Its been a while since I gave an update on Jia's Rome Challenge, it was a very busy summer. Summer 2018 Things went a little off the rails in the beginning of the summer. I took a two week break from swimming after the Irish open and afterwards I insisted Jia take something similar... Continue Reading →
Nine Month Update – The Rome Challenge
We are now 9 months into the Rome challenge and as we are only competing in Munster galas, Jia’s competitive season is over, but her training continues. The Irish Masters Open The Irish Masters Open was Jia’s third competition and her first long course competition. We went up the day before to get used... Continue Reading →
Rome Challenge Sessions – Round 4
These sessions cover Jia's training over January and February, and continue from round 3 (hence the numbering). Most of the sessions still focus on aerobic work and technique work as we build a base for the second year of the challenge. I'm using a new format for these sessions, it should make them easier to... Continue Reading →
Second Gala – The Rome Challenge
Jia’s second competition was supposed to be the Irish Masters gala in Limerick, but a freak cold weather front caused days of snow and the gala ended up being cancelled. This meant that our home gala was her second competition, and what a competition it was. Tralee Gala Now that Jia has actual entry times... Continue Reading →
February Update – The Rome Challenge
A lot has happened since our last update where we covered Jia’s first ever competition. We are now entering month number 6 of the challenge and I’m not the only person that can see the big changes. Staff members and fellow swimmers have all commented on the difference between September and now. It’s amazing what... Continue Reading →
Rome Challenge Sessions – Round 3
These are the next 7 sessions that Jia completed for the Rome Challenge. All of these sessions are from December. This round saw an increase in the distance per session and with that an increase in her aerobic training. This month was particularly busy with work and family so there are less sessions than in... Continue Reading →
Rome Challenge Sessions – Round 2
These are the next 9 sessions that Jia completed for the Rome Challenge. All of these sessions are from November. As you will see there is still a heavy focus on the basics, but the distance per session is increasing. This month also saw Jia start to swim full stroke butterfly with fins. Towards the... Continue Reading →
First Competition – The Rome Challenge
Saturday was a milestone for the Rome Challenge, it was Jia’s first ever masters swimming competition. She had never competed an any sports growing up in China, and had only ever done a few 5k fun runs and a handful of sea swims since coming to Ireland (because everyone should swim around Fenit lighthouse at... Continue Reading →
Rome Challenge Sessions – Round 1
As the Rome Challenge progresses I will be posting samples of Jia's workouts. These ones are from late September - early October, ones from late August and early September won't be posted. There will be a lot of variety in the first few rounds of workouts, but as the months go on there will be... Continue Reading →
First Steps – The Rome Challenge
Things are moving ahead with our Rome Challenge. Jia is now registered with Kingdom Masters and her entry for her first competition, the Mallow Masters, is about to go in. The first two months (we had started before the first article went up), have been all about creating a solid base. Before we started Jia... Continue Reading →
Making a Master Swimmer – The Rome Challenge
While Jia and myself were sitting in the stands of the World Masters in Budapest surrounded by vibrant energy, by swimmers of all ages, and the general party atmosphere we started to wonder. Could someone that was in good shape, but had never trained or competed in swimming, or any sport, take part in... Continue Reading →