Physical | Mediterra Swim & Run

Breathing Better… On Land

by Coach Mat | 14 Feb, 2016

It’s apparent that making breathing easier is one of the top concerns for swimmers. And so, virtually all programs and methods offer some ideas for how to improve it. I’ve written several posts on breathing for swimming that several seemed to have...

Pain And Peace

by Coach Mat | 23 Jan, 2016

Is there pain and suffering of some form in your training experience? For many, this is not only a common experience, this is the expected experience. After all, they say you must be tough to be a real swimmer, right? Perhaps. But what kind of toughness are we talking...

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...

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...

Swimming Past Exhaustion Point

by Coach Mat | 21 Dec, 2014

Have you swam past your exhaustion point? Why, or why not? ** There is a difference between a difficult swimming situation that produces struggle and a difficult situation that presents challenge. Swimming as Struggle = swimming in a situation where I have lost...