Training | Mediterra Swim & Run

Be Powerful and Be Smooth About It

by Coach Mat | 24 Oct, 2020

I have a saying: “Power is important, but (in water) shape is more important than power.” I use it to persuade a student to be patient with our process of developing the frame of the body and the streamline shape before we focus directly on the propulsive...

Benefits of Non-Judgment in Your Training

by Coach Mat | 11 Oct, 2020

Practicing non-judgment in athletic training has been one of the more liberating experiences I’ve had. It opens me up to more information, a more complex and nuanced understanding of my body and performance, and it allows me to form the kind of emotional...

Take Your Training Plan To A Higher Level

by Coach Mat | 1 Feb, 2020

Just the other day one of my swimmers was describing his weekly training plan in order to get my input on it. His goal is to build up his capabilities over the next few months in order to prepare for his first Alcatraz Triathlon with a 1.5 mile swim (2.4 km), and a...

About Making Good Choices

by Coach Mat | 26 Jan, 2020

I was out on a run through the rough, muddy, and very slippery trails of Roads End State Park on the Oregon Coast today. While navigating some treacherous sections of the trail, and loosing footing occasionally, I was pondering what I said in my previous post about...

Don’t Stop At The Wall!

by Coach Mat | 29 Dec, 2019

Stopping Is Not Natural Can you imagine running 10 km (up to an hour for some folks) or even 5 km (up to a half hour) in a race or for fitness and doing it in a basketball court? And, rather than run loops around the perimeter of the court, imagine covering that...

How To ‘Lift Weights’ In The Water – Part 2

by Coach Mat | 14 Dec, 2019

This is continuing from How To ‘Lift Weights’ In The Water – Part 1… The Primary Form Of Strength At this point in the essay, the main lesson for everyone is that stroke length is the foundation to speed and the better you are at achieving a...