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 →
Training Suits, Speedo & Adidas Boxers – Review
There are many different companies offering many different types of swimming suit for training. This is the first article where I will review training suits that I use or have used. You will notice a trend; my suits are all quite cheap and hopefully long lasting. Long lasting because I have chosen suits that fall... Continue Reading →
Pace Under Pressure
Trying to pace yourself during a race is difficult, as the race progresses you feel more fatigued so that in say a 400m doing 32 seconds for the second 50m feels very different from doing 32 seconds for the 6th 50m. To try and simulate this feeling of going harder to hit the same time... Continue Reading →
The Switch-a-roo
The main set of this session switches between 200m IM and 100m Fc. This makes the session challenging, but not boring despite being 1800m long. The times I use are my own, I would roughly be getting 15 seconds rest on the FC and 20-25 on the IMs. I find the changing between the two... Continue Reading →
Arena Carbon Pro Jammers – Review
Mike reviews the Arena Carbon Pro Jammers
Me, my tech suit, and I
My junior club swimming was all done in the 90s, and in Ireland back in those days it was hard to come by decent swimwear (and forget about apparel from the top brands). Most swim hats were latex and the fanciest swim suits were lycra. This typically meant you would have your “good” suit for... 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 →
Tough to get going
There are a few times throughout a season when training can get tough for a swimmer. I don’t mean physically tough, training is generally tough if you are doing it right. I’m talking about those times when you get that “wonderful” combination of training being physically and mentally tough. These times are usually, in my... Continue Reading →
Aqua Sphere Alpha Fins – Review
I’ve seen a lot of swimmers use these in recent years so I picked up a pair to try them out. The first things that struck me about them was how buoyant they are and their shape. Every time I put them on I need to give myself a second or two to check which... Continue Reading →
FINIS Agility Padles – Review
I’ll be honest, the first time I saw a few non-traditional paddles from FINIS I thought they were just gimmicks. Thankfully, at a pop-up FINIS store a former Olympian was singing the praises of the Agility paddles and I took a chance and bought a pair. The theory behind these paddles is that they encourage... Continue Reading →
FINA World Masters – Recap of Day 3
My third day started very early, the men’s 50m free was the first event and my heat was the 8th in my pool, so I would be up 4 minutes after the event started. While I wasn’t at all worried about the race, it’s a splash and dash, I was determined to make it in... Continue Reading →
FINA World Masters – Recap of Day 2
I was still a little down on my second day of competing, but also eager to get back in the water. I was determined to leave nothing to chance and myself and Jia left for the pool very early. I should mention how lucky I was to have Jia with me for the trip. She... Continue Reading →
FINA World Masters – recap of Day 1
Mike recaps on his first day of racing at the FINA World Masters 2017
World Juniors & World University Games
It's been a great week for Ireland, in the World University Games in Taipei Shane Ryan won gold in the 50m Back, and Daragh Greene has been placed 6th in the 50m Breaststroke final. In the Junior World Championships in Indianapolis Conor Ferguson battled back from fourth place at the turn to win silver in... Continue Reading →
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