Small thoughts Big goals

I'm thinking a bit at the moment about the things that were significant as I grew up, the milestone dates / moments etc. It's a strange process to go through as it's not an entirely positive process, thinking about the bad stuff along with the good.

Someone reminded me of the bullying at School the other day, that it went on, it was real. I had put it to the back of my mind for a long time, that was hard to hear about.
Another person told me about the attitude I used to carry on my shoulder like a protective shield, that was hard to hear aswell.

I'm going to use all these experiences, combine them together into a more effective speach than I am useing at the moment to tell a story about myself, my journey and inspire others to make changes whether big or small in their lives.

creating new neural pathways

I never thought that swimming would change the way my body worked but the bio-mechanics of my body has changed in the year since I started swimming. My left side is becoming more connected to the right, it wasn't connected to the right at all for the vast majority of my life.

My swim coach,by asking me to swim faster, which is what i need to go under the cut off time for Taupo is creating all sorts of bio-mechanical changes in my left side and in the path-ways from my left arm and leg to my brain. Those pathways haven't been engaged for such a long time and now they are being asked serious questions, along the lines of, now its time to move, fast!!, and they're not liking it at the moment!!

So right now its a battle between underdeveloped neural pathways and an equally determined brain focused on delivering a result, my money is on the brain winning out

2010: the year of the swim

Well, my 2010 started out with all the excitement and anticipation that the build up to the big day of Ironman brings. I believed I was ready to take on the 3.8km swim in Taupo, I'd done the training and the only thing in front of me was the swim itself.

My swim that day didn't go as I'd planned it in my head, i walked out of the water in 2:35 mins, 15 mins over the cut off time, to hear Wayne Reardon, race director say, "sorry mate but that's your race for today"

Well a lot of water (hahaha) has gone under the bridge since that day, in my first day back in the pool, at Karori pool, for the first time I used my left arm to swim with, I swam the entire 3.8km swim with one arm, and from that day in karori onwards I have been swimming with both arms.

I knew from Ironman that things about my swim programme needed to change, for most athletes it is the shortest part of the IM, the part that they try to get over the quickest they can before getting on the bike for that long 180, for me its a different equation.

The swim for me sets up my whole day, if it goes bad, my race is over, if it goes well i am so pumped for the rest of the race that the rest goes in a blur.

So i knew that I needed a coach that could take my swimming to the next level, challenge me, push me and extend my undersstanding of what is possible.
I have found that coach and that programme in Ali Dennis and swim squad at Kilbirnie Pool.

I am making real progress in lowering my swim times, getting faster and I am now very confident that by December I will have a very clear understanding of my capabilities in terms of my ability to swim the 3.8km swim in under 2 hours