Swim Smooth Perth Squad Blog

Rottnest 2020 Squad Results - some tremendous performances in some very "un-fast" conditions

paul@swimsmooth.com (PaulNewsome) — Mon, 24 Feb 2020 18:40:00 +0800

Squad Swimmer Francesca Perugia all zinc-ed up and ready to roll!

Dear Swimmers

I hope you had a great weekend and if you were involved in anyway with the 2020 Rottnest Channel Swim, I hope you have some of your own great stories and experiences to share!

The top-line:

All up we had a total of 37 Solos, 20 Duos, and 24 Team members out there on the day, plus about the same again skippering, paddling and assisting on the boat deck. It’s so great seeing so many of you get behind this iconic event!

The Elephant In The Room: “Perfect Conditions”

The Elephant In The Room:

OK, so let’s start off by discussing the elephant in the room - the so-called “perfect” conditions that faced the swimmers on the morning of 22nd February.

2020 proved to be a year pumped-up in anticipation much like our two reports on the 2017 swim:

1 Managing Expectation With Reality
2 So Just How Hard Was The Rottnest Channel Swim 2017?

Rather than regurgitate these reports here (as the conditions and slow times proved to be very similar), if you’re feeling a little disappointed with your times this year, these two reports from 3 years ago reportedly saved many, many swimmers many, many dollars on seeking psychological counselling for what they believed was a “poor performance” given how supposedly “good” the conditions were; that’s really not that much of a joke - some people were really put out by this, and here’s why:

Everything you would have read and even “felt” before the race looked like it was going to be a smooth ride across to the island, but as we set off through the Fremantle Harbour and out into the lumpy ocean conditions with a much stronger wind blowing than predicted to collect our swimmer (186 - Bec Johnson from the Type 1 Diabetes Family Centre), we knew immediately that it wouldn’t be a fast year. Relaying this information early on in the race to Bec allowed her to accept and be “at peace” with that fact rather than let expectation start to run away from reality.

When I swam the English Channel in 2011, the very best piece of advice anyone gave me as we set off into the 25-30 knot headwind was from former English Channel record holder Lyndon Dunsbee “mate, get ready for a long day out there today - a 12-14 hour swim would be a “good effort” today”. I had hoped to be closer to 9 hours that day and was in prime condition, so hearing this from someone I trusted immediately allowed me to settle down, relax and get on with the job in hand, however long that was going to take. And of course, this is what open water swimming is all about. Like Forrest Gump said, “life is like a box of chocolates - you never know what you’re going to get!” and in many ways open water swimming is the same - we are at the beck and call of Mother Nature - our nemesis ultimately proves to be our own mind that plays with the thoughts “it was supposed to be great out here today, it doesn’t feel great, my times are slow - I bet everyone else other than me is having a ripper of a day!”

So, if you haven’t yet looked back at all the fantastic stats and charts from the two links above and are still feeling down on your times, check this summary from the 2020 swim by Julian Mills who swims with squad coach Ross Robertson:

…the further to the top-right of the chart, the slower the swim was on any given year both for the fastest swimmer and for the average time of the Solo field. So for 2020, only 2009, 2017, 2006 and 2003 (the latter two being brutal years on the very verge of cancellation) have been slower years for the majority of swimmers in the last two decades. More interestingly, if you swam 2018 and 2020 (as many people frequently do alternate years), the average time was close to an hour slower!!

Now, what the above chart does not account for is the massive level of Solo participation this year with some 415 finishers from a start list of 450. This is much bigger than previous years, and as per the trend from this wonderful stats site http://cspf.co.uk/solo-swims-statistics-2 about the English Channel where the average swim times have actually been getting slower over the last 40 years despite participation and success rates sky-rocketing almost threefold. Why is this? Well, as we discussed last week in our podcast with English Channel World Record Holder, Tom Gregory, who in 1988 swam the English Channel at the age of 11 years and 333 days, it’s quite possibly a factor of more less experienced swimmers taking on the challenge, rather than seeing the event as “only for supermen” as they might have done in previous years. This of course is a great thing for the sport, but why we also need to be careful about how much we read into these summary statistics.

The Results:

So, if we have to be cautious about looking at summary statistics, what can we use to know if we have had a good swim or not? Sometimes, relativity is your best course of action, but even then (as we’ll discuss in a moment and this Thursday’s podcast with special guest, Bec Johnson who successfully completed swim 1 of 3 of her “Life Without Limits” campaign for the Type 1 Diabetes Family Centre) this can be problematic as how do you know if you had a blinder but your squad mate had a total shocker, or vice versa?

Anyway, here’s how our swimmers did:

SOLO

Peach = top-3 swimmers for context* / Yellow = 1-2-1 clients (or remotely advised athletes)

*plus Simon Murie (who many, many of you will know as owning “Swim Trek” whom we’re currently organising a formal partnership with as we speak - stay tuned!). Here’s me and Simon pre-race (yes, yes, he’s quite a bit taller and more handsome than me 😉):

The “Totally Bonkers” Award (red stars) goes to Nathan Linehan and Coach Ross who both swam to Rottnest (20km), Rode Across Rottnest (20km) and then Ran Back Across Rottnest (20km) to be two of only 5 athletes this year to complete the annual "20/20/20 Extreme Triathlon":

Stroke for Stroke!

Proud Swag!

DUO

TEAM

Massive congratulations to all of you, with a special shout out to Kristy Brackstone and Rachelle Doyle who individually won their respective Age Groups (40-44 and 45-49) - love your work ladies!

We also had Top-10s from:

• Ben MacKinnon

• Nathan Linehan

• Ross Robertson

• Fletcher Barr

• Vaughan Davies

• John McCann

• Nicole Whitehead

• Bec Johnson

• Francesca Perugia

• Manue Hooper-Bue

• Lorraine Driscoll

These are exceptional results everyone!

All of our DUO swimmers managed Top-10 placings in their respective categories with a notable overall win from Brad Smith and Jack Wilson. Given that these boys can hold (quite comfortably) under 1:10 per 100m in a 5-10 min change-over swim, their average pace of over 1:20 per 100m again points towards a slower than “usual" year. Squad stalwart, Rob Franklyn and his partner narrowly missed out picking up the top of the podium in the 100+ category - well done gents! I was very impressed with the way Jeremy and Vinka rocketed past us in the dying stages of the swim to also claim 2nd in their category as did Bill Adlam and his partner in the 100+ mixed. Despite a dodgy shoulder, Steve Sammut and his partner managed a very commendable 3rd spot too.

This year we didn’t have so many swimmers racing in the TEAM event (I know any of you are holding out for the Port-to-Pub swim in 4 weeks), but well done to Alen, John, Tom, Shannon, Vanita and the comeback-kid Paul Chambers for your efforts out there - hope you had a blast!

My View - Bec Johnson - CEO of Type 1 Diabetes Family Centre:

I was very privileged to spend the day on the boat of Solo Squad Swimmer Bec Johnson as she made her bid to complete the first of the following within the next 2 months:

1 Rottnest Channel Swim (19.7km)

2 Port-to-Pub Ultra-Marathon (25km)

3 Rottnest Channel Swim Double (~40km)

Bec was diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes at the age of 17 and is on a mission through her work as CEO at the “Type 1 Diabetes Family Centre” to prove that it’s possible to Live A Life Without Limits (www.lifewithoutlimits.com.au where you can donate). I have been so in awe of Bec’s commitment these past 12 months towards this goal that I jumped at the chance of being involved. When Bec asked all her support crew last weekend in our final team briefing “what’s your motivation to assist with this campaign?” all I could come up with was that I wanted her to get across safely (we all did) and that I was simply curious about how her fuelling strategy was of absolute paramount importance and what this looked like in reality.

Bec with squad swimmer Mark Wallis before the gun!

We’re going to get Bec on our podcast later this week to discuss that strategy in finer detail as - through discussion post her brilliantly successful swim and P.B on the weekend (when most - as discussed above - were slower than expected) - we believe that there’s a lot everyone can learn from Bec with respect to managing glucose levels for better performance, but that this doesn’t just happen on the day, it starts way back with the right approach to your training and pacing strategies too. This is where Bec’s “win” this weekend really came from - not what happened on the day, but in all the planning and preparation that went with it, simply because she has to live life this way. Incredible.

Vince Connelly MP even had this to say about Bec “The Powerhouse” Johnson today in Federal Parliament: https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=124768488976428 - go Bec!

I couldn’t refuse a photo of this!

We elected to follow the “go north” advice of Bureau of Meteorology expert and 20th place finisher, Bob Tarr, whom I’ve been advising in a 1-2-1 capacity for a number of years and also through various squad sessions over the years. In fact, our GPS trace via the www.mapswim.com tracker was almost identical to Bob’s - we could see where he’d been about an hour before us and just followed this line. It proved to work very well.

Bec set a steady 18-18:30/km true swimming pace and a perfectly consistent 64spm stroke rate and essentially dialled that in all day. We’d stop every hour to monitor blood glucose levels to ensure they were in the right range and intervene with small doses of glucose (in the form or gels or liquid) if they weren’t. Bec’s speed through these transitions was exemplary and the whole team got involved in the process - it was great! Just before the 12km mark (and after verifying it with the Race Director) I hopped in to keep Bec company and we swam stroke-for-stroke up until the 18km marker. I really enjoyed this, but had to be really mindful that what had made Bec’s crossing so successful so far was the consistent pace she’d set herself - if I were to try to lift her pace we’d run the risk of chewing too much glycogen which could be catastrophic, so this was as much about simply keeping another swimmer company as it was chivvying their pace along.

There was never any doubt that Bec would make it across and everything was cool, calm and collected on the boat. Bec’s two paddlers (Liam and Edel) were just brilliant and Amy (on comms and medical support) was always in control. Rob did a brilliant job of keeping to the line we had pre-agreed upon and I was mainly in charge of Speedo bum-wiggle-dances on the boat to keep Bec entertained.

Once we’d made it across, I was super impressed with how quickly Bec recovered (again, testament to her in-depth planning and the right type of training). She looked fresh as a daisy almost instantly (as you’ll see in the picture journal below).

I’m really enthused to share a deeper dive into Bec’s swim with you all, but will save that for the podcast later this week where we’ll bring in a couple of industry nutrition experts to discuss this as well. Stay tuned!

Well done everyone, here’s some closing pics - enjoy and ’til next year!

Glucose levels trending downwards (as to be expected) but we had to be a little careful in the final hour where Bec got slightly low

We swam north of the rhumb-line, taking advice and inspiration from Bureau of Meteorology expert and 20th place finisher, Bob Tarr

Ominous skies at the 10km (northern) mark

So, so strong and always consistent with pacing (18min/km), stroke rate (64spm) and smiling (x 1,000)!

We would go live on Facebook every 30 minutes with an update for the thousands of people around the world inspired by Bec’s story

After verifying it was OK with the Race Director, I hopped in from 12 to 18km to keep Bec company - I loved it!

Bec’s post-race recovery was phenomenally quick!

I think the beard needs to go!

Me, Liam and Edel (missing in action: Amy on comms and Captain Rob)

Back to reality and no rest for the wicked! After a day that started at 3am and after 2 full weeks pulling 16hr days with the Certified Coaches, I arrived home wanting to collapse but had Jackson badgering me to build a skateboard ramp - and so we did!

Good luck to our Rotto swimmers and a bit of inspiration in the form of an 11yr old boy!

paul@swimsmooth.com (PaulNewsome) — Wed, 19 Feb 2020 15:03:00 +0800

Hey Swimmers

Hope you've had a good start to the week and if you've made it down to the squad sessions over the last 10 days that you've benefitted from the added assistance of the 10 coaches we've had on pool deck - their assistance with the 7am Monday Pure Technique Session offering plenty of stroke correction advice to every swimmer, was a particular highlight for us.

We just wanted to take this opportunity to wish those of you competing at the Rottnest Channel Swim this Saturday the very best of luck. The conditions look great at this stage with a light ENE wind shifting to NW in the early afternoon with the possibility of a bit of drizzle in the morning (40%).

I'll be assisting squad swimmer Bec Johnson with swim one of three of her amazing marathon swimming campaign as part of her "Life Without Limits 2020" bid to raise awareness and funds for Diabetes WA. Bec will also be swimming the Port to Pub 25km swim and then a Rottnest double attempt a few weeks after that. Totally amazing! You can find out more about this here:

https://www.facebook.com/lifewithoutlimits2020/

...and on the ABC radio interview here:

https://www.abc.net.au/radio/perth/programs/focus/type1/11977062

And if you're looking for a little inspiration for this weekend in the form of our podcast last week with the world's youngest ever English Channel Swimmer, Tom Gregory, who swam the Channel in 1988 at the age of 11yrs 333 days (!) why not have a little listen here - you'll be very glad you did! Here's the link:

https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/swim-smooth/id1441577778

Finally, this age-old article on tips on how to avoid (and deal with!) shoulder issues this weekend, take a look here:

https://swimsmoothperth.blogspot.com/2012/02/tips-to-manage-shoulder-fatigue-pain.html

Good luck everyone and see you on the island!

Paul

56 Swim Smooth Squad Swimmers Smashing it in Busso!

paul@swimsmooth.com (PaulNewsome) — Sun, 9 Feb 2020 14:55:00 +0800

Hey Swimmers

Now I know why it's felt so quiet up here in Perth this weekend - because 56 of you were smashing it down in Busso at the Jetty Swim instead - well done!

FANTASTICO!

Some brilliant results I have to say - check them out here:

LINK

An absolute stand-out performance today from Mary Tennant (Lane 1 M/W/F at 9.30am and godmother to my son Jackson!) who completed the 3.6km course in 1h17m55s which is an average pace of 2:09/100m. Mary competes in the 60-64yr age category and has been swimming with me in various squads since about 2002 when I coached up at Challenge Stadium for the Stadium Triathlon Club. What makes this such a stand-out performance is that I'd estimate Mary's CSS pace to be about 2:14/100m, i.e. 5s/100m slower than she managed to hold for nearly 3 times the statutory CSS distance (1500m) AND in open water!

There were PBs left, right and centre, and whilst she normally thinks of herself as a cyclist and triathlete and more of a "reluctant swimmer", Nat Laurendeau shows us she had the goods to take out the Age Group win in the 50-54yr category, as did Kristy Brackstone in the 40-44yr category and Viki Shelver in the 65-69 Age Group.

Our strongest male performance was from Coach Ross who averaged 1:22/100m (about his CSS pace) with another fine effort from Jeremy Hadfield to finish 5th in the 40-44 Age Group category.

Some great results all round everyone - very proud of your efforts - I think I shall have to get down there myself next year (having only done this event of nearly 2,000 swimmers once before).

COACHES ON DECK THIS WEEK!

Don't forget, we will have 10 coaches including myself on pool deck at every session for the next fortnight. These are some of the best swim coaches on the planet who've been hand-selected by yours truly to take our Swim Smooth Coach Certification program and thus go on to run their own Swim Smooth Squad in their locale. To date we have 50 coaches worldwide and the interest in this program is only getting stronger, which is great news!

You can read more about these coaches here:

LINK

Make sure you get registered early for some of the key sessions over the next fortnight to avoid missing the coaches whilst they are here.

We have good availability in tomorrow and next Monday's Pure Technique Session and in the 9.30am W/F sessions and next Saturday at 5.30am, but all the early morning midweek sessions have in some cases over 25 people on the waitlist, so if you cannot attend and have a spot booked, please be courteous to your fellow swimmers by cancelling early to allow them to benefit from such an amazing coach-swimmer ratio.

