OK- so I just had a dynamite workshop in San Francisco. i have done many workshops in the past 5 years, and many have had their unique successes, but this one had a flow and improvement across the board that was even better than the usual TI experience.

So in my time afterwards, my thoughts naturally keep going to this:

How will this get ruined?

I have to remind myself to stay positive sometimes. If something goes too well, i wonder what went wrong. So if everything was working, the only way this could go wrong would be if people either

a) understood everything, learned everything, and decided to go back to old habits

b) stopped practicing what was working

I honestly don’t think a) is a possibility. Whether they like it or not, those students are permanently changed. Even if they didn’t practice, their minds understand the concepts and they feel differently in a stroke. B) is the real danger

After the workshop, make sure that you let the frequency stay high for a little while. Long sessions aren’t nearly as productive as frequent ones, in my opinion, when creating or improving on new habits. Get in 5 times a week for two weeks and mix the drills up. That series of drills got you to where you are now, so don’t just assume the finished product is the only thing that needs to be rehearsed.

Don’t do a drill without understanding the "why" of it. Focus on how each drill or full stroke focal point helps you in your specific goal. Practice in comfort- water temperature, nutrition, and calm of water are essential in early stages. Don’t shake it up with busy pools or draining your body or cold waater until you have something that you think will hold together. Take it up in distance a length or two at a time, until you can hold a quarter mile with no more than 1-2 difference in stroke count, to account for shorter push-offs, not a lack of precision.

I’ll keep posting as I keep thinking about what we did to break through like that, but to everyone who was there, GREAT JOB!!!!!