Common Problems and Solutions | Mediterra Swim & Run

Good Attitude

by Coach Mat | 16 May, 2015

The real test of your good attitude will not happen on a good practice day. It will be exposed and tested on a bad practice day. When you experience a ‘bad’ practice (i.e. failure to produce expected results) that is the best opportunity to examine the...

Running Rehab – Part 2

by Coach Mat | 26 Apr, 2015

In conjunction with the previous post – Running Rehab Part 1 – I will describe the places on my lower body where I have used a foam roller to work out tight and painful spots, which has released me to run pain-free again. First, the points on my...

Running Rehab – Part 1

by Coach Mat | 18 Apr, 2015

For the last 3+ months I have focused entirely on rehabilitating my legs back into running. This means I haven’t swam but a few times (usually during our training events) because I needed to give my limited time each day, each week, to the consistent running...

Swim Prep Habit

by Coach Mat | 11 Apr, 2015

Here is an inspirational description in the book The Power Of Habit by Charles Duhigg of the habit Michael Phelps had set up to support his success in every race. This story makes a persuasive argument for competitive athletes to set up a personal pre-race habit like...

Silent Swimming

by Coach Mat | 4 Apr, 2015

The first objective I have in swim practice is to bring my body and my mind into the water. The next objective is to bring my mind into my body. The third objective is to bring all my internal systems online and into a unified, cooperative state for higher...

Judging An Efficient Stroke

by Coach Mat | 28 Mar, 2015

In response to the recent essay Stroke Length Loyalty (and the subsequent essay Intro to Pace Combinations) I’ve entered into an enjoyable email discussion with a retired engineer about judging efficiency of the stroke. He has been asking how we know when a...