HEART RATE / STROKE DATA:

Over the next fortnight, we'll be getting you all to test some exciting new wearable technology* and software we've been developing to both give you greater insight into your swimming form and to allow the coaches to learn more about the effectiveness of your training. If you didn't see this article on Friday (well worth a read, it's been getting some rave reviews online: LINK) AND you think you might have hit a bit of a plateau with your swimming performance of late, we are certain that the combination of these two aspects of your swimming might shed some light as to how you can make some further inroads with your swimming. We know you'll be excited to get involved with this.

*PLEASE LET US KNOW VIA RETURN EMAIL IF YOU SPECIFICALLY OWN AN APPLE WATCH AS WE ARE NEARLY READY TO LET YOU BETA TEST SOME OF THIS TECH YOURSELF - EXCITING TIMES!

That's it for now, see you on pool deck in the morning!

Paul

Swimmers - please welcome your NEW coaches for 10-22 February!

paul@swimsmooth.com (PaulNewsome) — Thu, 30 Jan 2020 09:25:00 +0800

Dear Swimmers

This year marks the 10th anniversary of us welcoming a cohort of highly experienced international coaches to the brilliant Claremont Pool to undergo 2 weeks of intensive Swim Smooth Certification and mentorship by the team of Paul, Adam, Emma and new team member, Myffy. The coaches will be with us from 10-22 February - perfect time for your final Rottnest Channel Swim preparations - and we hope that you will welcome them with open arms as you always do!

The coaches this year come from:

Canada
England
Wales
Ireland
United Arab Emirates
New Zealand

New this year, the coaches have already begun many of their certification tasks using a new Learning Management System which we've built over the last 12 months to ensure a more fluid and comprehensive training program for them all. They'll be hitting the ground running and then following the 2 weeks in Perth will have a few final assignments to submit before they go on to become fully-fledged Swim Smooth Coaches in their respective regions. This will bring our global number of coaches to 56, many of whom will be travelling to Mallorca, Spain at the end of May to join us for our very first collective Coaches Conference to celebrate the 10 years working together and helping to improve the world of swim coaching everywhere. Exciting times.

Here's a little BIO for each of the coaches coming in February for your reference:

Samantha Bradley (neé Warriner), Taupo, New Zealand, 2008 World Triathlon Champion (listen to our podcast with Sam here):

Sam says: "I am passionate about helping others achieve their goals. After being a former Pro myself I love sharing my expertise and stories. I am currently head coach at sweat7. I run a triathlon swim squad here in Taupo that includes 2x open water swim sessions and 2 pool sessions. I have been trying to get on a Swim Smooth course for quite a while but never in right area. I love coaching but need my knowledge updating and a new stimuli. I love seeing athletes improve their technique and helping them gain confidence in open water. But I am now looking to improve my knowledge and educate myself further. This course excites me!"

Andrea Garrington, Bridgend, South Wales, UK:

Andrea says: "I have worked in training and development for most of my career. I suppose it is safe to say that helping people realise their full potential has been the focus of my professional life. I 'discovered' triathlon 9 years ago and it seemed a natural progression to become involved in coaching. I was supported by my club as we had no female coaches. My particular interest is working with middle aged women. I believe I can relate to them, appreciating their personal challenges and showing how triathlon can transform them both physically and mentally. We now have an amazing supportive group, having the most enjoyable and satisfying time of our lives."

Penny Mullan, Vancouver, Canada:

Penny says: "My strength is keeping the enjoyment in swimming for those who are either burned out or have anxiety around swimming. I have a background in Life Coaching and have worked as a Life/Fitness coach for many years. The Life Coach skills play a huge part in my success as a coach. I use my intuitive and listening skills every time I step onto the deck. I also have a keen eye for stroke deficiencies. I don't always know the best way to direct improvement, this is why I would love to get more training from your program to improve in this area."

Brent Perkins, Northampton, England, UK:

Brent says: "I am good team player, and looking to improve all the time and want to become a Swim Smooth certified coach in the fullness of time. I coached and worked last year 2018 with. 9 athletes that had never completed a full distance triathlon some could not swim or ride a bike, all 9 complete Challenge Roth and raised £242,000 for GOSH."

Maxine Strain, Dublin, Ireland:

Maxine says: "I literally grew up in a pool. Being South African, I guess it came with the territory! I absolutely love the water and have only come to swim teaching/coaching in the last 18 months. Having spent most of my adult life working in sales, marketing, event management, PR...you get the picture...I love to work with people, I decided I needed to get a better work/life balance. I am a mum of 4 so having a flexible career was something I wanted so I decided to make that happen. For many years I had heard others say that you should find your passion and you will never work a day in your life. I believed such a thing existed, but how would I get there? About 2 years ago I decided to put aside all of my fears, ditch my day job and train as a swim teacher. I didn't realise how much I actually knew people AND swimming. I have been hooked ever since!"

Paolo Mangilinan, Dubai, United Arab Emirates:

Paolo says: "Working with kids and adults for almost 6 years now, I have gained a lot of experience to handle any abilities in swimming, whether they are beginner, advanced swimmer or elite swimmer/triathlete and to get selected by Swim Smooth would be great for me to reach the full potential to be a better coach."

Here's to a great 2 weeks!

Cheers,

Paul

15 years of thank yous! Swim Smooth turns 15!

paul@swimsmooth.com (PaulNewsome) — Sat, 21 Dec 2019 01:59:00 +0800

Hey Swimmers

In case you missed the blog on our main "Feel For The Water" platform, today we celebrate a very special milestone in Swim Smooth history with our 15th birthday! That's right, it was 15 years ago to the day since we launched Swim Smooth in sunny Perth and since those days we now have Swim Smooth in 119 countries around the world via our governing body partners of the International Triathlon Union and British Triathlon who choose us above all others for their swim coaching curriculum - something we're hugely proud about!

We also have now 50 coaches operating around the world running exact replicas of the very special group we have here in Perth too.

One of my biggest passions and "WHYs" for what we do is to help raise the standard of swim coaching for adult swimmers, triathletes and open water swimmers worldwide, so in conjunction with our own certified coaches program and that of the international governing bodies we are making a significant impact on that aim and hope to do so for many years to come.

Absolutely none of this would be possible without your support and dedication over the years and making the Perth Squad the centre-piece that it is and something I wake up to every morning grateful to be engaging in a career I am truly passionate about. Yes, it's been a tough year this year, but we're forging ahead and currently recharging our batteries to make 2020 our biggest and best yet. Thanks so much for coming along on that ride!

You can see some cool historical pictures and images from our other Swim Smooth Squads around the world here:

http://www.feelforthewater.com/2019/12/swim-smooth-celebrates-our-15th-birthday.html

...and you might even spy yourself in this cool video we've put together here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FH45dq8o7H8

Thanks again - have a great Christmas!

Paul & the team

Swim Smooth KIDS & JUNIORS coming to Claremont Pool this June!

paul@swimsmooth.com (PaulNewsome) — Mon, 13 May 2019 22:24:00 +0800

Dear Swimmers

I have some GREAT news for you all, and something that's been a LOOOOOONNNNGGGGG time coming!

Swim Smooth KIDS & JUNIORS!

5 years in the making...the Swim Smooth KIDS & JUNIORS teaching and coaching curriculum is coming to Claremont Pool every Saturday morning from June 15th onwards for kids aged between 7 and 14*!

Winning doesn't necessarily mean finishing first!

*subject to swimming ability (see below) we may consider kids and juniors slightly below / above this age range by +/- 1-2 years.

The premise of the program (at least initially) is to run a concurrent, fun training session for both adults and their kids utilising water space in the 50m pool (adults) and 25m pool (kids) between 0530 and 0700 every Saturday morning, culminating with an optional buffet-style family breakfast at Fred’s cafeteria.

"Five thirty...on a Saturday!" I hear you saying, and, "starting in the winter months?!" - we've never been ones for following "rules" and believe that the combination of the goal of getting you swimming "with" your kids followed by a family social breakfast all well before any other Saturday activities start, will become a staple in the western suburb's weekend routine. At the very least, we're willing and committed to giving this great initiative a bit of a crack and a fair go, as we really believe in the value that this experience will bring to many families.

We’ve been running the adult program since April 2018 on a Saturday morning and it's firmly established itself as the most fun session of the week and the best way to start your weekend off on the right track! This will still continue in the same capacity, even if you don't have kids of course! However, if you do have kids, we want to bring this same experience to your children and at the same time help solve the issue that many young families have of “who’s looking after the kids whilst I go and swim?” which is especially problematic on a Saturday morning when there’s often a tug of war of who can swim - often resulting in stalemate with neither attending!!

Head Coach, Paul Newsome, has been voluntarily coaching the Mount Claremont Primary School swim team for the last three years and will be bringing the fun flair that this program has garnered a reputation for to the Saturday morning session - see more here:

Watch our 3 minute intro on the program to see how you / your family might be able to take part in this great initiative! Watch the video at https://vimeo.com/334819327

We are really hoping to create a very special family affair on a Saturday morning to complement what has been a very successful program down at the Claremont Pool since 2008.

In a nutshell, the kids program will be very different - and designed to complement rather than compete against - the other successful and commendable kids programs at the pool due to it a) being run in conjunction with an adult session, b) most of those adults being parents to the kids in the pool, c) the early start on a Saturday morning to really boost health and the start to a fun family weekend!

Register you interest here:

Please register your kid's interest for joining the program here:

https://forms.gle/QdUgTUawQu1NrvXZA

We'd appreciate if you could fill out the form above for any / all of your kids between the ages of 7 and 14 (by all means for anything below / above this age range, please complete and we'll consider +/- 1-2 years as the program develops).

Places can now be booked within the main Swim Smooth Perth Squad app, but we'll also need fuller details from the form above too - thanks!

We will be hiring the whole 25m pool every Saturday morning, but even then, places will be limited and those registering first will have the first option of reserving "Permanent OPT OUT" places just like in the main adult squad.

Looking for some volunteers - can you help?

We aim to have 1-2 coaches on pool deck running the adult component (still created by Paul) and 1-2 coaches taking the kids and juniors. Head Coach, Paul, will be overseeing both programs each week. We are seeking additional volunteers to assist in the smooth delivery of the program each week. If you're keen to receive some free training and to lend your hand to the next generation of Swim Smooth Perth participants, please register your interest here:

https://forms.gle/BCAgAGGzbVn1HXZm6

How is Swim Smooth different to the other kids programs out there...

...save for the bizarre fact that you're starting at 0530 every Saturday and during winter ("it'll never work!" they say!)?

You can learn more about the Swim Smooth KIDS & JUNIORS curriculum and philosophy which we've been secretly developing in deepest, darkest Prague in the Czech Republic with our brilliant certified coach Gabriela Minarikova over the last 5 years in this 7 minute video clip:

Watch the video about the genesis of our kids program here: https://vimeo.com/335844160

What's the cost? How does payment work?

We are going to keep the exact same payment system you're all used to using, using the same platform / app but all at a concessionary rate! Yay to that!

If your kids are swimming "solo" (i.e. and you're not attending the Saturday session), the fee will be $120 for 10 sessions, or a very good value $12 per session* for 1.5hrs including 30 minutes of dryland warm-up exercises and fun games.

If you're bringing your kids along to swim "with" you (our ultimate aim), they'll score an extra 2 sessions for free, so you get 12 sessions for $120 or just $10 per session*.

*these are introductory rates for the program, if we re-assess, it'll always be in favour of extra discount for you swimming with your child. We hope that helps!

The SQUAD for kids who don't do SQUAD!

This isn't strictly true (squad kids can also apply!), but if your kids have some passion and enthusiasm for swimming and can complete 50m of freestyle, backstroke, breaststroke with some fluency and can just about manage a 25m lap of butterfly (give or take), we are happy for them to apply for the squad!

We will be grading the lanes by ability as opposed to age, and will create a fun program that your kids want to be part of, even if the idea of a "proper" swim squad maybe doesn't appeal to them!

We aim to create a lifelong love of swimming and will do this through our entirely unique approach of recognising that: a) your stroke doesn't necessarily have to look textbook perfect for you to be effective (see www.swimtypes.com); and that b) swimming for swimming's enjoyment sake, is just as commendable as aiming for the Olympic Games!

If we do happen to produce some future champions though, then that's OK too of course, but we'll have hopefully done it in a lifelong, sustainable way.

So many kids find swimming in squads ultimately dull and boring, so we want to change that. More than anything though, we want your children to have the opportunity to attend swim practice with you, at the same facility, completing a similar type of enjoyable session, and perhaps even having an occasional KIDS vs ADULTS race, so that you can both enjoy the experience, look forward to going for a swim, and then be able to engage and chat over a yummy breakfast about the highs and lows of the session!

We believe that this new Saturday morning set-up is a world first and we would love for you and your family to be part of it!

Please register your kid's interest for joining the program here:

https://forms.gle/QdUgTUawQu1NrvXZA

Paul Away & update on the back injury (including some useful stats we can hopefully all benefit from!)

paul@swimsmooth.com (PaulNewsome) — Mon, 13 May 2019 21:07:00 +0800

Dear Swimmers

Whilst Paul's away, the mice will play!

As you're probably aware, I will be away from the squad from Monday 13th May and returning Friday 7th June. During my absence, both Coach Sally and Coach Ross will be cracking the whip, so please make sure you're still getting down, especially whilst the weather is so good!

My work itinerary sees the following:

Monday 13th May to Monday 20th May in Prague, Czech Republic to finalise our Swim Smooth KIDS & JUNIORS program (more on this in another post)
Monday 20th May to Tuesday 4th June in Mallorca, Spain to both run two 3-day Swim Smooth Coach Education Courses and to also support the Best Festival of Open Water Swimming where I will be the guest coach alongside dual Olympic silver medallist Jazz Carlin

Sadly, due to my recent back injury, I have had to withdraw from competing in the "Best Fest" as I've done for the last 3 years, so I'm going to hone my energies into some good coverage of the event whilst having the opportunity to interview some of the best open water swimmers on the planet for our new podcast (check out our most recent one with David Davies, dual Olympic medallist and Britain's only swimmer to win an Olympic medal in the pool and open water).

I can't wait to share all of this with you!

Update on the back injury (including some useful stats we can hopefully all benefit from!)

If you read the above Instagram post from Monday 15th April, you'll see I was somewhat gloating about the amount of hard work myself and Adam and the rest of the Swim Smooth team have been putting in recently to discover and train up the next generation of Swim Smooth Coaches. Who'd have thought, that just 5 days later and literally 3 minutes prior to heading off down south to Bremer Bay for a well-earned family holiday with Mish and the kids, I'd be lying on the drive in agony, unable to move due to a prolapsed disc in my lower back causing massive radial nerve pain down my right leg. How ironic - in recognising that holidays are important for that work / life balance we all strive to achieve, I'd obviously put myself in so much of a hole that I wasn't even able to take the holiday and the recovery that would have ensued!

After 9 days totally in bed on a HUGE amount of pain killers, I had to re-start work back on the pool deck on Monday 29th April and work / survive until my last session on Saturday 11th May. A massive thanks to doctors Kirk, Gary, Nolan, Jo, Stephen, Emma and Lorry (plus Mish, of course!) for getting me through this period, which saw multiple trips to imaging clinics, hospitals and two nerve root sleeve injections. Eventually my lower back loosened off and the nerve pain eased (somewhat) enough to contemplate the 30+ hour trip to Prague and then on to Mallorca. I usually travel cattle class (boot-strapping and all that!), but had to take an upgrade to business to ensure I could lay flat.

