on pool deck to help you with your hand entry into the water, your alignment and to set-up for a perfect catch and pull through. Without a doubt these are THE best paddles on the market for your stroke technique and come highly recommended by me having tried everything else out there! Full details: http://www.swimsmooth.com/finis_freestyler.html
• ULTRA COOL! Finis Water-proof MP3 Player ($249) - quite possibly the coolest gadget out there! Listen to all your favourite music tracks whilst ploughing up and down the black-line! What's really cool about this player is that it plays through your temple bones, leaving your ears free and unobstructed so you can still here coach on the pool deck! Comes complete with Swim Smooth's unique MP3 pacing and stroke rate tracks on accompanying CD allowing you to test the functionality of the Wetronome unit. Full details here: http://www.swimsmooth.com/finis_swimp3.html
• BEST-SELLER! Swim Smooth Waterproof 35-session Training Plans ($60) - these Training Plans are superb to have in your kit bag for times when you cannot attend the squad sessions or for friends or family members who prefer to train by themselves with good structure and direction. The Plans feature full instructions on how to get the most out of your sessions and include pictorial directions on the various drills and techniques required. We have two types: 1) those for Sprint / Olympic Distance & Rottnest Team & Duo athletes; 2) those for Ironman Distance & Rottnest Solo athletes. When purchasing, you have the option of Levels 1, 2 or 3 which roughly equate to our squad lanes (i.e. Lane 3 = Level 3 = our fastest lane for the most experienced swimmers). Full details: http://www.swimsmooth.com/trainingplans.html
• Swim Smooth DVD Boxset ($90) - a two DVD boxset including 8-week training program which is the essential stroke correction guide for triathletes and open water swimmers produced and directed by myself here in Perth and featuring Olympic Gold Medallist, Bill Kirby. More than 8,000 copies now sold world-wide and rated 5-stars and as a "must buy item" by online swimming guru Mat Luebbers of swimming.about.com Further details: http://www.swimsmooth.com/DVD.html
• Swim Smooth "Learn 2 Swim" DVD & Session Cards ($60) - a single DVD set featuring a unique water-proof training plan to show the complete beginner how to learn the freestyle stroke from scratch. This is only suitable for those who cannot perform a single stroke of freestyle - for those who can string together +25m of freestyle the DVD Boxset above would be more appropriate. Full details: http://www.swimsmooth.com/learn2swim.html
• Mr Smooth Enthusiasts Console ($50) - upgrade the free version of Mr Smooth (available here: http://www.swimsmooth.com/console.php and downloaded by over 10,000 swimmers around the world in the last 4 months!) with our PRO Enthusiats version which includes more views, angles, controls and usability. Full details here: http://www.swimsmooth.com/proconsole.html
• Finis Tec Toc for improved body roll ($70) - do you or someone you know need to improve their body roll? Without a coach present, how do you know if you're doing this well enough? Here's the answer - strap this little baby around your waist and as you swim up and down the pool you should here a "tick" and then a "tock" with every stroke as the ball bearing hits from one end of the tube to the other. Genius! Body roll helps improve efficiency through the water by reducing frontal drag, helps to alleviate shoulder issues through maintaining a more neutral shoulder position during the recovery phase and also aids the length and catch phase of your stroke. Full details here: http://www.swimsmooth.com/finis_techtoc.html
• Finis Pull Buoy ($26) - do you still not yet own your own pull buoy? Tsk, tsk! Have us deliver one to you...just make sure you use a permanent marker to write your name on! Full details: http://www.swimsmooth.com/finis_pullbuoy.html

Hope this helps! Why not group together with some friends to save money?

Cheers

Paul

Training this weekend!

Dear TEAM

Firstly, for those of you contemplating the English Channel Swim in 2011, we have some new news to discuss with you and would like to invite you over to an quick meeting at 4pm on Saturday 5th December at my place: 22 Fairfield Street, Mount Hawthorn. We will be discussing costs, bookings, tactics etc with Philip Rush and Shelley Taylor-Smith. Please let me know if you can attend!

This weekend:

Thursday - AM: openwater swim session at Cottesloe Beach from 6am / PM: run session starting at McGilvray Oval (6 / 6.15pm)

Friday - AM: all swims as normal / PM: Rottnest Solo squad - session # 5 from the Master Plan

Saturday - AM: West Coast 1000 swim event OR the local ATTA cycle time trial event (no structured squad sessions this Saturday due to the clash with these two popular events) / PM: 12.00pm squad swim at Claremont Pool (this is THE last early Saturday session - after this week, we'll be permanently back to 1.00pm! Thank goodness!)

See you out there!

Paul

1km TT Results!

Dear TEAM

Another very successful "outing" this morning for the squad with 68 swimmers completing the 1000m Time Trial swim with 70% of the squad swimming better times than I had predicted for your improvement to this stage. Again, consistency shines through again and again, coupled with the pace work that we've been doing with the Wetronomes over the last 3 months. Well done!

Here are the results: http://files.me.com/swimsmooth/7zynov

What should you take from this exercise of the 400m, 1km, and 3km Time Trials? Well first and foremost the whole goal of this exercise was to give you a couple of short-term goals to focus on before the real season kicks in. It was meant as a challenge for you (and me!) to see just how much improvement is possible with consistency. A great gauge of improvement for all of you should be how comfortable and fit you feel in the water, but nothing beats the hard facts of numbers to show you that all your hard work is indeed paying off! Nice job! 

