Things I’ve Learned; Short term setbacks, long term gain

11/01/2023

Today I learned that sometimes it’s about the bigger picture, sometimes I must see that it is short term setbacks for long term benefits. In this morning’s training session we did delivery volume halves, this means timed efforts, under a bit more pressure to deliver. I found myself at a lack of effort from the very start of the session. A quick reflection during the session to try and remedy the situation, I suspected my heavy gym session yesterday afternoon had left me feeling drained and heavy this morning. I felt that my edge control was not as strong as it normally is, I didn’t feel I had my usual available power to use and my body just generally felt stiff and heavy. Becoming aware of how my body was feeling, I did my best to adjust my approach and mentality to my timed efforts to still get the most out of the session. I tried to slow my stroke rate down to combat my lack of available power, I attempted to take smoother more risk free lines throughout the course to counteract my lack of edge control and core strength. Whilst consciously attempting adapt and adjust myself I always found myself battling and succumbing to the power of the water again and again.
I was still proud of myself for finishing off the session and getting the most out of it even when it was really frustrating to do so. When I got off the water and had more of a chance to think about the session just past, that is when I discovered the valuable learning opportunity today.
Sometimes during these delivery sessions you’re not feeling at your peak, which is okay (and almost expected) especially mid training block. The lesson I drew from this morning is that sometimes it’s just hard, it just is a battle and sometimes you just have to get through it the best you can. I can see the benefit in doing these heavy gym sessions and know I have seen that it may impact the next on water training session that I do, but I know that I am still heading in the right direction. This makes me content with understanding that sessions like this are short term struggle for long term gain.
After the next heavy gym session I do I am going to experiment with different types of recovery to lessen the impact it has on my next on water session. But regardless of how I am feeling during the session, I know that some days it is just a struggle and I just have to get through them as best I can. Head held high.