The good news is I've made it to the UK (not quite Prague yet), but have not done any form of exercise for 23 days (and counting!) which is driving me nuts!! I'm totally aware that I am becoming the classic "chronic pain" case, and it's made me look at my whole work / life balance and how I might be able to modify things - I certainly can't risk another episode like this and am keen to avoid any further surgery to the microdiscectomy I had in December 2013.

So, how does this affect you all?

What we can learn about our health from our sleep patterns:

As you know, I'm an Über-geek when it comes to technology, and a few months ago I bought an Oura Ring to track my sleeping patterns. Of course, I knew the results would be "bad" having to get up 6 out of 7 mornings per week at 4.30am, but check out the results below during the period April 5th to today (13th May):

The middle (green) section is the period during when I injured my back and all I could do was lay in bed and sleep. Typically I average just under 6 hours of sleep a night (something I used to wear as a "badge of honour" believing it showed the integrity of "hard work"). During the green period I was getting more like the recommended 7-9 hours of sleep per night. The effect was incredible on what is called your Readiness Score which uses HRV (Heart Rate Variability) and aRHR (average Resting Heart Rate) to determine how well rested you are. Ironically enough, the ring kept yelling at me that I should be feeling super-human and ready to take on the world, despite being laid up in bed feeling sorry for myself!

In the period prior to the injury (when I was coaching over in the USA), my aRHR and HRV are what I'd describe as "moderately good", during the period of rehab (given all the rest), they are off the charts "good", but when returning back to my normal routine, average HR and HRV are both very "poor" indeed. This is how I've most likely been living since I started Swim Smooth in October 2004 and as I'm ageing, this gives very strong support to the notion that I need to change a few things in order to ensure I don't spiral down into a massive pit of "brokenness"!

All this data is very nice of course, but it's only of value if we do something with it of course. I haven't got an answer for that yet in my situation, but trust me, the warning bells have rung loud and clear and I'm now in a period of deep reflection looking at where I can make these adjustments.

I'd love to hear from any of you who've been through similar periods in your life which prompted change and how you went about that?

Cheers and see you all in a few weeks - hopefully in a better way than when you last saw me grimacing on pool deck!

Thanks for all your support and understanding through what has been a very tough time for me and the family especially #MrGrumpy

Paul

Funky new swim caps coming your way with the 10 week winter program starting Monday 10th June!

paul@swimsmooth.com (PaulNewsome) — Mon, 13 May 2019 20:01:00 +0800

Dear Swimmers

Hope you're doing well. Here's my office right now, sat at the foot of the Serpentine in Hyde Park, London (the scene of the triathlon and open water swimming events at the 2012 Olympics) prior to my flight over to Prague to finalise our Swim Smooth Kids & Juniors program (more on that in another post, shortly):

Funky new, reversible Swim Smooth silicon caps - a gift from us to you!

I wanted to keep you posted on the funky new swim caps we have coming your way...

...the artwork has been done and the first prototype has been made (they need brightening up a bit as you'll see), but if you're a current / active member of the squad, you'll be receiving one of these FREE cool new caps and be encouraged to wear them at each squad session. Why, you ask? Because they're reversible and aimed at being a fun way for you to show myself and the other coaches as well as your swimming buddies, what sort of mood you're in:

BLUE = I'm good to go and ready to rock this place! I'm charged up, I want to lead with that beeper and / or I want your feedback on my stroke*
ORANGE = I'm quite happy to take a bit of a back seat today...Rome wasn't built in a day and I'd prefer just to keep a low profile, thank you very much...don't even think about giving me that beeper!

*during technique sessions

I am sure this will be a bit of fun - even a bit of a social "experiment" - and I'm hoping you'll take it in that capacity and have a little laugh with us every time you don your new silicon Swim Smooth cap (super comfy!)...and yes, you can change your mind mid-session too and switch it around!!

The caps will be with us for the start of the new Swim Smooth Perth Winter Program, details of which are further below.

Fun challenge:

What might be fun to do, is for you to tally up how many times you wear blue vs orange over the course of the 10 week program...something to try at least!

Here's the look:

As every good GOT (Game of Thrones) fan knows, Winter is coming...

As we tail off into the winter, don't let that curtail the healthy habits you've established with regular swim squad attendance. Buoyed up with your cool new Swim Smooth Perth silicon swim cap, you'll be inspired to hit our crowd-favourite winter program running (or swimming!).

The winter program will commence on the 10th June and run for 10 weeks until the 18th August, just in time for you to then start thinking about ramping things up for the spring!

Whilst we have been trialling the mini whiteboards on pool deck in a random session order number, when we commence the program we'll be following these faithfully, in order, to guide us forwards. These sessions have been carefully selected as being both liked by you guys (from your feedback over the last 12-18 months) and also beneficial given their content.

The advantage of the mini whiteboards are:

for those of you in lanes 1 and 4 you will always be able to see what's coming up even though you might not have a direct view of the board
during Pure Technique sessions, this will allow you to work through the set session at your own pace, allowing myself or any of the other coaches to spend better time giving you valuable feedback on your strokes or better demonstrations of the exercises
this will all be keyed up with FREE access for every member of the squad from June to the Standard license of the www.swimsmooth.guru the advantage of which is that we can email through quick video links to watch through drills or technique focal points pre-session for you to really maximise your time in the squad

As ever, your feedback on each session will be really valuable - we'd love to get to the stage where you could hit a button (like above) as you leave each session, thus better catering to your needs and wants!!! Albeit, sometimes the stuff you don't necessarily like can be some of the best stuff for you!

You can watch more about the idea of us trying to make improvements for the benefit of your enjoyment of the squad here: https://vimeo.com/326580604

Cheers

Paul

Port to Pub Results - Coach Ross pulls out a blinder!

paul@swimsmooth.com (PaulNewsome) — Sun, 17 Mar 2019 13:40:00 +0800

Man of the moment: Swim Smooth Perth Coach, Ross Robertson, displays an inspirational level of stoicism to finish 8th overall in the 25km Port to Pub swim - on ya Ross!

Dear Swimmers

Well, there we go! It just goes to show that you can't judge a book by it's cover, hey? I readily admit that I had my doubts come Thursday last week that the Port to Pub might be headed the same way as last year given the weather forecast, and whilst it was anything but "smooth" out there, it was great that everyone got to have their chance to once again conquer the Rottnest Channel! Well done if you made it across!

Some interesting stats, Swim Smooth Perth Squad swimmers and 1-2-1 athletes accounted for:

20% of all Solo swimmers
10% of all Duo swimmers
9% of all Team of 4 swimmers
13% of all Team of 6 swimmers
13% of all Team of 4 assisted swimmers
60% of all Team of 6 assisted swimmers

Here's how those results break down:

A special mention...

I know you shouldn't technically have a "teacher's pet" (especially when it's one of your own coaches!), but what the heck, I'm going to anyway!

What a legend in every way!

Tuesday evening's Technique / Endurance coach Ross Robertson and his wife Mel have had a tough old time these last 18 months since their twins Luke and Harvey were born about 14 weeks premature:

Despite the tough times they've gone through, Ross has never once faltered with his consistency of running the Tuesday evening session (not once!), he's started a revived movement of SwimRun events here in WA with the Shoreline Swim Run Series and even ran a brilliant Olympic Distance Triathlon too. He runs his own swim coaching business in the northern suburbs and this is all just in addition to his normal full-time work. On top of all of that, Ross is a bloody brilliant guy and one of the nicest people you will meet. Always caring and always interested in what others are doing. So it makes me very proud indeed to see him swim a 7h37m 25km ultra-marathon yesterday on the back of a "very average" year of personal performances (his words!). Even just a few days ago, we were discussing how he might pull out of the event in attempt to ease some stress away, but kudos to Ross, he picked his plan to go out super steady and just build from 15km onwards if he could. I'd loved to have seen a virtual pathway of his route moving up through the field, as this strategy paid massive dividends to finish 8th overall! Well done Ross - so, so proud of you mate in light of everything I know you've gone through and how you've been feeling about things of late - a truly brilliant, stoic performance!

Well done to everyone who competed - the Lane 1 (630am) Aquadragons never cease to impress either, coming in with a very commendable time of 7h05m. Well done all!!

Cheers

Paul

P.S I have some cunning plans brewing for a winter challenge which (if we get this new app up soon) could mean some great rewards points towards some cool prizes...watch this space as the show must go on!

Rottnest Channel Swim 2019 Musings

paul@swimsmooth.com (PaulNewsome) — Sun, 10 Mar 2019 20:48:00 +0800

Not as fast as everyone thought...but the question is, "did that get to your head halfway across - a paranoia that everyone else must surely be having a better day than you?"

NOTE: swimmers in blue = top 3 men's times / pink = top 3 women's times / yellow = Swim Smooth Perth Squad swimmers in the 2018/2019 season / green = Paul Newsome's 1-2-1 Video Analysis swimmers and www.swimsmooth.guru users

Dear Swimmers

You'll note my tardiness in getting some response out about this year's Rottnest Channel Swim. Why? Simply because I've used the last two weeks to reflect on the results and also soak up all the feedback and stories from those in the squad (and wider afield) who did the event and their thoughts upon it.

It almost seems eerily ironic that I should have posted this article on Managing Expectation just a few days before the event, and this is also what I've held back with this year's summary too, in the hope that those of you now preparing for next weekend's Port to Pub event, might be in the headspace to try to soak up these views with 5-6 days to go before your big swim.

Whilst I'd highly encourage you to read the article above (about 2017), it basically breaks down like this (as did 2019):

weather forecast looks AMAZING
expectations about what might be possible RISE
excitement BUILDS - could this finally be my year to break XX hours?!
I'm feeling GREAT - I know this is going to be my BIG chance!
weather looks brilliant as you leave the beach and those not swimming are all MOANING about how they're MISSING OUT
you feel pumped - the energy PALPABLE
you find a good rhythm and the SUNRISE IS BEAUTIFUL
you tick off your first few feeds and all is ON TRACK
halfway across you check your time AND ITS NOT QUITE WHAT YOU'D HOPED
don't panic you tell yourself - could be JUST A BLIP?
next time check is still NO BETTER
maybe you're BLOWING UP or HAVING A BAD DAY?
panic sets in - EVERYONE else must be having a blinder, so why not me?!
you eventually get to Thomson's Bay, check out the clock and "on no!" WHAT HAPPENED?! Where's my SUPER FAST TIME?

...and that, as they say, is open water swimming at it's best - always unpredictable!

So yes, the weather was EXCELLENT but what about the CURRENTS - how do you know how these affected things?

First place to start - always look towards the winners: Solomon Wright set the course record in 2018, finally tipping under 4 hours. There's nothing to suggest he had a bad swim this year (he came a very creditable 2nd behind an equally great performance from Sam Sheppard and a further 7 minutes ahead of Perth "wonderkid" and one of my personal heroes, Rhys Mainstone), but he went 22 minutes slower than last year. That's nearly 9% slower on a day which, on the outset, looked just magic. Add that kind of margin to a 7 hour swimmer and you're adding nearly 40 minutes additional time. Furthermore, the longer you're out there exposed to the elements (SW wind picking up, possible strengthening of the current etc), and you can be assured that the conditions this year were anything but the idyllic conditions that we were all conjuring up in our heads. But therein lies the problem - our heads - when you're out there right in the thick of it, unsure of which way is truly west, or exactly how fast you're moving or what the currents are doing - the story so many of us tell ourselves when TIME IS OUR ONLY MEASURE is that we must be failing. How much of this then ultimately adds to our time and the feeling of how well we have or haven't done?

To this day, my biggest regret is my first ever solo finish in 2009. I desperately wanted to break 5 hours and felt I could probably fit inside the Top-20. I had done some training with David Cox (who went on to win the event) and I can recall our conversation on the start-line like it was yesterday: David told me "these brilliant conditions are ripe for the record, and I'm going to be the guy to do it!" - and yet he was one of only 5 swimmers to break 5 hours that year, finishing over 40 minutes behind the 2000 record of Mark Saliba. 40 minutes! Now David wasn't a dreamer - he was a brilliant swimmer - but I should have been looking at his result when I came across the line totally deflated with a 5h24m swim and yet I'd finished 6th male and 9th overall. I should have been chuffed, but I wasn't - I only saw 5h24m and in that I saw FAILURE.

Of course, in the past 10 years and having coached many hundreds of Solo swimmers myself now, having swum the English Channel in 2011 in atrocious conditions and managing a time little better than "average" but equally smashing the Manhattan Island Marathon Swim (46km) in 2013 with the overall title in super-fast speeds, I have come to really understand that there's really very little you can do out there other than trust in your training and manage your expectation when you're at it tooth and nail. Never assume that everyone else is having a better day than you just purely on your target times and paces. This is why we do so much training with the beepers to really dial in your paces so that you truly know what effort level you can sustain for whatever distance - if that results in brilliant times (like the Busselton Jetty Swim this year) because the conditions were so good, great! But if it means that your swim times were slower than expected at the Rottnest Channel Swim, then they are what they are. All you can really do is look at those around you as your benchmark - those that you've been swimming against all season and how they stacked up against you. But one thing's for sure - if you complete that swim, it's NEVER A FAILURE.

So, that all being said, congratulations to everyone who made it across to Thomson's Bay last fortnight and good luck to those of you trying again next weekend at the Port to Pub swim. Interestingly enough, the conditions for this Saturday are in stark contrast to two weeks ago - the wind looks set to be strong early on from the SW at this stage, so it'll be interesting to see how people's expectations fair this week in light of that...

...one things for sure, YOU CAN'T CHANGE IT - you've just got to do your best and keep those arms ticking over until you get there!

Well done everyone - whether you be Solo, Duo or Team - what a brilliant achievement to have under your belt!

Cheers

Your Proud Coach, Paul

Tips for this weekend's 2019 Rottnest Channel Swim

paul@swimsmooth.com (PaulNewsome) — Tue, 19 Feb 2019 14:27:00 +0800

Dear Swimmers

In 4 days time many of you will be on Thomson's Bay sucking back a coldie or two and celebrating how you made it across to Rottnest amidst what were some favourable swimming conditions!

I'm always asked to give my thoughts a few day out on what the weather will be like come race day and I usually precede by saying:

"Que sera, sera...whatever will be will be!"

Always at the forefront of my mind when preparing a great number of you to take on this epic swim, is how to prepare you for a wide-ranging multitude of scenarios - to make you the most versatile swimmer you can possibly be. There's always an undertone to every session we do in this regard:

MONDAY (Pure Technique) - we work on the ability to switch and change breathing sides at will and to be able to cope with the need to go a few extra strokes (2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9...) if needs. We work on posture and alignment and your ability to swim the straightest possible line
TUESDAY (Technique / Endurance) - we work on developing your steady state aerobic capacity and your ability to swim with enhanced rhythm into waves, swell and chop through the use of pull buoy, paddles and bands.
WEDNESDAY (Red Mist Endurance) - we work on your ability to pace yourself out well and sustain this, even when you're not feeling at your very best...if you can be the best version of yourself even when you're having a crap day, then you'll go well! Mental fortitude is what Wednesdays are always about.
THURSDAY / FRIDAY (CSS Development) - the one and only number you ever need to know and be aware of as a distance freestyler is your CSS pace...if this gets quicker then everything you do over 400m improves.
SATURDAY (Stoic) - a sage reminder of how to not take yourself too seriously, how to have fun whilst practicing all of the above and to always be grateful for your ability to take onboard these crazy challenges, no matter how daunting they might sometimes appear...no one is holding a gun to your head saying "you must swim!" - so do it for you and you only and all will go well.

So, with that little pep talk under your belt, let's look at this weekend shall we.

