www.TriSwimCoach.com
Tri Swim Coach Newsletter #30
November 30, 2004
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In This Issue:

- Update
- Dead Rats and Gasoline
- Drill of The Month- November
- Forward this newsletter to a friend by clicking on the link at the
bottom!

www.triswimcoach.com

Update

Dear Friend,

If this is your off season, I hope you are planning well and doing
all the right things to get yourself ready for 2005. For some
inspiration, I have included a real life triathlon story from a Tri
Swim Coach subscriber in the state of Washington.

Enjoy!
Kevin

Tri Swim Coach
www.triswimcoach.com

Dead Rats and Gasoline

I was trying to think about my biggest swimming success in my
triathlon and swimming career and I thought I would share a few of
the crazy swims I have done over the years through triathlon. I
have been competing on and off since 1987 and man, I could share
some stories! Maybe some of you will remember a few of these swims…

One of the swims was a USTS race in Miami where we swam in a bay
with lots of boats. The water was pretty cold but what stands out
was the smell of the gasoline and the taste of the oil in the water.
Anyone who raced that day would remember the taste, I’ll never
forget it!

My racing buddy and I used to race way too much, sometimes even
twice in a weekend or a day. We did so many races that I never
could keep up with which was which. One race (I cannot for the life
remember which race or which state), somewhere on the east coast,
either Connecticut or Maryland… or maybe somewhere in between, we
did this one race that was probably about a ½ mile swim. It was
more like a pond… we had to wade out into the middle for the race
start. The floor of it was so muddy that we sunk down over our
ankles while waiting for the start. The second year we did it, we
noticed all these white floating things in the water and discovered
they were dead snails. Well, maybe they were alive but we didn’t
stick around long enough to find out!

Then there was the famous Hilton Head race, another USTS event, the
National Championships in ’89 I think. 8 to10 foot waves from a
hurricane that had blown through a few days before the race! It was
an ocean swim and the waves were fierce! They delayed the start and
because the current was so strong, they made us hike a mile up the
beach for the swim start. What a mess! I bet Tim remembers the
drive home from South Carolina to New Jersey…

Fast forward to Lake Michigan a few years later, USTS Chicago (I’m
seeing a trend here with the USTS races). Dead rat. Yes, dead rat
floating in the water the night before the race. We looked for him
race morning and he was nowhere to be found. Ugh!!

It’s funny how any one of these events would completely freak me out
except in a race situation! I’m sure if my old racing buddy Tim
Monaco reads this, he will remember each one clear as day!
--
Cherilyn Suiter

Click Here For Over 72 Workouts and The Complete Guide to Triathlon
Swimming!

Drill of The Month- November

This is actually a land exercise, not a drill.
But it is designed to help your swimming!
Many triathletes feel they need to build strength to get better in
swimming. This has some truth to it, but most go about it the wrong
way. They usually try to increase strength in their arms and legs.
Let me tell you, this won't help! Developing your core will be
beneficial to your swimming- especially for open water swimming.

Add in this exercise to your workouts:

Back extensions (spinal extendors): Knee against Swiss
ball or exercise ball. Grab medicine ball and extend your
arms and legs. 10-15 reps. Add 2nd set as you get
stronger. Start with a light weight and slowly increase as you
progress.

For more strength workouts to help Swimming, click here