by Coach Mat | 5 Jan, 2019 | Competitive/Performance Training, Distance Training, How To Train?, Long Distance Training, Marathon Distance, Practice Series, Racing Misery, Running
I am often approached by swimmers thinking about preparing to swim a much longer distance than they have done before – like 4K (Ironman tri), 5K, 10K or 20K, or even 40K (for the English Channel). I receive this question in various forms, and it essentially asks...
by Coach Mat | 21 Jul, 2018 | Muscle Training, Physiology, Recommended Reading, Relaxation, Running, Too Slow
I have been looking back at my notes from studying one of the books from The Pose Method of Running, by Nicholas Romanov, and ran across this quote on relaxation that had caught my attention previously. It adds another dimension to my thoughts shared in a previous...
by Coach Mat | 15 Jul, 2018 | About Coach Mat, Flow State, Increasing Energy, Motivating Swimmers, Motivation, Running
Do you know what its like to spend energy of one kind in order to gain energy of another kind? That’s what it usually feels like for me when I go swim. It doesn’t have to be ‘easy’ swimming either. Most often I train quite strenuously,...
by Coach Mat | 10 Jun, 2018 | Distance Training, Exhaustion, Feeding, Marathon Distance, Nutrition, Recommended Reading, Running, Triathlon
The question about feeding has come up with some swimmers preparing for long swim (more than 2 hours). Something like, “I start to feel suddenly quite tired after an hour or so, and I think I need some food to keep going. What should I eat and drink? This...
by Coach Mat | 1 Apr, 2018 | About Coach Mat, Boredom, Burn Out, Fitness Training, Motivation, Other Related Sports, Practice Series, Running, Training Theory, Triathlon, Triathlon Swimming
We are continuing our discussion of The Habit Of Exercise. This is Part 3 of 4. Consistency Is Key We do need variety to keep it interesting and to keep the nervous system stimulated for growth. But it is also very important to be consistent in a regular...
by Coach Mat | 4 Mar, 2018 | Aging and Improvement, Coaching Adults (Masters), Design Principles, Injury, Lessons From Elites, Mastery Process, Pain, Running, Self Limiting Exercises, SPL, Stroke Length (SL), Tempo, Stroke Rate (SR), Yoga
I can’t emphasize this enough, because it is a cornerstone of our care for adult athletes: we train for superior technique because that is what is going to keep our body pleasantly functional into our oldest age . Taking off from the way it was said in the...