First off, your resources:

WEATHER - I like the Willy Weather app (available here: https://itunes.apple.com/au/app/willyweather/id592978502?mt=8)
CURRENTS - the UWA Coastal Oceanography is excellent in this regard (http://www.coastaloceanography.org)
TRACKING - I like the MapSwim app (available here: https://itunes.apple.com/au/app/mapswim/id600020356?mt=8)

Predictions:

The currents around Rottnest Island can be quite changeable and there's no specific forecast for those, but from just tracking the last few days, I believe we'll see very light currents moving from South to North accompanied by light to moderate SW winds (a typical sea breeze but perhaps not so strong) which will kick in from around 11am. Many of the Solo swimmers will be well on their way by that point (and some will be in of course!), but as this wind strengthens over the course of the morning / early afternoon, the biggest gains will be for the faster swimmers (as is often the case - read about 2017 here: http://swimsmoothperth.blogspot.com/2017/03/so-just-how-hard-was-rottnest-channel_9.html).

My recommendation would be to stick to a direct line to Rottnest, possibly edging slightly south especially if you are planning on arriving in Thomson's Bay say after midday. I wouldn't be recommending any radical "very" south or "very" north moves this year, as right now, the conditions don't dictate that...but of course these can change! So here's what we're looking at right now, but check those resources on the day before and you should be set.

Wind (on Saturday)

Wind (today)

Water temperature (today)

Currents (today)

Further reading:

Managing expectation: http://swimsmoothperth.blogspot.com/2017/02/rottnest-swim-2017-managing-expectation.html

Tips on managing your shoulders: https://swimsmoothperth.blogspot.com/2012/02/tips-to-manage-shoulder-fatigue-pain.html

Some video tips from me: https://karmagroup.com/swim17/#lP1FB1vluTSkRYBC.97

How many swimming from the squad?

It's interesting to note that this year I believe we've seen our LOWEST uptake on either the Rottnest Channel Swim or the Port-2-Pub Swim and yet THE SQUAD IS AT AN ALL TIME PEAK in terms of consistent attendance.

I know triathlon specifically has seen a down-turn in participation in recent years (TRI Events folded late last year citing this as a reason for example), but I'm not so sure that's the case with open water swimming?

The Busselton Jetty Swim saw it's biggest completion rate ever and some marvellous conditions too.

My belief is that big events like these two swims and also Ironman etc take a huge toll on the body and family / social / work life balance, so it could simply be that in the average life-cycle of the average squad member that priorities are being directed elsewhere perhaps? I'm not sure. My read on it (and I can relate to this myself) is that give me 2-3 solid training sessions a week that challenge me and my limits, maybe have some kind of competitive element to them, keep me fit and healthy but don't destroy me for everything else that I do, and ultimately I'm a happy camper. Whether or not you think that a Red Mist Endurance Set hasn't "destroyed you" as you doze off at your desk over a long macchiato is purely a matter of perspective 😉

That's not to say that no one should consider doing these types of events (or that we wouldn't support them in that quest - we do, gladly!), but that we have quite a collection of stalwarts within the squad who've "been there, done that, collected at least X number of t-shirts" and so perhaps that's where the life cycle of the squad is right now? Que sera...

As we have a large majority of you having swum with the squad for in excess of 10 years (some as many as 17 - wow!), perhaps that's just where we're all at? And that's OK...I'd love to hear your thoughts and opinions on that if you wanted to email me back? Am I on the right track do you think?

Nevertheless, come Saturday, I know for sure, that if you're swimming - in whatever capacity - that you'll have the full backing and support of every one of our 450+ active squad members wishing you well as you embark on your own personal challenge!

Remember, do it for you and you alone and all else will fall into place.

Good luck!

Proud Coach x

P.S please email me your number and race name (Duo / Team) if you are competing!

Will you be joining us in sunny Mallorca (26th May to 1st June) for the BEST Festival of open water swimming?

paul@swimsmooth.com (PaulNewsome) — Fri, 18 Jan 2019 13:49:00 +0800

A multitude of races over a variety of distances to choose from

Dear Swimmers

Hope you are doing fine this sunny Friday afternoon!

After the last 3 years attending Europe's BEST Fest of open water swimming in Mallorca, Spain, many of you have been enquiring about the possibility of joining us on the magical Mediterranean island to participate yourself in arguably the best open water swimming experience available anywhere on the planet.

Picture this: waking up every morning to join the Swim Smooth team of coaches and other swimmers for a super invigorating 800m swim in the Med, before a relaxed buffet-style breakfast and a casual stroll through the town to the start of the day's race - anywhere from 1.5 to 10km - and then enjoying a late lunch, a sangria or two and then accessing one of the multitude of free swimming clinics and seminars that we offer to support the festival. That's all before a sunset dinner at some of the best casual dining in Europe. Sound good? Multiply by seven and you've got a fabulous week of swimming where you might race anything up to 30+km and with the additional swim sessions and easy morning limber-ups, easily clocking up 40km...if you want to! Take it as seriously or as casually as you wish. Bring or hire a bike and take a 90 minute road trip to access some of the best mountainous riding anywhere on the planet, or bring your trainers for some brilliant coastal trail running around Colonia Sant Jordi.

Think of it like: the Tour de France of open water swimming, accumulating points from each race to a series final in your age group. Meet new swimming friends from literally all over the world and enjoy the company of these like-minded swimmers in an area of extreme natural beauty...and no stingers or sharks either!

Where is it: Colonia Sant Jordi on the southern tip of Mallorca, approximately 50 minutes drive from Palma (the capital). Various hotel accommodations can be booked / quoted via Vanessa at vanessa@bestswimcentre.eu (please quote "Swim Smooth" for the best deals) - we prefer to stay in the THB Sur - not the finest hotel in the area, but great for the budget conscious and right on the Med! An other good option is the Blue Waters, which is right next to the town's 50m pool (as pristine as Claremont Pool it has to be said!)

Event website: entry for the various races can be made at http://www.bestopenwater.com/prices-offers/ - all 7 events plus a free relay entry can be purchased for 250 euros but there is the option to also pick and choose as you wish!

Race as Swim Smooth: I reckon we've got a good chance of being the best attended "club" or even "country" through the "People's Republic of Swim Smooth" - as we're making a big push for other Swim Smooth followers from across the planet to come and join us for one almighty meet-up! So please add "Swim Smooth" as you club name when registering!

Getting there: Swiss Air are offering a return trip from Perth via Singapore and Zurich for just $1460 - see details here. I'd suggest arriving on the Friday 24th May and maybe departing Sunday 2nd June or Monday 3rd June.

Please drop me an email if you're keen on coming for my reference and we'll keep you posted on extra curricular Swim Smooth activities for that week!

Here's some pictures from last year's event to whet your appetite:

Morning dip

SwimRun coaching

Post race!

Trail running

The morning routine

The amazing Med

Classroom set up (we'll be there for our 3-day Coaches Course 23-25 May)

Knocking out some good times

Casual dining

The view from the THB Sur

Coaching clinics

Strongmen!

Awesome cafes

The airport!!!

Picking up some medals!

More spoils

Awesome atmosphere

View from the hotel (other side)

The team

Ready to ride!

Bottom of Sa Calobra

Top of Sa Calobra

Getting the miles in

What a view!

What a climb!

Palma

Quirky

Deli

Cathedral

Loving it!

The Med

Raising $40,000 USD for the Bali-Hope SwimRun Challenge

paul@swimsmooth.com (PaulNewsome) — Thu, 20 Dec 2018 14:38:00 +0800

Dear Swimmers

I hope you are all enjoying the amazing weather and looking forward to a great Christmas! I'd just like to take the opportunity to thank you all for another awesome year down at the Claremont Pool with the Swim Smooth Perth Squad and to acknowledge all your hard work and dedication in the various challenging swim sets we've done this year (some 611 of them!!).

I often wonder how cool it'd be if we could have one of these for you to tap after each session:

...which would allow me to monitor which sessions were the most enjoyable on your part...but then I realise that sometimes, doing the hard stuff and the stuff you'd never do by yourself at 530am on a cold winter's morning, is a truer test of someone's grit, determination and commitment to their health and something that you should always feel virtuous about having done so. It never ceases to amaze me how relatively few grumbles we get (there are inevitably a few!) - most of you just get in and get on and perhaps this is a motto for life itself...

...do the hard stuff, get it done, make a change...

...and this is precisely what myself and Brad Smith had the opportunity to do a couple of weeks ago up in Nusa Lembongan - raising awareness of the plastics in the ocean issue facing Indonesia primarily and also the local education in the schools and businesses on how to tackle this problem for future generations.

Now, if I simply told you I was invited to head up to Bali last weekend as an ambassador and sponsor for a new SwimRun event there following my participation in the ÖtillÖ World Championships in December, and then showed you these few photos of where we were staying, you'd have a tough job of not deciphering this as simply a jolly holiday for Coach Paul as opposed to a work trip - and that's where you'd be right - this was so much more than simply a work trip, it was about making change happen and something I was super-proud to have been part of. Nevertheless, here are some of the views - stunning!

Tom Hickman (the event's founder and driving force for change in the way plastics are managed and recycled on the island of Nusa Lembongan) featured on our 2nd podcast (link: Podcast 2) and was a temple of enthusiasm for this worthy cause, bringing athletes and those wanting to help make change together for a fun-filled, insightful 5 days in this beautiful part of the world.

Tom's t-shirt says it all: Temple of Enthusiasm

This all being said, I couldn't help but feel a tad bit guilty leaving Mish and the kids at home and also you all on pool deck whilst I jetted off to sunny Bali, but I knew there was work to be done and a race to complete!

Day 1 - arrival:

We arrived in Bali and were immediately whisked off to our hotel in Sanur where we met all the other teams with this one shared vision:

10 teams of 2 had been selected to race the event and help with the charity work including:

Annika & Peter - Annika is a multiple ÖtillÖ World SwimRun Champion who would be sure to be the ones setting the pace on Saturday's race which comprised 3km of swimming and 20km of running in the very oppressive Bali conditions of 32ºC / 90% humidity ambient and 33-34ºC water temperature (like a bath!). She was teaming up with Peter who was a cool 35+ minutes ahead of me and Andy back in September in Sweden and one of the top-ranked male SwimRunners in the world.
Rosanna & Inge - both race at an elite level within triathlon and Ironman events and were super-acclimated to the conditions. Rosanna spent 6 years sailing around the world on a yacht with her young family and now lives an enviable lifestyle in Ullawatu. Inge did a fabulous and very memorable press-conference after the event, discussing the issues facing the Balinese.
Jackson & Josh - self-proclaimed "digital nomads", these likeable lads travel the world on the strength of their respective 317,000+ Instagram accounts, documenting their travels and their eco-warrior mission which totally aligned with the mission of the Bali-Hope event. In many ways, they are doing what I was doing 17 years ago prior to arriving in Perth - living life out of a backpack but documenting it in a way with such professionalism that I was blown away. Jackson's Instagram account is well worth a look as is Josh's book "Why Don't You?", which at the tender age of just 22 is pretty darn amazing to have that level of insight. Despite living out of backpacks, these boys can really run (as we were about to find out!), as Josh won the inaugural Bali Ultra-marathon back in May which has to be run overnight given the intense heat.
Andy & Kelly - Andy is a former swimming Olympian and Kelly is a model / actress who features in some amazing TV dramas (like Grise, HBO) and movies as well as being a brand ambassador for sun safety through Nivea - both Andy & Kelly are sponsored through the wetsuit company we part-own, HUUB Design.
Kara & Nina - these brilliant ladies raised a staggering $10,000 USD (and counting!) for the Bali-Hope event and are super strong triathletes from Victoria. Kara did a brilliant job of facilitating the team bonding exercises that we all participated in to help break the ice and get us all focused on our objectives for helping the Nusa Lembongan region. She runs a fitness and strength training program on the Bass Coast, VIC, so knows her onions.
Lezlea & Adele - both Lezlea and Nina are very good runners but were a little apprehensive about how the swim might go - they needn't have been. Myself and Brad took the girls for a practice session a couple of days before the main event, focusing on some simple cues to keep the stroke working well and them working well together. Something worked as they did really well! Both ladies are ex-pats living in Bali for a good portion of each year and met each other in shared-space work environment in Canguu.
Patrick & Fanny - we were staying with Patrick and Fanny, arguably the two strongest competitors in the field, both specialising in crazy CrossFit-style regimes and generally doing amazing things with the strength of their bodies. They had a fair bit of SwimRun experience between them also having tackled the super-tough Rockman race in the Pyrenees, France. They were racing as "Team Lost" and have a simply massive social media following - well worth a visit to some of their cool videos here.
Isobel & Wayne - Wayne goes by the handle "The Rogue Adventurer - Going Places, Running Races" and his tagline "in order for us to grow and learn we MUST take on challenges that radically expand our sense of what truly is possible" really epitomised what we were all about to take on there in Nusa Lembongan. Isobel is a fellow Brit hailing from a similar part of the UK to me (i.e. very hilly!) so I knew she'd be up for the challenge of the tough Bali conditions.
Kyron & Logan - Kyron also completed the inaugural Bali Ultra-marathon back in May and had returned to Bali with his eldest brother Logan who currently lives in Perth. Both are originally from New Zealand and have a thing about the Haka dance (see below). Logan's story was arguably the most inspiring of the entire team - a big unit and someone who was purely there to complete rather than compete, but Logan's "win" wasn't the physicality's of the race itself, but the fact that he'd overcome serious drug and alcohol addiction, time in trouble with the police and to use his own introductory words, "I've basically not been a very nice person most of my life and have f&*ked most of it up!" to be with us in Bali. You couldn't help but admire the guy, who now works with AA here in Perth's northern suburbs. Here's Logan crossing the finish-line on the Saturday - talk about a release of pressure:

Day 2 - transfer to Nusa Lembongan:

Arriving on Nusa Lembongan

With Andy Wibowo, Olympian

Getting into the swing of island life!

We travelled over to Nusa Lembongan and got a real feel for the place, including both the climate (hot and VERY humid!) as well as the level of plastic pollution in the streets and on the beaches (off the charts!). Coming back to this view though made it hard to imagine why things were ever left to get this bad:

Idyllic...

...less than so!

Day 3 - education: REUSE, RECYCLE and REFUSE:

After a morning fine-tuning our race gear for the following days's race, it was off to a local primary school to aid with the efforts of educating the young children on better ways to manage their waste, including: REUSE, RECYCLE and REFUSE.

We were invited into the children's classrooms and involved in a round-class discussion about the issues of plastic mis-management. We also had the chance to help the children create posters with recycled material to further help them understand what needed to be done. A highlight for me was helping the older children use Microsoft Excel (I'm a geek, what can I say?!) to create a spreadsheet to work out just how much waste was being generated and collected in their local area each day - 3 tonnes! Staggering.

What was really sad was the realisation that despite every child clearly understanding the message, the hope that they'd be then able to take this message back to their families presents a huge cultural / generational issue as often their voices simply aren't heard once back at home (so we were told).

Before leaving the school, we were each presented with a special gift of a ceremonial sari and an individually drawn thank you letter to each of us for helping out. It was lovely.

Brad receiving his gifts

We then headed over to the local recycling plant, Waryu Segara, to get an appreciation of the mammoth task they are facing with the clean-up of the island - off the charts:

Day 4 - race day:

By the time race day finally rolled around, my whole perspective of what I was actually over there in Bali to do had changed completely.

