We usually try to give you a good weekend read. This week, it’s a good listen–or two. In late January, I was interviewed by two podcast hosts. Eric Schwartz of the Triathlon Training Podcast and Rich Soares of the Mile High Endurance Podcast. Coincidentally during the same week.

On MHE, the TI segment begins at the 14:30 mark. Rich and his two co-hosts, Bill Plock and Khem Suthiwan, talk about their respective familiarity, exposure and impressions of TI for 3+minutes before the actual interview begins at around 18:00.   This podcast includes some personal history–how I got started and how I achieved certain milestones like my first Manhattan Island Marathon.

Rich Soares shows how much he enjoys podcasting.

Rich Soares shows how much he enjoys podcasting.

Then Rich asks me about some specific takeaways he got from reading the TI book, which gave me the opportunity to talk about how dramatically our analysis of swimming and how to teach it have ev0lved since I wrote that over 20 years ago. (And to note that I’m currently engaged in writing the 2.0 version of that best-selling book.)

Other topics: What are the ‘rules’ for swimming faster? What is the TI way of accessing swimming power? Parallels between TI and Chi Running. (Look for a series of video conversations between me and Danny Dreyer, beginning in March.)  From 1:20 to 1:25 Rich was joined by his co-hosts Bill Plock and Khem Suthiwan (who didn’t sit in on our interview) for a review. It was fascinating to hear the evolution of Bill and Khem’s views of TI before listening to the podcast and after.

And I must add, the post-podcast conversation between Rich, Bill and Khem included one of the highlights of my life in coaching–a comment from Bill. In a lead-in recorded before he heard the interview, it’s evident he has a relatively vague sense of TI. (He wasn’t in on the interview, so he heard the podcast after the fact.) In a review recorded after listening, he compared me to John Wooden, the legendary basketball coach at UCLA, as a dispenser of simple yet profound wisdom. There can be no greater honor for a coach in any sport than to be compared to the ‘Wizard of Westwood.’

Eric Schwartz, the host of Triathlon Training Podcast

The Triathlon Training Podcast is hosted by Eric Schwartz of EnduranceOne Coaching in Los Angeles. We covered in-depth history of TI’s early years (like how I paid the bills when TI was still a hobby, not a business) before getting into a discussion of TI methodology. I told Eric at the conclusion of our conversation that it had been one of my all-time favorite interviews because of how deftly he guided the conversation. Eric regularly paused our conversation to probe deeper on a topic–asking great questions–then seamlessly returned us to where we’d left off.

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Post-Script: Do You Have Magazine/Periodical Experience?

It’s been my dream for many years to launch a Total Immersion Magazine. Obviously this would be a magazine for swimming–but unlike any that has ever existed. The mission of TI Magazine would be to cover swimming as a lifestyle, rather than as a sport. If you want to read the results of the NCAA or Olympic–or even US Masters–Championships, or training programs or athlete profiles, there are plenty of publications–in print or on-line–where you can do that.

On the other hand, if you’re more interested in the latest and most enlightened thinking on swimming for health, happiness, self-realization–for life–I’ve never seen a magazine whose mission is to cover that. TI Magazine will be that publication.

This month I’ve been galvanized to stop wishing, and begin acting on that dream. It’s remarkable how quickly my vision became much more clear as soon as I got serious with myself about making it happen.

If you have magazine or periodical experience, in print or on-line, on the editorial or business side, and share our vision that the swimming world will be a better place with a swimming lifestyle publication, I’d love to talk with you. Please message me at terryswim@gmail.com