MF'n Triathlon Coaching

I looked out over the pristine waters of Elk Lake. Up until this point, Vancouver Island had fulfilled all my expectations as far as scenery was concerned. Never have I felt so engulfed by agricultural beauty in the way of abundant nurseries, greenhouses, and road-side farms and shops. Yet just a short drive and / or walk, and I could look out over the waters of the ocean. As part of the 5th wave to enter the 73-degree waters of Elk Lake, I felt confident in my ability to sprint toward the front of my wave in an effort to find space. I did, but I also found waves 4 and 3. It seemed my effort to stick to the buoy line was one of insurmountable proportions. In fact, by the time I'd made the second turn to the shore, it proved impossible. I could see my swim time lengthening, but like Coach Derek reminded me the day before, I needed to stay in the present. In an effort to do that, I thought my breathing and strength of my strokes would keep my mind busy. My transition out to the b

Overall time: 4:41:46 (PR) Swim: 32:26 Our wait for the swim start included large rain drops from a small system that moved over head of us from the south. The rain felt colder than the water, which Race Director Scott Ward said measured a whopping 65 degrees. So upon diving into Medical Lake, I felt comfortable. Over the last few months, I've really been working on making my swim stroke more comfortable. The use of my new Finis fins have helped me to better time my kick with my stroke. As a result, I've noticed I swim with a different position in the water, almost feeling as though I can pick up my butt to gain a bigger purchase on the water. After a quick 200 yard sprint to gain position, I attained a comfortable stroke in clear water relatively quickly. Faster, in fact, than what I'm used to. Around 2 large yellow buoys and keeping the last three orange ones to my right, I navigated the swim course with relative ease, feeling fairly confident I'd swam the buo