If you'd asked me before I had left, I'd have told you I was over there to race with Brad in the idyllic locales and to do a bit of "charity work". Of course, I'd have told you that the charity work was a big deal (to justify my trip up there and make me feel less guilty about going), but to be perfectly frank, prior to being involved with the Bali-Hope event, I was very ignorant to the issues we are all facing with the over-use, mis-use and mis-management of plastics in our environment. I'd gladly accept a plastic bag at Coles rather than remember to bring my re-usable hemp over-the-shoulder affair.

Recycling was something "other people do". I felt slightly justified in this knowing that I'd lived for 5 years in the City of Stirling, Perth, where it was discovered that for 3 years (despite Mish enforcing us to separate waste at home), we had to put it all into one wheelie bin which supposedly the city would further separate at their end. Of course this seemed non-sensical to me and when I found out they hadn't actually been doing that, it further felt like a waste of time me doing "my part". This was the conversation I always then had with myself, sad but true.

I'm not an eco-warrior (nor do I profess to being - even now), but seeing what we saw in Bali and having the interactions that we did with the community and their education has profoundly affected my approach to how I see things now that I'm back in Australia. Suddenly, Day 4's race seemed superfluous to the bigger picture of what we were truly there for - to help raise awareness by being willing to literally swim and run our way through litter-laden idylls - getting wrapped up in a floating black bin liner as we practiced-swam our way across to Cenigan was the real eye-opener here! I thought it was a shark!! I'm not sure which is actually worse!

And so to the race, and true to my point about it being somewhat superfluous, here's what happened in a blow-by-blow bullet account:

the plan was for me to the lead the first 500m swim as I've been swimming well lately with all the gear on. The mission was to try and stay with the Swedish pair of Annika and Peter, but not pull ahead...we knew the attrition rate would be high given the climate!
200m into the first swim and Brad literally gets snagged on a fishing line, unable to progress any further - the Swedes disappear and I'm left dragging a dead-weight in the water until we unclip our tether which races back to me at a fine old rate of knots into my stomach
once clear, we give chase, but the damage has been done and we've already surrendered 30+ seconds to Annika and Peter PLUS in our stress we fail to pick up our hydration for the first run (9km in the sweltering mangroves)
I eventually tow Brad back up to Annika and Peter (she says candidly "ah, so nice of you to join us!"), but we're always on the back foot, trying to recoup hydration and plenty of ice at each aid station which the Swedish team do significantly better than us each time.
by the end of the 9km run section, we are neck and neck with the world champions and heading into the water. Brad takes the lead and tows me across the Cenigan straight in order to recoup a bit from the effort we sustained on the run. Annika and Peter power ahead and put about 20 seconds into us.
we are now running the 8km loop around the very hilly Cenigan but again make ground on the savvy pair ahead of us. We mimic their every move. When they started walking up the hugely steep climbs, so too did we.
we hit our first hurdle - the marshalls aren't sure which way to send us and we lose 2-3 minutes literally waiting for them to radio through for instructions. Brad's confident that we'll remain ahead of 3rd place (Josh and Jackson) - I don't share his positivity and sure enough they reel us all in and then take the lead.
by this point I'm melting and start to struggle - thank god for the additional swim at the top of Cenigan - a chance to "recover", "cool down" but most importantly use our swimming strength to move back ahead of the boys and onto the heels of Peter and Annika.
we still have 3km to the next long swim and I'm suffering big time - survival mode completely.
we reach the last swim (1000m) still (just) in 2nd place, and make a concerted effort to pull ahead of Josh and Jackson who were running like demons!
we lose further ground to Peter and Annika who have raced the perfect race, but hold onto our lead over 3rd place (but are running very scared up the last 2km climb) to finish second overall and a much needed beer!
we are not quite sure of the time gaps, but suggestions were about 2 minutes between 1st and 2nd and 2nd and 3rd.
we wait for everyone to finish and see Logan do his Haka - amazing emotions all around!

3km swimming / 20km of running in the hot, hot sun!

Watch the race recap here (60 seconds)

Powering away

The swim to Cenigan

Brad pulling me home!

Melting!

Finish-line sprint!

Walking up one of the massively steep climbs on Cenigan with the Swedish pros, Annika and Peter

Girl power! Annika rightly front and centre!

Goosebumps moment - Logan's Haka

Collecting 1st male team prize (2nd overall)

With the champ!

Day 5 - getting our hands dirty / homeward bound:

What's the best way to recover from such a tough event? Spend several hours in the baking heat picking up rubbish with the local school children of course! In all seriousness though, looking out at our final day's challenge seemed insurmountable but through the combined efforts of everyone involved, we did such a sterling job that a local land owner pledged on the spot to dedicate some of his land for a better managed refuge collection area - amazing!

Volunteers aplenty!

Getting our hands dirty!

Jackson looked like the messiah and had a similar sort of presence about himself - great guy!

Annika showing us how it's done!

Getting down and dirty!

It was then time to head home and back to reality.

I'd just like to say a massive thanks to everyone involved, especially Tom's superhero team of Andie, Kirsty, Margs, Debs and everyone else who made this such an amazing life-changing experience. We hope to be back again in 2019 if you'll have us?!

Cheers

Paul & Brad

P.S it's still not too late to donate towards this very worth cause: https://balihopeswimrun2018.everydayhero.com/au/team-swim-smooth#

Squad Closure over Christmas / New Year & Open Water Swims for the 930am in early 2019

paul@swimsmooth.com (PaulNewsome) — Thu, 13 Dec 2018 13:42:00 +0800

Dear Swimmers

Please be advised that the final squad swim session of 2018 will be Saturday 22nd December for the Saturday Stoic Session from 0530 to 0700. We have just added this session back onto the schedule, so there are still some spaces available for what promises to be a very festive, fun session - we really hope you can join us! There will be an award for the best festive swim wear worn that morning!

The first session back after the New Year, will be the 0530 to 0700 Red Mist Endurance Session on Wednesday 2nd January, and then also the 0930 to 1030 CSS Development session. Again, we hope you can make it and work to burn off those mince pies you'll have enjoyed no doubt over the 10 day break!

There will be no 1-2-1 Video Analysis & Stroke Correction session availability during this period, per the information in the squad booking app.

Carnivals affecting 0930 sessions in 2019:

The following dates will see a switch to the 0930 squad sessions owing to the running of various carnivals at the Claremont Pool. All open water sessions will take place at Cottesloe Beach, meeting at 930am for a 945am start (to allow you - and the coach - an extra 15 minutes to make the extra distance). Please meet on the grassy bank to the north side of Indianna Tea Rooms facing out to the pylon. Wetsuits are optional but not compulsory. If in doubt of remembering these dates, your squad app will always reflect these changes (labelled "The Real McCoy: Open Water Session" ), so please take a quick glance there if you're at all unsure. Here are those dates:

Wednesday 13th February will be a Red Mist Endurance Session at the pool at 0930 to 1100
Friday 15th February will be a CSS Development Session at the pool at 0930 to 1030 (switched with Wednesday)
Monday 18th February
Wednesday 27th February
Friday 1st March
Wednesday 6th March
Friday 8th March
Wednesday 13th March
Monday 18th March
Friday 5th April

Please be sure to cancel out of these sessions if you do not fancy joining us for a coached session in the open water (but hopefully you do!).

Cheers

Paul

P.S I am preparing a report from my recent SwimRun adventure up in Bali (just waiting on some more video from the organisers), so please stay tuned - it was a blast!

14 years of Swim Smooth - a special, extended podcast to chart the ups and downs of the past 14 years!

paul@swimsmooth.com (PaulNewsome) — Thu, 29 Nov 2018 09:19:00 +0800

Dear Swimmers

As you are probably aware, we recently launched our new Swim Smooth podcast and have just published our 4th episode which is a special extended look at the history of Swim Smooth since we launched here in sunny Perth way back in December 2004!

You can access the podcast here: https://itunes.apple.com/au/podcast/swim-smooth/id1441577778?mt=2

Other episodes include:

Episode 1: Interview with Ironman AG World Champion and record holder, Dan Plews PhD (1h35m)
Episode 2: Interview with Tom Hickman of the Bali-Hope SwimRun Challenge (0h41m)
Episode 3: Interview with Dean Jackson the man / the myth / the legend behind HUUB Design (1h04m)

In today's special extended podcast (1h57m), listen to the founders of Swim Smooth (Paul Newsome and Adam Young) discuss the history of Swim Smooth itself since the creation with the very first website and DVD boxset back in 2004, right the way through Adam joining the team in 2008 and becoming the driving force in everything you know and love about Swim Smooth, all the way up to the current day and some further insight into where we're heading in the future. It's a long episode (nearly 2 hours in fact!), but should help you really understand what Swim Smooth is all about, the methodology, the concepts, some of the challenges and hurdles we've faced as well as how we've grown the program to be the coaching curriculum used and endorsed by both British Triathlon and the International Triathlon Union in 119 countries around the world!

You might find the supporting links, articles and websites in chronological order useful as a reference point:

▪ 2004 - www.swimsmooth.com is launched with our first product: https://shop.swimsmooth.com/collections/legacy-dvds/products/swim-smooth-dvd-boxset

▪ 2005 - Paul & Mish (now Paul's wife) head off around the UK running clinics and 1-2-1 sessions

▪ 2006 - the "Flame Wars" on http://tritalk.co.uk reach boiling point between Swim Smooth and Total Immersion

▪ 2007 - Adam attends his first Swim Smooth 1-day swimmer's clinic

▪ 2008 - Paul and Adam's friendship builds and Adam drives the online presence in a way that Paul hasn't been able to do himself. Our first Learn To Swim DVD is produced in sunny Essex, UK (https://shop.swimsmooth.com/collections/legacy-dvds/products/swim-smooth-learn-to-swim-program-dvd ) and the idea for "Swim Types" starts to germinate.

▪ 2009 - Adam's brainchild (the Mr Smooth animation) is launched (http://www.swimsmooth.com/info/mr-smooth-free-app ). Increase in awareness of Swim Smooth starts to build, ultimately rising to a subscribership of over 125,000 weekly readers of our FREE blog www.feelforthewater.com

▪ 2010 - British Triathlon announces Swim Smooth as their coach education partner http://www.triathlonbusiness.com/2010/industry-news/swim-smooth-for-british-triathlon and the first 3-day Swim Smooth Coach Education Course (http://www.swimsmooth.com/improve/coach-education/swim-smooth-three-day-coach-education-course ) is run and we officially launch www.swimtypes.com

▪ 2011 - Our third DVD, the Catch Masterclass https://shop.swimsmooth.com/collections/legacy-dvds/products/swim-smooth-catch-masterclass-dvd goes on to being the fastest selling swimming DVD on the internet and we run our first 2-week Certified Coaches Course (http://www.swimsmooth.com/coaches/become-a-coach ) in Perth. We partner up with HUUB Design to create the world's best wetsuit (as used by the Brownlee Brothers: https://shop.swimsmooth.com/collections/wetsuits )

▪ 2012 - We launch our very first Certified Swim Smooth Coaches (http://www.swimsmooth.com/coaches/find-a-coach ) of which we now have 48 worldwide (and growing) - make sure you register at http://www.swimsmooth.com/coaches/join-the-coaches-network . Wiley & Sons (the world's biggest book publishing company) approach Swim Smooth to write a book on swimming which quickly becomes one of the best selling and highest rated books on swim coaching of all time (https://www.amazon.com/Swim-Smooth-Complete-Coaching-Triathletes/dp/1119963192#customerReviews )

▪ 2013 - Paul wins the world's most prestigious marathon swimming event http://www.feelforthewater.com/2013/06/paul-newsomes-winning-manhattan-race.html and cements Swim Smooth in the history books as not just an effective way to swim, but a FAST way to swim too!

▪ 2014 - The International Triathlon Union announces Swim Smooth as their coaching partner (https://www.triathlon.org/news/article/itu_partners_with_swim_smooth ) which sees Swim Smooth being put out around the world in 119 countries via the various triathlon governing bodies. We launch our biggest project to date, the Swim Smooth Guru (www.swimsmooth.guru )

▪ 2015 - Work commences on our Swim Smooth Kids program

▪ 2016 - The Swim Smooth Guru is refined, tweaked and improved to contain exciting new features such as CSS Tweaking and Fitness Tracking (http://www.feelforthewater.com/2018/11/10-ways-to-improve-your-swimming-with.html )

▪ 2017 - Filming commences on the Swim Smooth Kids program and we begin developing our coaching presence in the USA

▪ 2018 - We launch the new Swim Smooth podcast (https://itunes.apple.com/au/podcast/swim-smooth/id1441577778?mt=2 ) and also our brand new trip of a lifetime to Perth (http://www.swimsmooth.com/info/win-a-trip-to-perth )

We hope you enjoy this cosy chat and finding out more about the history of Swim Smooth, whether you're joining us in the last few months or have been following us for many years!

You can also find us on @swimsmooth (Twitter / Instagram)

Paul & Adam

Friday night is P-A-R-T-Y night!

paul@swimsmooth.com (PaulNewsome) — Tue, 20 Nov 2018 14:27:00 +0800

Dear Swimmers

Hope you’re doing well this week…a bit chilly for mid-November though I have to say…the poolside thermometer read 9ºC this morning for the 5.30am squad!

Three items on today’s Blog:

Squad Party this Friday, 23rd November 5.30/6pm to ~10pm

A big congratulations to our most consistent squad swimmers in the last 12 months

Photo diary of our recent road trip to Kalgoorlie for your interest

Squad Christmas Party:
This Friday sees us celebrate everything that is swimming with the Swim Smooth Perth Squad (fun, friends and frivolity) and to also help us warm our new renovations as well - if you’ve attended one of the first 3 Christmas Party’s you’ll definitely notice a difference:

We kick off at 5.30/6pm on Friday 23rd November and will aim to wrap up around 10pm or when we’ve drained the last drop and scoffed the last nibble (whichever comes last!).
This year we have the following:

two bar staff to get me mingling more and off my heavy-handed cocktail mixing!

the pool (heated but please bring warm towels for the kids as the air temperature looks set to be low-mid 20s), a trampoline and some table tennis for the kids (please be sure to keep a good eye on them)

Mother Smooth dying to meet everyone!

some cool funky tunes

we’ll have some nibbles and wine / beer / champagne, but please feel free to BYO too as we’re never quite sure how many people will show up

…on that note, in previous years we’ve always had >100 people show up on an RSVP of 57 (max). This year we’ve got 98 RSVPs so that either tells me people are more onto the RSVPs this year, or that we’re going to have a very big turn out!! I’m thinking the latter (and slightly nervous now thinking about it!). I’m also thinking that given various events on Saturday (including the Saturday Stoic Squad Session - which will still go ahead with myself coaching), that the peak period to attend will be around 6.30pm to 8.30pm just FYI.
The key details are as follows:

address = 145 Alfred Road, Mount Claremont

time = 5.30/6pm to ~10pm

parking (best to get an Uber / taxi) but otherwise = on street parking on Strickland Street (south side of Alfred Road might be best) or down at the Mount Claremont Oval (600m walk up the hill) or at Deli ChiChi / Mount Claremont Bakery

Can’t wait to see those of you who can make it then!

Consistency is Key!

