Somewhere along the process of learning to control their speed, swimmers start doing pacing sets. This kind of sets are designed to get the swimmers to swim at their race speed on shorter distances and repetitively.
For example, a set of 50 meters repeats at their pace 200 (200 best time divided by four) on an interval giving them 20/25 seconds of rest between repeats.
Over time, as they learn, swimmers become able to more consistently hit their target (pace 200 time) with accuracy and inevitably discover that the price, in terms of effort they have to spend to hit their target, is subject to change from day to day. On some days, they hit their targets with a lot more ease than on others. They usually make that discovery on a day where the price is a lot more expansive than what they’d expected when looking at the practice before jumping in the water!
Wishing it was cheaper.
A good indication that a swimmer may be in the process of dealing with this lesson, is when I can tell the athlete is engaged and yet still misses his/her time target by very little each repeat. They’re working just hard enough to not give up, but refuse to put the necessary effort to bridge the gap between their target and their times. They wish it would be cheaper, easier to hit their target and stubbornly refuse to pay the full price.
When I see a swimmer in that situation, I ask them out of the water to have a chat designed to help the swimmer become aware of his/her behavior with the purpose of adjusting it, so that the athlete can get the result he/she is seeking.
The following is a typical intervention I may have with a swimmer facing this lesson.
“Coach I’m doing all I can to make my target, I’m so frustrated!” the swimmer shares after I’ve pulled him out of the water.
“I think you are just discovering what it means when I say that the price is subject to change. The way it feels one day to achieve your target and the way it will feel the next, is going to change. It changes because of so many variables like the amount of sleep you’ve had, the food you ate, what kind of physical activities you did in and out of the pool, your mood, etc.”
I stop for a few moments, to assess where the swimmer is at after hearing this. Once I’m certain the swimmer understands how the variables mentioned affect how it feels each day to hit his target, I continue: “Your job, in this situation is not to complain when the price is higher than what you would like to pay. Kind of like what you’ve been doing so far today.”
The swimmer giggles revealing he had just seen his behavior in a different perspective.
Our job is to pay the price whatever it might be on that day.
“Your job is to pay the full price whatever it might be on that day, whether you like the price or not. The reason for that is quite simple, can you know ahead of time what the price will be to win a race, to achieve your goals?” I asked waiting for his answer.
“Maybe you can know if you’re tired that day, but I guess it’s not until you get started that you really find out.” He answers pensively.
After a pause, I continue: “That’s right, in life like in swimming, the price to do something is subject to change. We grow from the inside faster when we stop hesitating to pay the full price, when we feel it’s too expansive, because it pushes us out of our comfort zone. It can be very scary when you think all you got left in your wallet are coins!”
“What is the best stance to approach a situation like this where you feel like you need to spend a lot of money to get just a few tenths of a second faster? What would be the best way for you to approach the remainder of the set?” I asked curious of what he would come up with.
“I’m going to use the “one more” approach so that I take them (the 50 repeats) one at a time.” He answers enthusiastically.
The “one more” approach is a skill swimmers have learned to help them stay in the present when they feel intimidated by the size of the challenge at hand. In this set, it means taking each 50 as if it was the last one of the set, so as to avoid saving a bit of energy for the subsequent repeats.
The value is in the struggle, in the fight!
“Get it done, regardless of the cost! Remember, that what makes you a faster swimmer is not whether you hit your target or not, but is the amount of money you spend, invest to hit your target. The value is in the struggle, in the fight!”
Once swimmers have had this experience and intervention, all I have to do to bring them to reflect on their behavior in dealing with a particular challenge, being in or out of the water, is to ask them: “Is this a case where you wished the price was cheaper?”
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