It's been a busy 12 months - look who's coming!

Guru says: do not fear training, fast it will make you!

Dear Swimmers

Let me start off by wishing everyone competing at this Sunday's Busselton 70.3 event the very best of luck! May the force be with you all and the winds kind! Go get 'em!

Secondly, special good luck to Coaches Cyndy & Sally who next week will be away up at the Lake Argyle 10k/20k open water swim event respectively, along with a few other squad members competing in teams. The girls have done a fantastic job of training super consistently and will go well I am sure! I will be taking the next fortnight of Tuesday / Thursday 6.15pm sessions, so I look forward to taking over cracking the whip from the girls for a while and repaying the help they gave for me whilst on holiday in Kalbarri last week. Go girls!

Thirdly, I've had a cancellation for a coveted 1-2-1 Video Analysis Session next Friday 6th May at 7.45am - if you want it, please go on the app and register asap or book via http://www.swimsmoothperth.com/#!appointments/cta3 

So, it's been a very busy year indeed…the Busselton 70.3 race always feels like the true end of the season however, as they say, "if it ain't raining, it ain't training!"...

...so I'll be looking forward to hear of your goals and motivations over the winter months…suggestions on a post card please! However, hopefully below I have the perfect idea for how you might approach the cooler months with a project we've been working hard to bring to fruition over the last 12 months, the Swim Smooth Guru! Check it out here - it's our best work yet:

Please visit https://vimeo.com/164311757/df95953855 for a video run-through of how the Guru can help you!

For more details and explanations about this fun project which has required a monumental amount of sweat and tears to complete, please see: http://bit.ly/1XXBFHv 

Have a great weekend everyone!

Paul

ANZAC Day Swims at 7am and 9.30am are back on!

Dear Swimmers

The 7am and 9.30am Pure Technique Session on Monday 25th April 2016 had been originally cancelled and you had probably already seen that you had no bookings for your regular class that day. The pool has just notified me that it will be opening at 7am that morning as per most normal Public Holidays, so our 7am and 9.30am sessions can proceed as normal - whoop! 

That day's 1-2-1 Video Analysis and Stroke Correction session at 8.10am (between the two squads) is also now available for your reference - first come, best dressed! If you happen to miss this one, the following Monday 2nd May at 8.10am is also available - use "bubblebubblebreathe" for 10% off for these specific sessions. Please use the app to book.

To book your place, please open the Swim Smooth Perth app, login and navigate to Group Classes from the menu on the left and simply select "Book Class" to register - it's very easy! If you're not using our fabulous new app, you can do the same thing from this page http://www.swimsmoothperth.com/#!register/c15q and navigate to ANZAC Day to register.

Please note: currently, nobody is registered for either of these two sessions automatically as I've just re-added them back onto the schedule. Given that many of you might already be away that morning anyway, rather than prompt you to take action to "cancel", I thought it easier to prompt you to "book" instead if you are available. If not, no worries, your normal spot(s) will still be there in future weeks. Thanks for your assistance in this regard.

P.S anyone good at baking ANZAC cookies for that morning??!!

P.P.S I will leave you with the fantastic coaching team of Cyndy, Sally and Marie next week whilst I head up to Kalbarri for several day's camping - can't wait! I'll see you back on ANZAC day!

Cheers

Paul

An Apology, Some Tuesday Rumination, and a Thank You!

Dear Swimmers

Firstly, an apology:

…if you swam in this morning's 5.30am Technique / Endurance session, I feel I rather put my foot in it with how I described the situation of fewer swimmers in the "top" two lanes, with many more swimmers in the "bottom" two lanes. This required a quick creative re-shuffle from lane 1 through to lane 4 - like a spreading action from right to left as I looked at the pool and has been the case for the last few weeks in this session. However, I described this as being "bottom-heavy" and it's just been nagging at me since as soon as the words left my mouth that this would possibly be construed as being derogatory to those of you who swim in those lanes 1 & 2!! So I apologise if any offence was taken, non was meant. I tend to have a habit of over-thinking these things as you can probably tell!!

I normally like to affectionately think of the lanes as being fast, faster, fast and fastest - being a glass half-full type of guy - but with good reason…just recently we had the 13 international coaches over and they all commented about how quick our lane 1 swimmers are relative to their own lane 1 - in most cases between 10 and 25 seconds per 100m faster. So indeed, you guys are fast…all of you! This made me extremely proud to receive that feedback from my peers - you might not have necessarily moved up a lane yourself but the squad as a whole is getting faster (making it harder to "jump up" normally) and that's always something worthy of celebrating!