As my old training / racing mate Dan Plews - the new Ironman World Record Holder (8h24m) and overall Age Group Champion at the Hawaii Ironman World Championships in Kona, 2018 - clearly claims in our new podcast (link here), “Consistency Is Key!” to Dan’s ability to finish 22nd overall (including all the professionals who raced) and to post the 5th fastest marathon split that day. He claims he did nothing special, other than post 22 consecutive weeks with a weekly TSS (Training Stress Score) load of over 1,000 points (which is special all in itself as those of you who use Training Peaks will know!). He states that a simple program, backed up by every session having a specific target but one which fits around his busy family and work schedule, was what produced his best performance in his 25 years of doing the sport. It was quite simply amazing and if you get chance to listen to the podcast, you’ll see just how impressed I was with my old mate from sunny Yorkshire who I’d been writing the swim component of his epic race for over the last 13 months.
We might not all be aiming for a world title (or even a world record!), but in speaking with every single high performing individual that I’ve ever been lucky enough to chat with, they all stipulate routine and consistency above all things. To that end then, I’d like to recognise the following Top-20 most consistent squad attendees for their efforts during 2018 - divide these numbers by 11 for their monthly attendances or 46 for their weekly visits, and I’m sure you’ll be impressed! Well done everyone!

I’d like to make special mention to our top male (Aitor) and female (Cobie) for their amazing commitment this year. Sadly both won’t be able to make the Squad Christmas Party on Friday (where I’d planned a little congratulatory gift and salute).

Aitor will sadly be leaving us as of today to pursue a new career in SciFi writing back in his home country of Spain, but will join our Swim Smooth program in Alicante instead, to ensure he keeps docking his Red Mist card!

…and despite spending the first part of the year recovering from major ankle surgery, Cobie has been able to recover well, getting back into her routine and has been nudging up the attendance ranks in her own “no fuss, get on with it” way throughout the middle part of the year:

Just brilliant!

On the Ghost Town hunt in Kalgoorlie!

My Mum (Mother Smooth) is currently visiting and had always wanted to take a road trip to Kalgoorlie (of all places!) so that is where I’ve been this last weekend. We had a fabulous trip and thanks to the recommendations of Gavin C and Amanda N, we also tied in a trip out to Lake Ballard (cue spooky SciFi images below of the amazing sculptures on the salt flats) and the ghost town of Gwalia too (which made the news here today). We happened to be there for the historic reopening of WA’s oldest state hotel which hadn’t been accessed for over 54 years! Amazing. Whilst 800km east of Perth is a long way to travel, such a road trip with my Mum, step-Dad, Mish, the kids and Sandy (the dog) is not something I’ll forget in a hurry, so thanks for allowing me to take an impromptu break with the family - it was awesome (except for the $38 I paid for a double gin and tonic on the last night!!). Here’s some photos for your interest:

Cattle crossing!

The village of Westonia - where the Goldfields and the Wheat Belt meet (apparently!)

Road trippin’ with their best mate!

No frills camping - the only way! Come and meet Mother Smooth and Grandad Stevie this Friday at the party!

Larking around!

Lake Ballard

The Super Pit…it was super big!

Cranking up the mercury at 38ºC!

A friendly Preying Mantis

Sons of Gwalia mine

Awesome history to discover!

The $38 gin and tonic…nothing special about it (not even any cucumber!)

Tent fun!

My new car...

…the car I wish I had!

More Lake Ballard...

A photographer’s paradise!

Jackson

Isla

Thanks for reading!

Paul

Black Friday swimming gear bonanza with free shipping! This week only!

paul@swimsmooth.com (PaulNewsome) — Mon, 19 Nov 2018 16:55:00 +0800

Dear Swimmers

Hope you've had a great weekend. I've spent the last few days camping in Kalgoorlie with my Mum, step-Dad, Mish and the kids. It's been awesome...except for the $38 double gin and tonic I bought last night at the Palace Hotel. Totally crazy prices! Still, we had a great time and got to see all the cool gold mining history of the state, visit Lake Ballard, the ghost town of Gwalia and even had time for some swims too. Awesome. I'll be back on pool deck in the morning. Looking forward to it!

Anyhow, we've got some great deals this week on our online swim shop as part of our Black Friday offering including 50% off HUUB wetsuits and FREE shipping on all orders over $100. Check out the mega deals here:

https://mailchi.mp/swimsmooth/swim-smooth-black-friday-offers-1093673

If you're keen to know a little more about what goes into the design of each of our HUUB wetsuits, check out our new podcast's third episode with Dean Jackson at https://itunes.apple.com/au/podcast/swim-smooth/id1441577778?mt=2&i=1000423583520

See you in the morning!

Paul

Coach Ross is going to jail!

paul@swimsmooth.com (PaulNewsome) — Sat, 10 Nov 2018 10:32:00 +0800

Dear Swimmers

Hope you're all doing well this fine, sunny Friday afternoon!

As some of you will know - especially those who swim in the Tuesday 6.15pm session - Coach Ross and his wife Mel have had a tough run this last 12 months with their twin boys being born at 28 weeks and then having spend the first 77 days of their life in the NICU at King Edwards. The family received brilliant care and attention through the Helping Little Hands Charity and so now Coach Ross is doing his thing to raise some money for the charity and he needs your help. Ross picks up the story...

"I'm going to JAIL!! And I need your help!!

On the 22nd of November I am going to be arrested and thrown into Jail and I need to raise bail money to be set free. This bail money will go directly to helping current families of the NICU and proving them with the much needed support they need at this time through the Helping Little Hands Charity.

As some of you might know this cause is very close to my families heart and mine as we have directly received much appreciated help from this charity.

Our twin boys Luke & Harvey had to be delivered at just 28 weeks gestation due to a rare condition called twin to twin transfusion syndrome. I remember when my wife Mel and I were first told about this, we were shocked and had no idea what road lied ahead for us. Even after having weeks and weeks of scans and conversations with the doctors and being told they could be early we really had no idea about the journey we were about to take. Absolutely nothing prepares you for the day when the doctors say your babies stand a better chance outside than in.

That began our 77 days of life at King Edward inside the NICU. 11 of the longest and hardest weeks we have ever endured as a family. Our boys were delivered barely over 1kg each and were the smallest most fragile little people you could ever imagine. Walking out of the hospital and leaving your precious babies behind is one of the most soul destroying moments a person can have.

We essentially had two families during that time. We had our two beautiful kids at home, who couldn't meet their new brothers and struggled with understanding on what was going on. And we had the boys fighting for their lives in the NICU, day in day out. We split our time as best we could, between home, work, and our new second home in the NICU with the boys, however a day did not pass where we didn't sit by those babies side hoping and praying that they would come home and join our family as soon as possible.

We were one of the luckier families who already had an amazing support network of family and friends to help, but it was still unbelievably hard. Without the additional help of Helping Little Hands charity And the amazing support the doctors, nurses and staff at King Edward, I'm honestly not sure we would have made it!

So please help me raise some
much needed funds to help this charity support others that are going through what we did, or worse.

Please visit
https://www.mycause.com.au/page/190008/ross-robertson to place a donation."

Spring 2018 Squad Newsletter

paul@swimsmooth.com (PaulNewsome) — Mon, 15 Oct 2018 17:04:00 +0800

It was pretty windy out there this weekend!

Hope you are all doing well and have had a great weekend, despite the somewhat yucky weather! I was running along Cottesloe Beach at about 6am on Sunday morning and was literally blown into my running partner several times, such was the ferocity of the wind!

OK, so I wanted to take this opportunity now that the weather is supposedly warming up, to give you a bit of a scope out of the spring / summer season ahead and what we have in the pipeline. As this has been the first proper newsletter in some time, it’s a bit lengthy, but I’ve broken it down into seven sub-sections for your ease of reading.

In this newsletter we cover:

Communication - how to stay abreast all the squad news, gossip, offers etc
Rottnest Channel Swim - how to get your training groove on for this amazing event
Permanent vs Guest squad spots - how to snag your chance to have a guaranteed place in the squad (includes a great description of each type of session we offer and what to expect from them)
Squad “Christmas” Party - being held much earlier this year on Friday 23rd November (to allow Mother Smooth to meet you all!)
Have a taste of what SwimRun is all about...
Results from the 2018 Hawaii Ironman World Championships
Our next 2 week Certified Coaches Course will take place 11-23 February 2019

Communication:

These days there are many different mediums for staying in touch and up to speed with everything in the Swim Smooth Perth Squad. If you’re new to the squad, you might not be aware of all the great free information we’ve built our reputation on over the years, so here’s where to find us on t’internet:

The Squad Blog (what you’re reading right now) goes out sporadically every few weeks and contains a good insight into the weeks and months ahead, i.e. details and results of CSS challenges, free sessions and giveaways, squad socials and the like. Perhaps you have got this link via a direct email? If so, this will have come via the database which holds your email address as a squad swimmer. I prefer to post these messages via the Blog so we can always refer back to them at http://swimsmoothperth.blogspot.com - but if you think you’re maybe not subscribed, you can do so here: https://goo.gl/jkLwt5

Push Notifications (the little SMS-like notifications that temporarily pop up on your phone if you’re using the squad app) are used to inform you of certain critical changes to the program in real-time, i.e. cancellations due to the weather and the like. Of course, you need to have the app installed to receive these - that can be done here for iOS users and here for Android users

Social Media updates for the squad (and Swim Smooth as a whole) can be found here: Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and YouTube

Feel For The Water Blog (the main Swim Smooth blog) is our main resource of creative writing, interviews, tips and techniques that appear in your inbox once per week. Running since 2009 (and having not missed a single Friday post since that point), this is the world’s most prolific swimming blog with in excess of 130,000 subscribers around the world which we’re awfully proud about. To subscribe (and also get a free version of our animation Mr Smooth to guide you forwards) visit http://www.swimsmooth.com/info/mr-smooth-free-app - a chronological archive of some of these articles can be easily accessed at http://www.swimsmooth.com/blog - in fact, believe it or not, we wrote the entire best selling Swim Smooth book (see our 4.9 out of 5 star reviews on Amazon here) based upon responses to the blog between 2009 and 2012!

Rottnest Channel Swim:

For those of your contemplating a Rottnest Solo this year, we have the new version of our 2019 Training Planner outlined here. To make best use of this program and to see in detail every one of the 100+ sessions and races recommended between now and Saturday 23rd February and to also fully track your progress with our industry-leading analytics etc, go to the Swim Smooth Guru (requires a $19.99/mo subscription). If you want some more generalised help and (free) advice, then visit our 75 minute online seminar which will provide advice for Solo, Duo and Team swimmers. It’s less than 19 weeks to go, so you do need to get a little wriggle on!

Furthermore, my Top-10 Rottnest Channel Swim tips (from back in 2017) can still be viewed here: https://karmagroup.com/blog/ensuring-your-karma-resorts-rottnest-channel-swim/

The Saturday Stoic Sunrise Swim every Saturday at 530am would make the perfect compliment to your training week whether Solo, Duo or Team swimmer.

We will be announcing about ten 60-90 minute open water sessions taking place in the new year during the 9.30am squad slot (due to carnival clashes) in due course. Outside of these, my best recommendation is always to sign up for as many of the https://www.openwaterswimming.com.au/calendar/ series races as possible, where there’s a certain security in numbers and water safety above training by yourself in the ocean (if you catch my drift…).

Permanent Spots in the Squad:

Essentially, swimmers can access the squad sessions in one of two ways:

As a PERMANENT squad member who has all their sessions permanently booked in for them (going forwards to August 2022 at this point). If you cannot make a session, simply OPT OUT up to 12 hours before the session to avoid being charged as though you were there. This option assures you a place in the squad every time you wish to use it.

As a GUEST squad member who switches and changes their sessions according to their own schedule. You need to OPT IN every time you wish to attend a session, which can get a little tedious remembering to do this as you’ll also need to monitor any sessions that you are popped onto the wait list for. For those with very changeable work schedules though, this option often works very well.

We now have some PERMANENT squad places available on a first-come / best-dressed basis by completing the simple form here with all your particulars (will take you 60 seconds tops). Notably, only the Saturday 530am session has spots available (and only 1 or 2 at that!) in the very early sessions (Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday 530am sessions all continue to be fully booked).
All other sessions have limited availability of permanent spots - so please get in quick!

We have a special push going on at the moment for the two evening sessions (Tuesday and Thursday 615pm) which have been a little on the light side over the winter months - can you make them?

Here’s what you can expect in each of the types of session we offer (note this information is always in the description when you use the app to sign up for a place):

Monday Pure Technique The "Stroke Refiner" Pure Technique Session is a great way to start your week. The emphasis here is on a lot of drill and technique work with plenty of recovery and tips on how to refine your individual stroke. A common mistake many people make is to rush through the exercises to try to keep up with others in the lane. Don't. There is no need to do this. Take your time and focus on YOU! Leave the ego in the change-room and give your stroke the TLC it deserves. You will need all your swim equipment for this session (fins, pull buoys, bands, paddles and a Tempo Trainer as well if you have). There will be very little emphasis on target times etc during this session to keep you focused primarily on your technique. You can expect feedback during this session on how to perform the nominated drills correctly and a few quick tips on your stroke.
Tuesday Technique / Endurance The "Cheeky Tuesday" Technique / Endurance Session is a great way to blend a bit of focus in the warm-up and build-set on enhancing your efficiency in the water, with a little bit of low-level endurance work, typically at CSS +3s to +6s/100m and over interval distances of 100m to 1000m. It's not as challenging as the longer "Red Mist" Endurance Sessions, but is a still a cracking little work out! You can expect feedback during this session on how to perform the nominated drills correctly and a few quick tips on your stroke.
Wednesday / Thursday / Friday CSS Development Ah, the classic "Fresh 'n' Fruity" CSS Development Session - my favourite. There's a reason why a third of our 12 weekly squad sessions are focused on this type of session and that's because it works. If you want to enhance your speed in the pool and the open water over distances greater than 400m, then this is the place to start. It's a very challenging session and relies upon you knowing your current CSS pace. If you don't, why not have a little tester using the information at www.swimsmooth.com/training.html Intervals will range from 50m to 500m and will all centre around CSS pace. There will be a few drills and a few little pick-up sprints as well, but the majority of the session is focused on you maintaining your speed as your stroke inevitably starts to breakdown. The best swimmers in the world are those who let this happen least. Join them by getting good at these sessions! You can expect feedback during this session on how well you are holding pace and motivation to keep pushing on when things are getting tough.
Wednesday / Friday Red Mist Endurance The infamous "Red Mist" Long Endurance Session is one tough little session, and in fact there's nothing really "little" about it as swimmers will cover between 3800m and 5000m during the 90 minutes. This session is the stalwart of the Ironman and 70.3 brigade given how good it is at preparing you for these distances. Despite it being the hardest session of the week, it's also the most popular which goes to show that people recognise it's merits and are willing to lay themselves on the line each week to get the most out of themselves. Interval distances range from many multiple 50m on a very short cycle up to 2000m - yes, as an interval, not as a total! These sessions typically use an RM Cycle which is different to the standard CSS pace method of using the Tempo Trainer to beep every 20 to 30 seconds or so when you should be at the 25m mark. Instead the RM Cycle adds a small buffer per 50m which includes your rest period - push harder and get more rest but risk blowing up, or back off and risk making the intervals become one long continuous swim: you are in control - though it'll hardly feel like it at the time! These sessions also rarely feature a "proper" warm-up, encouraging you to get right into it from the word go like at the start of a race - can you hold off the "Red Mist" from descending on you when you're not feeling your best?! You can expect feedback during this session on how well you are sticking to your targets and a rather excited coach urging you on under pressure to add to the sense of stress - all as a simulation of a race, you understand?!
Saturday Stoic Sunrise Swim The long-awaited "Saturday Sunrise Stoic Swim" is a 1.5hr pool training session which caters to a variety of swimmer's needs. What's more - you don't need to stay in for the entire session, but will need to be there for the start at least. Perhaps you're planning to compete in the next Rottnest Channel Swim or Port-2-Pub event, or fancy a dabble in a longer distance Triathlon or SwimRun competition and this is merely the aperitif to a longer Saturday brick session? Maybe you just love swimming so much that the idea of a challenging year-round Saturday morning swim is too good to miss to kick-start your weekend on the right note? Whatever your reason, if swimming on a Saturday morning floats your boat then we have the session right here for you. The session will draw a little from each of our 4 session swim types: a bit of technique, a bit of strength work, a bit of threshold development and some of the longer / challenging Red Mist endurance intervals too. The ratio of these parts will evolve over the course of the season to prepare you for the key events of the season, including some open water specific for those of you who recall our previous Saturday afternoon sessions. Basically, it's going to be a lot of fun and everything you'd expect from an engaging Swim Smooth session! We hope you can join us!