Secondly, I would like you to peruse your 100m pace for the latest 1km swim. With respect to the Fresh & Fruity Wednesday & Friday sessions going forward, you should be aiming to swim 100m intervals ~3 to 6s per 100m quicker than this (given a rest of ~20s). This will likely be very close to your pace per 100m from the 400m swim last Wednesday / Friday. For 200m intervals you should be ~2s per 100m quicker than your 1000m pace as a rough rule when having ~30s between each 200m interval. Given more rest you will of course be able to swim quicker, but when we say "CSS pace" (Critical Swim Speed) or "hold your fastest maintainable pace", you should all have a very clear idea of what this is now. Equally, if we're saying on a Tuesday "swim this interval of 800m at ~8s per 100m slower than CSS" you'll also be able to easily identify what that pace should be. It helps you work out how hard to go when you should be working fast and just as importantly how easy you should be going when swimming steadier sets.

It is very easy to get bogged down in numbers. Some of you love that - others not quite so. Either way, you now have a very clear objective measure for your training going forward, coupled with an enhanced subjective "feeling" for pace work and you're onto a real winner! 

It's been a great winter of training, so now as we transition to the summer season, let's keep up the good work and continue to challenge ourselves even further. Well done!

Paul

P.S A big shout out to Lucas Salter who was again the "Biggest Loser" this week with a 2m25s improvement over my predictions and also to Ermie Robinson who also saw a massive improvement to record a 1m58s improvement and a HUGE P.B with a time of 16m36s!!!

Thursday, Friday, Saturday, REST!

Dear TEAM

OK, here's the plan going into this weekend:

Thursday AM - 6am openwater skills and drills at Cottesloe Beach - please pop along, it is a LOT of fun and a great workout! Paul will run this session.

Thursday PM - 6pm for 6.15pm start run leaving the UWA Footy Club Rooms at McGilvray Oval for Session 3 (45 - 60 mins tempo run) on Route # 2: http://bikeroutetoaster.com/Course.aspx?course=90794 (you might need to do multiple laps of Reabold Hill to make up the time). Paul will not be here for this one.

Friday AM - 5.30, 6.30, 9.30am sessions all as normal at Claremont Pool. Paul will run these sessions.

Friday PM - 4.30pm session # 3 from the Master Plan ("The Monster Set") for SOLO swimmers = 7.5km (if your longest set to date is only 5km - limit this to 6-6.5km) Paul will run this session.

Saturday AM - 6am ride from Cottesloe Beach Car Park - 1h45 (hard) around this loop: http://bikeroutetoaster.com/Course.aspx?course=90789 Riders to ride at their own pace and for those of you racing a fair bit this year you should aim to push this on and not wait around for anyone. Feel strong - its a great course! Do multiple loops / sections for the time allocated. Paul will not be here for this one.

Saturday 8am - 8km swim at Leighton Beach for Rottnest SOLO and DUO swimmers. Meet in the carpark adjacent to the old iron bridge over the road. Course is here: http://bikeroutetoaster.com/Course.aspx?course=90781 (this is a 4km course...DUOs can do 1 lap, SOLOs with less base fitness = 1.5 laps, SOLOs with strong base fitness = 2 laps). Make sure you have hydration and carbo gels for this swim please! Paul will not be here for this one.

Saturday PM - 1pm squad swim featuring some filming with our new video rig - it has to be seen to be believed, so please pop along if you can!!!! This session is starting to dwindle a little bit (my feeling is due to the constant back and fourth between 12pm and 1pm which I am frustrated about too!) so if you would like to attend and even if your name is not on the list, please do so! Paul will run this session.

Sunday - good luck to anyone doing the Great Perth Bike Ride on Sunday - looks like a lot of fun!

Cheers

Paul

If you like gadgets, you'll love this!

Dear Swimmers

The TEAM CORE & Swim Smooth bring you a world first.  You can be one of the first to try the Finity Swim Pod: which automatically records your swim session.  The device worn while you swim measures your lap times, stroke rate and  body roll.  A prototype of the device is being formally tested over the next month at our squad sessions.  All you need do is put the device on and then swim as normal.  Finity will then send you a summary of your session within 24 hours - all free of charge, naturally.

Register your interest at www.finitysports.com or ask one of our coaches or the Finity person at the squad session.

What's even better is that this has been designed and built by one of our very own TEAM CORE athletes - how's that for thinking outside the box!!!

Give it a try, its very cool and if you're into numbers, you'll love it!!!

Cheers

Paul

400m Time Trial Results

...can be found here:

http://www.theteamcore.com/images/400m.pdf

...well done to everyone who gave it a go - nearly 80% of the squad posted improvements above my predicted level of improvement which just goes to show what a bit of consistent training over the winter months and getting a little "Fresh 'n' Fruity" once a week can do for your fitness! You're all in great shape, so here's to the start of a great season!!! Well done!

P.S Big shout out to the squads official "Biggest Loser", Lucas Salter, who smashed an amazing 1'02" off the predicted time from 10 weeks ago!!! Stunning stuff!

Cheers

Paul