Secondly, some Tuesday Rumination if you will:

…what this creative lane shuffling has demonstrated for the last few weeks since the major open water races have now come to an end is that:

1. there are a significantly greater number of swimmers in the Tuesday 5.30am session from lanes 1 and 2 still ticking along nicely, the temporary drop-off is more evident in lanes 3 and 4
2. this tallies up nicely with the survey I ran last June where you each indicated whether you were "in it to win it" (competitive) or "in it for fun and fitness" (health benefits) - those who are taking some well earned rest from lanes 3 and 4 - and typically in that "in it to win it" category - are opening up space for others to actively participate in what is now classed as going into the off-season, save for the Busselton 70.3 race of course in 3 weeks! Thank you for releasing your spots as temporarily as that might be!
3. that we have a dedicated group of year-round swimmers who see the health benefits of attending the squad sessions as being key to their daily lives. Great!
4. could it be that the competitiveness of a Red Mist Cycle 3 or a side-by-side 50m dash is enough to satisfy your inner-Thorpedo without the need to enter a formal race? If so, also great!

…so as mentioned this morning, please recall for the next few weeks which lanes you swam in this morning 5.30am crew as it's likely that these will be your default lanes for the next little while…possibly! And that's the 5th point, the new system is working brilliantly for offering spaces to those who'd have previously missed out even in the quieter months, so this shake-up and creative re-shuffling adds a who new level of dynamism to the squad which personally I'm really enjoying! It's testing me to be the best that I can be to constantly re-callibrate lane speeds etc depending on who is leading. I hope that's evident in how you're finding the sessions lately yourselves?

So that's the Big Thank You really:

…thanks for having embraced the new system - we've been up and running exactly 8 months now and with your support and assistance it's proving to make a massive difference all around - for you, for the other swimmers who have previously been on the periphery, and us. Thank you!

Good Friday swim & coffee at Cottesloe Beach, meet 615am for 630am start!

Dear Swimmers

In lieu of pool being closed tomorrow, feel free to meet us at Cottesloe Beach on grass bank in front of pylon at 615am for a 630am start. 3k to Grant Street and back (or shorter!) then coffee at Beaches or similar. All welcome!

This is an informal swim and won't be coached (I'm planning to hop in with you!). It's been beautiful down there all week and tomorrow looks set to be easterly winds (flat water), clear and hopefully no stingers!

Look forward to hopefully seeing you there!

Paul

Results From The Inaugural 2016 Port-2-Pub Race For The Swim Smooth Perth Squad

Dear Swimmers

Saturday just gone marked a milestone in Rottnest Channel swimming history with the inaugural running of the Port-2-Pub event from Port Beach to Rottnest Island, a distance of just under 20km. It also symbolised the 60th anniversary of the very first Rottnest Channel Swim by Gerd von Dincklage-Schulenburg in 1956. A second event was also run over 25km, which was this year won by Brad Smith who you may recall from here recently finished 2nd overall at the Rottnest Channel Swim on 27th February. Brad averaged under 1:20/100m for the 25km swim finishing in a very handy 5h34m! Well done Brad, very proud of all that you have achieved this year and all that you will go on to achieve going forwards!

In total, 36 members of the Swim Smooth Perth Squad (and 1-2-1 swimmers that I coach separately) successfully navigated Gage Roads to make it across to Rottnest Island. The conditions were good despite earlier-in-the-week weather reports looking dire (it just goes to show that you can't lose precious energy worrying about what is out of your control!). Congratulations to all of you.

I'd like to make two special commendations here:

• John Edwards - finished the 20km Solo event in 6h02m - John has been in the squad almost longer than I am old and he never ceases to impress me with how well he goes on the Big Day - always a big time performer, John, you're a legend!
• Jesper Jensen and Renee Waller battled it out three weeks ago as Solo swimmers (with Jesper his first ever Solo) but on Saturday they combined efforts to swim a spectacular 4h49m! Brilliant, just brilliant!

Caveats on results:

I'm always paranoid about missing out people's results inadvertently in these big events. Unfortunately there is no name data from the official results at http://bluechipresults.com.au/results.aspx?CId=11&RId=829 for the wet-suited swimmers and Cyndy Hetrick and Sally Scaffidi (our two brilliant evening squad coaches) teamed up for a 5h26m crossing under the guise "Rubber Ducks" in their rubber suits ahead of their 20km Lake Argyle swims in May - well done girls! Also, the Team of 6 information is missing the 6th person's name, so if I've missed you, I'm terribly sorry! Please let me know! I do know for a fact that Super Sue Oldham went 7h05m with her team on Saturday, which rounds off a great summer's swimming for one of the most inspirational ladies I've ever had the privilege of coaching. Nice job Sue, we're super proud of you!