We pride ourselves on the unprecedented level of personal feedback and interaction during the squad sessions, but for a fuller analysis of your swimming and some individual stroke correction, please register your interested in our coveted 1-2-1 Video Analysis and Stroke Correction Sessions. Use code “bubblebubblebreathe” for 10% off your booking with Paul & Sally.

An Early Squad Christmas Party:

Come and celebrate an early Christmas Party - slash - house-reno-warming!

This year we’ll be running our 4th annual Christmas Party at 145 Alfred Road a little earlier than usual on Friday 23rd November to allow for Mother Smooth (my Mum and top Swim Smooth employee over the last 10 years!) to attend and meet you all. They’re visiting from the 12th to 30th November. My step-Dad has had a bit of a health scare recently, so I’d really love for them to have a great time whilst they’re here and meet as many of you as possible in a social environment!
Details:

145 Alfred Road, Mount Claremont

Friday 23rd November from 530pm to 10pm+

Please bring a plate of nibbles and / or some beverages (we will also provide some nosh and drinks as per previous years)

Please bring your partners and / or kids as well as their bathers so that they can chill out in the pool (we also have a trampoline and ping pong table this year!)

Please be sure to register within the squad app so that we can get an idea of how many people to expect

We’re really hoping that this date works for as many of you as possible as it’s by far and away my favourite night of the whole year and simply a chance for us to all let loose outside of the confines of simply following that black line!

Want to suffer like never before but do it tied to a mate? Read on…

So you saw me suffer like never before in the 2018 Ötillö World SwimRun Championships in Sweden last month and fancy a piece of the action yourself now hey? The good news is that you don’t have to swim and run your way over 75 gruelling kilometres in the Stockholm archipelago, no, now you can get a taste for it right here in Perth. On Saturday 24th November the Shoreline SwimRun event will take place over approximately 20km up at Sorrento and is well worth checking out via their Facebook page here. Notably, this is the morning after the Christmas Party, so that might be the perfect place to find a race partner and then rock up the following morning in the true spirit of SwimRun - to have a little fun in nature!

Results from the 2018 Hawaii Ironman World Championships:

We had 6 members of the Swim Smooth Perth Squad compete in the 40th edition of the Hawaii Ironman World Championships yesterday. The weather was reportedly the best it’s ever been in the race’s 40 year history, with the men’s record being beaten by nearly 10 minutes (Patrick Lange of Germany) and the women’s record by over 20 minutes (Daniela Ryf of Switzerland). Last year’s female runner-up was also this year’s second place getter as well after totally destroying the swim course record, Lucy Charles of the UK. If you’ve got access to our Guru, you can check out my analysis of Lucy’s stroke after we did some work with her back in 2016 in Mallorca - see here: https://www.swimsmooth.guru/video/c2m/lucy-charles/ - she’s a simply brilliant athlete!

Winning the men’s age group title (non-professional) by over 10 minutes and incidentally beating all but 21 of the top professional athletes in the world, was my old mate Dan Plews who smoked the course in 8h24m! Simply amazing for someone who holds down a full-time job too! Dan and I first raced together in 1994 and have been close friends ever since. In fact, when I was 16 and Dan was 13, he cheekily jumped on my wheel as I left T1 of my first open water triathlon in the lead and proceeded to draft off me the whole way…he wasn’t old enough to do the actual race so his Dad told him to just hop on his bike and see what he could do. I was flattered that he asked me to help him with his swim component of his Kona preparations some 25 years later! I can’t quite get my head around how brilliant of a result this is, and am very happy for him.

A massive congratulations for the following 6 squad swimmers for also raising the bar and showing us what can be done if we dream big enough - kudos Nick, Rob, Shane, Gary, Fiona and Brad:

Our next 2 week Certified Coaches Course will take place 11-23 February 2019

Adam, Emma and myself will have our next group of 4 to 7 coaches vying for full Swim Smooth Certification on 11-23 February 2019 here in sunny Perth. This will be a great opportunity to seek some additional feedback from the coaches in training and to also possibly secure their assistance with your Rottnest Channel Swim team (either as a swimmer or on-board coach!).

Thanks for reading this far if you did!

Paul

New Release & Roll classes starting October 2018!

paul@swimsmooth.com (PaulNewsome) — Wed, 10 Oct 2018 11:29:00 +0800

Nedlands Physiotherapy - whom many of you see for your aches and pains and to keep you in tip-top shape - are offering FREE Release & Roll classes for the month of October! Both physios - Matt Thompson & Michelle Newsome - are avid swimmers and swim themselves twice per week within the squad, so you can be assured that they understand what it takes to hone your body for optimal performance in the pool or open water.

Here's the blurb...

Do you experience ongoing soreness or tightness in your neck, shoulders, upper back, lower back, buttock or legs?

Many of us have tension in at least one of these areas if not more which may be related to the work we do or the sport we play. Release & Roll classes can help you manage this tension and alleviate the pain which may be caused from the soft tissue tightness in your body.

Nedlands Physiotherapy is offering complimentary 30- minute Release & Roll classes for the month of October 2018 beginning Tuesday 9 October 2018 at 930 am.

Release & Roll classes at Nedlands Physiotherapy

Tuesdays 930-10 am

Fridays 930-10 am

Cost (from November onwards): Adult $15 Concession $10

Places are limited so please secure your place online at www.nedlandsphysio.com.au We look forward to seeing you for a little R&R!

For more information please contact Michelle or Matt on admin@nedlandsphysio.com.au

The "results" of our 10 week CSS Development Plan are in!

paul@swimsmooth.com (PaulNewsome) — Sun, 30 Sep 2018 11:28:00 +0800

Swimmers completing the tenth week of our 10 Week CSS Development Program - this was the fastest the squad has EVER swum - well done if you were part of it!

Dear Swimmers

Zoggs coming tomorrow and Tuesday!

Don't forget, Zoggs International will be with us on pool deck tomorrow and Tuesday 2nd October to do some testing of their new products. Anyone assisting in the trials will receive a FREE pair of Zoggs Predator goggles just for helping out - can't say fairer than that! Of course, this will be slightly disruptive to the flow of your normal session (so is not compulsory) but given that this is the first 2 days following on from the last 10 weeks of diligently working on your CSS pace, I'm hoping the vibe will be a little more lower key anyway - enjoy and get a FREE pair of goggles for your efforts!

Serena conquers the Channel

News just in from Dover, UK, is that squad swimmer Serena Wells successfully swam the English Channel on Monday last week, covering the distance in 14h46m - what an amazing swim. We are still waiting on a full report and some photos but this is excellent news! Alan Tietzel was also over there to swim and started about 24hrs later, but sadly did not make it across after having been in the water for some 12+ hours (again, further news to follow). Well done Serena and Alan for both of your efforts - mother nature is a beast sometimes and waiting around to swim as long as you did is very reminiscent of my experience in 2011, so I can well understand the emotions you likely went through!

10 Week CSS Development Results

A massive well done if you were one of the super-committed swimmers who diligently tried to attend as many of the sessions as possible in the squad over the last 10 weeks as we Went Backwards to Go Forwards - I do hope you really enjoyed the program and that it brought a little focus to your swimming. Some of the comments I've heard and over-heard were:

FOR:

gave you focus and motivation
provided a necessary challenge through the winter months
has got you in GREAT shape prior to the season starting

AGAINST:

Hard to get into it if you missed the start or some of the middle weeks
Did Tuesday have to become so challenging too?
Became a bit prescriptive by the end especially as you started to plateau off

As promised, the results can be found here:

https://www.dropbox.com/s/wi636rf3ey3b9er/Backwards_CSS_Results.pdf?dl=0

What I've done is, somewhat subjectively (based on observation and feedback from you directly), added in a red highlighted cell with white text to indicate which week I believe your group as a whole within each lane and within each squad managed to achieve before plateauing off somewhat and being able to hold the set times. Of course, this whole program becomes quite the dynamic beast as people miss sessions, the structure of the lane changes etc, but I believe that this is a good representation of where we got to and represents about 3.5-4% improvement across the board (or about 3 to 7s per 100m at CSS pace), which in itself is a great achievement - well done!

We'll use the next couple of weeks to consolidate at the RED / WHITE cell level, before looking at new ways to extend this forwards and keeping you on your toes with new, fun challenges. I had played around with the idea of keeping the next 1-2 weeks beeper-less to give you a little break (and may try this in certain sets as a "social experiment") but given that the pool clock spent a good 6 or 7 weeks broken during this program, I hope you can all understand how beneficial they are to keep you engaged and on track, and on that note, a big well done for the large number of you who taught yourself how to use this little gadget and get familiar with switching between modes etc - coach was very proud!

Rottnest Channel Swim & Port-2-Pub training programs

I'm not sure if people have shifted their focus in recent years or are being more coy these days about their intentions to swim these iconic events 😉, but I have heard of very few people committing from the outset to a Solo for either of the two events this year, but there's been plenty of people talking about 2020 as being "their year" so perhaps people are taking a longer term view of this? I'm not sure. Anyway, there are just over 20 weeks to the Rottnest Channel Swim and just over 23 weeks to the Port to Pub Swim.

In 2018 we suggested this training program which was well utilised and will be tweaked to include the new race series calendars in sure course of which there are two calendars this year for some racing action:

https://www.openwaterswimming.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/2018-19-OWS-Series-Calendar-1-1.pdf

http://mswa.asn.au/Events/WOWSwims-2018-19-Calendar

…and for those keen on a little more structure and direction, our full guide can be accessed here for an additional $13.99/mo:

https://www.swimsmooth.guru/sequence/cK7/20km-rottnest-channel-swim-full-program/ (2018/19 calendar to be added this week).

Of course our 74 minute webinar is always worth a look if you're still in that undecided stage - access that here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rzwkyl_B0Dk

…in any case I'm sure there's going to be a great summer of open water swimming ahead of us, why not sign up for an event or two to give you some focus?

Cheers

Paul

Correction to World AG triathlon results (apologies) and a FREE pair of Zoggs goggles coming your way!

paul@swimsmooth.com (PaulNewsome) — Thu, 20 Sep 2018 09:19:00 +0800

Dear swimmers

In my haste to get the results out about the ITU World Triathlon Championships, I must apologise, Janet Ferguson picked up the bronze medal in the 55-59yr category, not the gold as previously stated. This is still a brilliant achievement for Janet and I'm sure you'll all congratulate her with me on this. Other results trickling through are that Carrie Anderson narrowly missed the podium with a 4th place in the very competitive 50-54yr category. Well done ladies - I can't wait to share some photos. Please continue to feed though your stories / pictures of the event so that I can collate a nice news feature for everyone on this.

A FREE pair of Zoggs goggles could be coming your way!

Some of you may recall that about 12 months ago, Zoggs goggles very kindly gave away 50 special swim kit sets to our 50 most consistent swimmers. This comprised a back-pack, 1 or 2 sets of goggles and a pair of bathers for you to try out. Very generous indeed and all personally labelled too. I've personally been using Zoggs for many years now, in fact I swam my English Channel, Manhattan Island Swim and my recent ÖtillÖ World Championships in them too!

On Monday 1st and Tuesday 2nd October, Zoggs will be with us on pool deck for all the morning sessions to allow you to test out some of their new apparel. The team will be taking some photos and video for internal use only (to assess fit, form and function etc) and are looking for willing candidates to try some new gear. In return you'll receive a FREE pair of Zoggs Predator or Zoggs Predator Flex goggles for your assistance. Given that this is the week after we finish our 10 week CSS Development program, I'd scheduled in a slightly "lower key" series of sessions for Monday and Tuesday, so this should all tie in nicely.

Hope you can help out!

Cheers

Paul

The Pointy End and Public Holiday

paul@swimsmooth.com (PaulNewsome) — Wed, 19 Sep 2018 18:26:00 +0800

Dear Swimmers

Hope you're all enjoying this fine weather that has finally sneaked through!

Public Holiday

Just a quick reminder that despite the upcoming Public Holiday on Monday 24th September, both the 7am and 9.30am Pure Technique sessions will run as normal (we never like to let you down on days like this when many of you can take the opportunity to sneak an extra session in). If you're going away for the weekend, firstly - have fun, secondly, you might want to sneak a cheeky Saturday Stoic Session in before you head off at 5.30am on Saturday 22nd September instead (9 places currently showing as available).

Royal Show / Parking

Don't forget that the Royal Show starts this Saturday (22nd September) and runs for one week to the following weekend. We've been informed that the lower car park at the pool is taking payments (unsure of what time from) for using this space, so may I please suggest you arrive early to find a spot in the normal car park (especially 9.30am swimmers who this is likely to affect more) and / or seek a parking pass from the pool if you have to park on the lower level. In either case, a little organisation next week might be required - sorry for any inconvenience this might cause!

Week 9 of 10

Hands up if you've reached that despondent stage of not quite hitting your target times anymore? Most of you? Totally natural. Sadly we can't expect continuous linear progression of 0.5% per week for all of eternity otherwise if you extrapolated it out long enough you'd all be Olympic Gold Medallists at some point in the future. But that's been the beauty of the last 9 weeks from our 10 week CSS Development program; every group in every lane in every squad is now swimming faster than they've ever swum before (trust me, my records go back 16.5 years here in Perth!) - so that's a very good thing, especially leading into the open water season. Secondly, it is totally natural that we start to plateau off at some point and many of you will be feeling that this has started to occur in the last week or two. Some of you are still on the up - and that's great - but I'm taking a close look at exactly where each group has reached and once we finish the 10 week program next week, we'll use the next 2-4 weeks (prior to people starting to get back into things for Rottnest, Busso and the like) to consolidate at the last week you were consistently holding paces. It looks like for most this will be about week 7 or 8, but we'll see how we go in the next two weeks prior to making that call. Above all though, I do hope you've really enjoyed the challenge, because that's what this is all about - not taking ourselves too seriously and just seeing what is possible - well done team!

Hot off the press!

I haven't yet had a full low-down from everyone who recently raced the ITU Triathlon World Championships over on the Gold Coast - so please don't assume I'm skipping over you (send me your info if you can please) - but I've just had it on good authority that Janet Ferguson from our 9.30am squad won the gold medal in her Age Group to add to the one she won in the World Duathlon Championships a few years ago. Well done Janet! This is absolutely amazing and we look forward to giving you a hero's welcome when you arrive back!

Thanks everyone, see you Friday for more fun and frivolity!

Paul

2018 ÖtillÖ Swimrun World Championship Report

paul@swimsmooth.com (PaulNewsome) — Fri, 7 Sep 2018 21:53:00 +0800

Laying it all on the line: physically, mentally, emotionally. As we said on the blog last week, “life begins on the edge of your comfort zone” and I have to say I was very much teetering on that edge - quite often over the other side too - for nine hours and four minutes on Monday at the 2018 ÖtillÖ Swimrun World Championships. I was absolutely, totally spent when I crossed that finish line with not another ounce to give. See the race finish video here. I couldn’t feel my face or hands, not least speak coherently, but the effort was fully worth it. I unpacked some pretty deep, emotional baggage out on that course too so it feels great to have come out the other side and hopefully a better version of myself as a result. I’ve never, ever been so physically fatigued as I’m feeling right now and yet at the same time so emotionally light. It’s a great feeling - thanks Andy for taking me to that place and making sure I got across that line as I frequently doubted that I would both pre and during the race!

