Ken and Elizabeth

If you have been keeping track you know we are working on developing awareness about “flow”…what it is, how to find it, how to coach it etc.

Ken had a set last Tuesday that was really instructional around the idea of flow. It went like this. The 100’s and the 75’s were fast and we mixed in stroke when and where appropriate. The interval for everything was the 1:10.

1x100/1:10…recovery 50 on the 1:10

1x75/1:10…recovery 50 on the 1:10

2x100/1:10…1x50 recovery/ 1:10

2x75/1:10…1x50 recovery/ 1:10

3x100/1:10…1x50 recovery/ 1:10

3x75/1:10…1x50 recovery/ 1:10

2x100/1:10…1x50 recovery/ 1:10

2x75/1:10…1x 50 recovery/ 1:10

1x100/1:10…1x50 recovery/ 1:10

1x75/1:10…1x50 recovery/ 1:10

Total yardage = 2075 with 1575 at effort: set time 31:20

It was interesting from the flow side in that from very early in the set no one was talking between swims. We had lots of focus. An occasional shout out to a lane mate was about all the noise we witnessed. We have found that a recovery swim right after an effort swim does that…it drives focus inward which in our opinion helps induce flow. Same thing happens in the Tim Hill broken 200 set.

Now to Elizabeth…today at workout we talked about taper and what actually happens when you taper. We said that you get ready to swim fast because the workload decreases which makes it easier to do faster repeats. This leads to faster races since you are not so tired from training plus your confidence goes up – remember the most important muscle in the human body is confidence. Of course we also do some speed work, race tempo, distance per stroke while maintaining tempo…all the usual stuff…you already know about that.

Then we reminded everyone that races while tapered “hurt” just as much as regular races. What happens more at taper meets is that you find flow. When you find flow you don’t hurt. Your body is still exerting maximally which means your heart rate is high, your respiration rate is high, and you go into oxygen debt and or build lactic acid levels. Yet you don’t notice it as much because you are really present…in flow.

Then Elizabeth issued this gem…”You don’t need to be tapered to have flow.” She is one smart girl! By the way, she had lots of flow on Thursday and Sunday this week…