Farewell to Emma and what to do this week...

Dear Swimmers

I cannot tell you how much I'm enjoying this cooler weather today! It's awesome! I've been melting on pool deck this last two weeks!

Ok, so following on from last week's note about tapering and getting your "Race Face" on, quite a few of you have been asking what sessions to actually do this week? Well firstly, all sessions WILL be running as normal (save for Saturday 1-2pm which THIS WEEK WILL BE CANCELLED) so there's no worries about turning up and a session not being on! Secondly, I would propose something like the following:

MONDAY: either one of the technique squads, or if you're swimming by yourself, do up to 3km mostly technique work but include some shorter intervals (50s, 100s and 200s) with a little bit of tempo to them (remember, whilst you're backing off volume this week, you still need a little intensity so that you don't feel flat or stale).

TUESDAY: either the 5.35am, 6.35am or 6.30pm sessions will be perfect.

WEDNESDAY: we will still be running the harder 5.30am session as usual, but I would encourage soloists and duo swimmers to just do up to 3-3.6km and not the whole session. Alternatively we have the 9.30am Fresh n Fruity session which will have a little more rest to it than normal but will still maintain some intensity.

THURSDAY: rest day - it's always a good idea to have the day before the day before the event as a complete rest day or a very light swim of 1.5-2.0km (max). This is a good day to sort out all your final preparations for the Big Day and get yourself sorted and confident. I will personally be swimming down at the Claremont Jetty for 4km meeting later than normal at 6.45am and starting at 7am (done by 8am) as I won't be able to swim on the Wednesday. Keen for company of course!

FRIDAY: I would encourage you to pop along on Friday to the 5.35am, 6.35am or 9.30am sessions. These will be geared towards those racing on Saturday and I would suggest that you swim 1.5-2.0km and see how you feel, and if good, complete the set which will prep you nicely for the Big Day!

SATURDAY: the big one! Good luck! You've trained hard for this, now go and have a good one and keep a smile on your face, or if not on your face, then in your heart! ;-)

It goes without saying that you should aim to stay off the grog this week, get to bed early and keep well hydrated and also to avoid any dips in blood sugar by leaving too long of a gap between meals, i.e. keep your energy stores up! Personally I don't really carbo load as such (I find it makes me bloated) but I do follow the instructions as per above and this is a real help.

Lastly, Coach Emma will be flying back to the UK with me on Thursday 28th February and returning to her coaching base in the Lake District after assisting us with the London Triathlon Show on the 1st to 3rd March where we are one of the keynote speakers in both seminar halls (exciting!!). Emma's last session will be the Wednesday 5.30am and 9.30am sessions on the 27th February so anyone who can stay after the 9.30am session for a tea / coffee and nibbles and to join me in saying thanks for all her wonderful support is kindly invited to do so! She won't be around this week as she's taken the opportunity to have a week down in Margaret River before she attempts her first Rottnest Solo as well - so some of you will see her over on Rottnest Island for a beer and a chin-wag this Saturday too!

Cheers

Paul