Here are those results - well done everyone! It was a very well run event by Ceinwen Roberts, John Guilfoyle & Co and one which you might consider next year as part of your summer season training with the Swim Smooth Perth Squad!

Paul

P.S final shout-out to Andrew Hunt, app builder extraordinaire who produced https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/port-to-pub/id1090716092?ls=1&mt=8 for the event - the new marker bout overlays are way cool! Well done Andrew!

End of a Saturday-Era + Grab Brilliantly Cheap Wetsuits / Skin-suits / Bathers

Dear Swimmers

It is with a heavy heart and much regret that I write to inform you of our "official" decision to cancel the Saturday 1-2pm open water skills session going forwards and until further notice. I wanted to thank you guys and girls directly for your support of this session as some of you have been attending it for over 8 years now!

So, "never say never" of course, but sometimes you have to recognise I guess if / when the time is up to move on to other ideas for weekend sessions. It looked like I had an early Saturday morning session secured last week, but that then fell through too, so I'll keep you all in the loop.

It seems increased awareness of sun exposure and also the fact that the session cuts a Saturday into two for many people was the primary feedback as to why the numbers had dropped off so much.

So please come and celebrate with me one last time this Saturday 19th March at 1pm (if you're not Port-2-Pubbing it obviously, and if you are - very best of luck to you!!!) as we wave farewell to the Saturday Open Water Skills Session to make way for something new and exciting! Watch this space!

Wetsuit MEGA SALE!

In-line with changing up the Saturday schedule I decided to do a little spring-cleaning (OK, well autumn-cleaning at least!) and found the following wetsuits, skin-suits and bathers (some brand new, some slightly used, some that have been through the wringer!) that are available for a new home. I will have them down on the pool deck with me tomorrow (Saturday 19/3/16 at the 1-2pm session) and any that don't sell then, will be available to "dash'n'grab" next week. Please ensure that you have the correct money so you can literally grab your bargain and fly!

Wetsuits:

We have nine (9) wetsuits for sale:

Men's SMT HUUB Archimedes 3:5 (prototype) - suit 5'8" to 6'0" and 70-78kg - $150. Condition: Used Once

Men's SMT HUUB Archimedes 4:4 (production suit) - suit 5'8" to 6'0" and 70-78kg - $250. Condition: Used Once

Men's SMT HUUB Archimedes 4:4 (production suit) - suit 5'8" to 6'0" and 70-78kg - $150. Condition: Fair (one tiny nick)

Women's Small HUUB Axena 3:5 (production suit) - suit 5'0" to 5'6" and 53-60kg - $200. Condition: Used Once

Men's SMT HUUB Aerious 3:5 (prototype suit) - suit 5'8" to 6'0" and 70-78kg - $150. Condition: Used Once

Men's SMT Blue Seventy Axis (production suit) - suit 5'8" to 6'0" and 70-78kg - $100. Condition: Well loved (a few nicks)

Men's SMT HUUB Archimedes 4:4 (prototype suit) - suit 5'8" to 6'0" and 70-78kg - $50. Condition: Very well loved (quite a few nicks)

Women's Small HUUB Aura 3:3 (production suit) - suit 5'0" to 5'6" and 53-60kg - $50. Condition: Very well loved (quite a few nicks)

Skin-suits:

First-come / best-dressed with this one - whilst these suits are no longer legal for open water events, they do make handy training suits to keep off the sun and stingers in the ocean!

All suits just $30 each (ranging from almost new, to very well-loved - all $30!!!) - get in quick to grab the best ones. One female suit (suit 5'0" to 5'6" and 53-60kg) and the other six (6) are men's (suit 5'8" to 6'0" and 70-78kg).

Swim suits:

We have the following remaining sizes from last year's Swim Smooth bathers run:

Men:

• 2 x XL ($25 each)

Women:

• Full body suit (diamond back) 2 x 14, 1 x 16 ($40 each)
• Bikini bottoms 2 x 12, 1 x 14 ($25 each)
• Bikini tops 2 x 8, 1 x 12, 2 x 14 ($25 each)

Epic Sunset!

Dear Swimmers

OK, so this one is slightly "off-topic" but I am hoping you'll humour me here as I revel in what an unbelievably fantastic sunset we had last night down at Cottesloe Beach - I reckon it had to be the best one I've ever seen here in Australia, and that's after some 14 years now! Wow!

Unfortunately the downside of any amazing sunset seems to be that a lot of the atmospheric particles created by the dust and smoke from bush fires is what causes these amazing colours, and I was sad to hear that this was also the case last night as someone lost their house in Joondalup according to news reports, which is of course tragic.

Here's a few more of my snaps from my parents last night in Australia - quite fitting!