At last vacation time is here! I am leaving on Friday for a week in St. Lucia with my family (and Merritt) and I will say, without apology, that I am glad to be getting away. I absolutely, without a doubt, 100 percent love coaching and working with the athletes everyday, but I am smart enough to appreciate and enjoy a vacation when it comes my way. I will surely miss everyone, especially the hard workers in Lane Finity or Lane David or whatever they are going to be!
I know that a lot of other folks will be traveling over break and this brings me to my point. While it is great for your attitude and state of mind to get a break from the pressures of your training routine, your conditioning will suffer unless you pay a little attention to it while you are away. I know it seems like a drag to have to think about working out when you are supposed to be relaxing, but consider this…exercise is relaxing! Imaging what your life would be like if you weren’t exercising your minds and bodies each night? How would you deal with social and academic stress? How would you deal with family issues? The work you do in the pool is not only essential for helping you meet your swimming goals, it is a tool that helps you survive the day-to-day in middle or high school. But the big thing to remember is that each day you don’t train, your goals are harder to achieve. Although it may feel good right now to say “I deserve a break” or “One week off won’t hurt me”, the truth is that this is a very important time in long course training and a week off could very well be the difference between getting that cut time, or missing it by a second.
So what am I suggesting? Well, it is not as bad as you may think! By all means, relax on your vacation! Put swim practice out of your mind if it helps you refresh. Don’t, however, neglect your body or your goals. You wouldn’t go a whole week without water or food, would you? Exercise is just as important for what you all have stated that you want to achieve this summer. So, what should you do? Well, swim ideally! If you are near a pool, swim for an hour or more a few times over the week. Laura can give workouts to anyone who wants them if you feel like doing more. No pool? How about running? A 45 minute run combined with push ups and crunches is an excellent workout. Get your heart rate up as often as possible. When you think about it, how much time are we really talking about? 4 hours over the course of the week? Are you willing to commit 4 hours to meet your goals? Are you willing to commit more? I am confident that all of you could answer yes to both of those questions!
As for me? Well, fear not! I will be maintaining my coaching skills while I am on vacation. (I want to meet my goals as well). Merritt and Dylan will enjoy all of the benefits of being on vacation with their swim coach! So pack those goggles GMA and have great break. I will see you all when I get back!
Coach Eileen Hall
I know that a lot of other folks will be traveling over break and this brings me to my point. While it is great for your attitude and state of mind to get a break from the pressures of your training routine, your conditioning will suffer unless you pay a little attention to it while you are away. I know it seems like a drag to have to think about working out when you are supposed to be relaxing, but consider this…exercise is relaxing! Imaging what your life would be like if you weren’t exercising your minds and bodies each night? How would you deal with social and academic stress? How would you deal with family issues? The work you do in the pool is not only essential for helping you meet your swimming goals, it is a tool that helps you survive the day-to-day in middle or high school. But the big thing to remember is that each day you don’t train, your goals are harder to achieve. Although it may feel good right now to say “I deserve a break” or “One week off won’t hurt me”, the truth is that this is a very important time in long course training and a week off could very well be the difference between getting that cut time, or missing it by a second.
So what am I suggesting? Well, it is not as bad as you may think! By all means, relax on your vacation! Put swim practice out of your mind if it helps you refresh. Don’t, however, neglect your body or your goals. You wouldn’t go a whole week without water or food, would you? Exercise is just as important for what you all have stated that you want to achieve this summer. So, what should you do? Well, swim ideally! If you are near a pool, swim for an hour or more a few times over the week. Laura can give workouts to anyone who wants them if you feel like doing more. No pool? How about running? A 45 minute run combined with push ups and crunches is an excellent workout. Get your heart rate up as often as possible. When you think about it, how much time are we really talking about? 4 hours over the course of the week? Are you willing to commit 4 hours to meet your goals? Are you willing to commit more? I am confident that all of you could answer yes to both of those questions!
As for me? Well, fear not! I will be maintaining my coaching skills while I am on vacation. (I want to meet my goals as well). Merritt and Dylan will enjoy all of the benefits of being on vacation with their swim coach! So pack those goggles GMA and have great break. I will see you all when I get back!
Coach Eileen Hall
You are right on, as always, Eileen. Exercise is FUN and is an important part of matintaining a healthy lifestyle. Even on vacation, we can exercise and relax at the same time!! For those of us who are NOT on vacation, we can use this time to INCREASE our training with doubles offered later in the morning and extra training time. School vacation can be a healthy and productive time for everyone.
ReplyDeleteEnjoy GMA!!