Quick Summary Of How We Did

We finished the 75km course in 9h04m and 23rd male team (32nd overall out of 160). When planning for the event I said I’d be happy with around 10hrs and Top-50, so vis-a-vis “I’m happy”. It was an amazing day out in the Swedish archipelago and one which I shall cherish greatly. There was no question that it was Andy whom was the one dragging me around the brutal course. After being our lead on the first couple of swims it rapidly became obvious that I’d be better tethered behind Andy for the swims so as to recover for each subsequent run (especially the half marathon that occurred at six hours into the race). I was literally hanging onto Andy all day long and simply repeating “1-2-3, 1-2-3” to try to keep focused on my rhythm. I struggled a lot nutritionally (perhaps with the warmer temps) but kept bouncing back after 500-700ml of Precision Hydration at each aid station. I’d carry some with me and have a big shooter of it prior to each swim and use the swim as a chance to digest and come good. I can count at least 5 or 6 major blow-ups during the day (the first at just 2hrs in which I wasn’t sure if I’d recover from) plus the final 7-8km was a bit of a struggle combined with major technical terrain to deal with. But soldier on we did and I’m incredibly happy to have finished. Now time to celebrate my 40th birthday!

I felt the best way to write the race report from Monday’s event would be to start by giving you some links to various sub-articles, videos, images and stats from the day to help paint the fuller picture and equally, to possibly entice you to be better informed should you wish to consider undertaking one of these swimrun events as they gain popularity around the world. I then wanted to detail a bit more about the ups and downs of the race, including a few of our own photos, before finishing with a selection of the best official images from the event organisers. So here goes:

Quick Informative Links:

VIDEO: Paul Newsome's video diary about preparation for the 2018 race (0h46m): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zziwuSiaU6Q&t=878s

ARTICLE: "Life begins at the edge of your comfort zone" (discussion of Paul’s preparation, warts and all!): www.feelforthewater.com/2018/09/pauls-racing-otillo-2018-on-monday.html

VIDEO: Paul & Andy’s swimrun kit choice (0h07m): youtu.be/YGXWEn3M5yk

STATS: Results link: otilloswimrun.com/races/otillo/results-2018/

STATS: Paul and Andy’s GPS file: connect.garmin.com/modern/activity/2986693093

VIDEO: Paul and Andy’s race finish video (0h01m): youtu.be/rUvKTRiFp38

STATS: Breakdown of distances: otilloswimrun.com/wp-content/files/OTILLO/OTILLO2018-TimesAndDistances.pdf

STATS: Google Map of course: www.google.com/maps/d/viewer?mid=1Nrsgx1cRoshkirpxJlNCBq_1M5Q&ll=59.23670500000001%2C18.723375000000033&z=10

VIDEO: Race Summary video (0h05m): www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wqt1zg4NYIo

VIDEO: Live broadcast of the entire event (12h00m): www.youtube.com/watch?v=x1xj9kedJZo&t=18870s

IMAGES: Complete image library of the event (249 images): www.flickr.com/photos/otillorace/albums/72157697685946442

ARTICLE: Official Race Director’s Report (Michael Lemmel): otilloswimrun.com/races/otillo/race-report-2018/

Paul’s Report:

As discussed in juicy detail in last week’s blog and video, this event meant more to me than simply the performance aspect of completing just another endurance event. In many ways, the sheer magnitude and scale of the challenge has been enough to really rattle my cage and scare me into a full 12 months of dedicated preparation which, with it, has seen me challenge a few demons as I rush headlong towards the milestone that is my 40th birthday next week. Being able to reconnect with an old friend at the same time and then sharing the experience of the training load and the course itself far supersedes anything by way of outright performance on the day. That’s not to say that I wasn’t proud or happy with how we did, far from it in fact (we went 30 minutes quicker than Andy did in 2014 to finish 8th, albeit conditions this year were magical), just simply that the 2018 ÖtillÖ Swimrun World Championships has helped me finally realise that there is more to sport than simply where you finish or what your time is. This realisation it appears is nothing new for many of the participants of these events, who, like me, could be described as “post-multi-sporterists-seeking-experiences-over-performance”, or some such thing.

20 years in the making - reconnecting with Andy was the best part of the event - the fact we did really well was just an added bonus!

Read and (just about) willing for what lies ahead!

We were up at 3:45am for breakfast followed by a 30 minute ferry ride in complete darkness to the race start on Sandhamn. I was feeling super apprehensive by this stage, mainly because whilst we knew the course layout from the briefing the evening before, it was hard to get a full appreciation of just how gnarly some of the terrain was going to be. Still, the weather looked like it was going to be amazing and everyone seemed to be in very good spirits.

Our GPS trace - all 75km of it! 24 islands traversed by 65km of running and 10km of swimming

We made our way to the front of the queue to get across the start line and managed to position ourselves within the top 50 or so teams. The first section was a 1200m run down to the first swim of 1800m which was controlled with a neutralised start by a 4WD buggy keeping us all at exactly 5:00/km pace. This of course ensured good pacing from the off, or was it simply delaying the chaos that was about to ensue? We felt like a tribe of warriors marching in unison with a distinctly quiet aura about us, everyone concentrating hard not to put a foot wrong and risk being trampled by the stampede behind.

Marching through the first 1200m “neutralised zone”

We got away to a good start on the first swim and were moving up inside the Top-20 teams. An altercation midway through the swim with another swimmer saw a few tempers frayed but we backed off and recomposed in the knowledge that there was plenty of time to make up any lost ground later in the day.

The feeling of that sunrise in those conditions racing against these top athletes... priceless!

The exit from the first swim gave us our first real insight into how challenging the 52 transitions into and out of the water would be. Despite it being very dry, the first few meters up the face of the rocks were like black ice and we’d find ourselves battling with this aspect of the race and losing valuable time all day long. You had to just keep your cool and take your time for fear of slipping and doing yourself a major injury.

The top teams handled the slippery rocks like ninjas! Me on the other hand...

As per the race briefing, it took us the first three or four islands to find our running groove and thankfully prior to the first aid station we found ourselves running on some easier terrain and moving up through the field into 16th position overall.

Throughout the day I seemed to be really craving fluids, so I’m not sure if I was dehydrated prior to the start or it was just the heat generated by running so far in the wetsuit on a warm, dry day, but we made sure to stop and try to fully refuel at each aid station. This saw us losing a lot of valuable time, but the fear was that if we didn’t I would completely implode and not make it around the course.

After just two hours in I was starting to really flag, which on normal trails wouldn’t be a major issue, but on the gnarly rocks it became disastrous as the risk of rolling an ankle was so great. We slowed down significantly at this point and lost a good ten places or so after having found ourselves running alongside the fastest swimmer at the 2016 Ironman World Championships, Harry Wiltshire (who coincidentally was the first swimmer I ever started coaching), and also Petr Vabrousek from the Czech Republic (who is an 80 time Top-10 finisher in Ironman events around the world). My concern of course was “have we gone off too fast?” It certainly didn’t feel like it, but then how many times do I say that to my swimmers? "The correct pace should feel easy”. We dialled it back, but the first seeds of doubt with another 7+ hours ahead started to creep in - would I finish this thing?

Andy pulling me up yet another incline! Check out the concentration / exasperation on my face!

The tactic which I started to employ was two-fold: 1) try to smile a bit more and suck on my own words “life begins on the edge of your comfort zone”; and 2) count out a rhythm “1-2-3, 1-2-3” over and over again - a little like “bubble-bubble-breathe”. I wasn’t speaking much to Andy, just following his lead and trying to stay in the here and now. At one point (about four hours in) Andy said, “how’s life right now mate?” to which I could only mutter under my breath and recognise that no one was forcing me to do this, it was my choice - get on with it, princess!

The original plan was for me to lead each swim and Andy to lead the runs, but after just a few of the longer swims, it became obvious that the best course of action was for me to fuel up with a gel and some fluid immediately before each swim and then use the swim to tether behind Andy so as to digest it as well as possible and to be ready for the next run. This started to really help. Andy was swimming great, and by the time we got to the infamous “Pig Swim” we were starting to really motor, catching up with the leading female team at that point, which contained two Swedish olympic swimmers, Fanny Danckwardt and Desiree Andersson. Life was suddenly good again (to answer Andy’s question), but no sooner did I feel awesome did I hit another rough patch and the whole process started again - feed, tether on the swim, digest and run. I can count at least five or six major blow-ups on the day, but I just had to do everything I could to bounce back. Amazing how fitting my horoscopes were for last weekend in view of all this:

Believe them or not…this is what they said prior to the race start!

Prior to the race and then during the first half, I was super concerned about the half marathon run which occurred about six hours into the event, but as it happens, this turned out to be our strongest part of the race as we caught and passed many teams in front of us to bring us back into the Top-25. This section was only let down by an emergency toilet stop (me) and arguably my biggest implosion of them all. With 800m to go the easier trails we’d been enjoying for 20km suddenly turned brutally rough and technical again which made my legs feel like they’d gone into full bore “shutdown”. Walking this section was our only option and we succumbed to the ultimate female winning team (Annika Ericsson and Kristin Larsson), passing us for the last time. Andy reassured me though that these athletes had won this particular event many times in the past and as such we should be happy with how we were placed. I managed a smile at this point, but only a small one - I was feeling truly wrecked by this stage.

Appearances are deceptive - I’m absolutely smashed at this point leading into the continuous
half marathon run at six hours in.

Here we are preparing for the swim at the end of the half marathon section and over 8hrs into
the race - boy, did that water feel good!

Once we were at the end of the half marathon run, we’d reached the final check-point and were going to make it to the finish (in theory). We were told that we were the 21st male team at this point, but my energy levels were fading rapidly that I wondered how many more places we might lose, especially as the last 7 or 8km were supposed to be the toughest from a technical point of view.

I had begun knocking back the Coke and Red Bulls halfway through the half marathon, craving a little sugar and the sparkle to bring me back to life. The problem was that by the time we got through the half marathon and were swimming away from the largest island on the course, Ornö, I was starting to feel almost like I was hallucinating - I couldn’t feel my face or my hands and started to believe that I might suddenly just come to a grinding halt, no matter how close to the finish we were. Eventually - and with strong persuasion from Andy - we made it onto the last island, Utö, and with only 3km left to run I started to feel hopeful that after nearly nine hours on the go, we would indeed make it. Andy must have been confident that I was coming good at this point as he suggested I unleash from the tether. We did this for no more than about 700m before I begged him to strap me back up again, so as to be towed to the finish. The cruelest blow came in the final 600m as we turned left past the tennis courts and up a 8% incline to the pub at the finish. I nearly shouted out in exasperation at this nasty little final hurdle, but we managed to get up there, just.

With about 20 meters to go my legs finally gave way as I fell onto Andy and had to be literally dragged across the finish line. I was totally and utterly spent and could not go a step further. Our finishing video appears almost comical and looks like I was going in for the world’s longest man-hug, but the reality was that I simply could not hold myself up any longer and was escorted away by the medical team once across the line. The numbness I was feeling in my face meant I wasn’t being very coherent at all and a few have asked what I was saying to Andy in those bromance-looking moments. Whilst it might look like Sylvester Stallone in Rocky crying out “Adrien!” I was simply saying thank you, thank you for everything Andy. And that, as they say, is that.

Remember, you’re only truly living when you’re on the edge of your comfort zone…I dare say that during the 2018 ÖtillÖ Swimrun World Championships I teetered well across that line!

Paul

An emotional finish indeed!

45 minutes later

A deserving drop at the finish line!

In Summary:

Things we did well:

• Communication (at least from Andy - I just mumbled and obeyed given my lack of energy at times)
• Pacing
• Positivity - Andy had to keep reminding me that we were right up there with some of the best swimrunners in the world and that we should feel proud of that

Things we could do better:

• Quicker into and out of the water transitions
• Quicker over the really gnarly terrain where we were losing a lot of time
• Quicker through the aid stations

Selected Official Race Images:

A 3:45am ferry ride started the day to escort all 320 athletes to the start at Sandhamn

Swim Smooth Glasgow Coach Alan Cardwell towed the line with his mate Thör

Therese Alshammar (6-time Olympian and 3-time medallist in sprint swimming) was just one of several Olympians competing on the course

320 athletes about to tackle something so mind-blowingly challenging that many of us didn’t really have any idea of just how hard this would be!

We felt like warriors off to war as we marched through the first 1200m “neutralised zone"

Most open water events don’t allow the smallest of jewellery to be worn - here you had 320 athletes with razor-like paddles and shoes to content with - one blow could spell D-I-S-A-S-T-E-R!

The groups stayed remarkably well bunched on the first 1800m swim - pull buoy and paddles are a great neutraliser for many athletes

Most swim exits were followed by very technical rock sections making it incredibly hard to a) get into a rhythm and b) pass of be passed by others

One of my former University triathlon team mates, Rhian, was competing with her husband, Ben

The support of the locals was amazing - I couldn’t help wonder though how they managed to access all the nooks and crannies we found them in!

Teamed up with top swimmer Therese Alshammar was Swedish hip hop icon, Petter - his music is AWESOME! Check it out here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gITjhYfdjvs

Whilst not massively hilly, it wasn’t massively flat either...

...see what I mean!

The scale and magnificence of the landscape was awe-inspiring!

We tussled most of the day with the multiple female World Champions, Annika Ericsson and Kristin Larsson - they got the better of us in the final 5km #kudos

No fear! Some cliff jumping was involved!

Like a millpond!

One of my favourite sections, through the 3m tall bullrushes!

Another Olympian, Chris Hauth (left) with team mate Frank Karbe from the United States

The very first athlete I ever coached, Harry Wiltshire (right) on his way to an 12th place finish overall. Harry led the Hawaii Ironman World Championships out of the water in 2016 as a nod to the standard of competition at this event

Those greasy rocks! Crawling was the only option on many of the 52 exits!

The rocks were so steep in some sections that abseiling was required!

A brilliant image to capture the teamwork and camaraderie required to conquer this event

You, your mate and nature - this is swimrun!

Andy’s company, Precision Hydration, provided for the fluid needs of all 320 athletes on the course

Paul’s race begins midday (Perth time) Monday 3rd September - here’s how to watch...

paul@swimsmooth.com (PaulNewsome) — Mon, 3 Sep 2018 02:33:00 +0800

Dear Swimmers

Hope you are enjoying a nice Sunday afternoon there in Perth! It's now less than 24hrs before I start the Ötillö World SwimRun Championships in Stockholm Sweden and thought you'd maybe like to have a read of some frank, open and honest words about what it has taken to prepare for this event as well as some additional video showcasing what this extreme sport is all about (regarded as the toughest event on the planet!).

Thanks for all your support and encouragement over the last 12 months training for this event and equally allowing me time to head away from the squad to follow these pursuits that keep me on the edge of my comfort zone and alive!

You can read the words here:

https://bit.ly/2oxrqjE

Which include a link to the special video I created to showcase the event and expand on some of my thoughts building up to the event.

The race starts at midday Monday 3rd September (Perth time) and is likely to run until 10/11pm (ish!). Here's the live feed which will be excellent by all accounts:

https://otilloswimrun.com/live/

Cheers

Paul