OK, I'll come back into the "dog park" and lift my leg.......
A few personal observations:
- Ion has an incredible passion/obsession for our sport, sadly in forums such as this it is very negative.
- Since I've known Ion I've always given him credit for being more fit than most masters swimmers (as well as the general population). He trains exceptionally hard, putting more days/miles into swimming than a lot of high school/college swimmers.
- His technique is extremally poor, he has marginal flexibility, he suffers from athsma and breathes side to side every stroke, has no "feel", no streamline, "flop" starts, doesn't race with goggles, doesn't eat right during meets, gets extremally nervous before races and has gotten to the times he's at purely from being "fit" (he is far stronger in the weight room than me). If Ion ever tested his VO2 max he would probably disprove his own theory, its probably far higher that most even without the base training in ages 13-19.
- This is where his obession and reality collide, he wants so badly to excel that he's devised "categories" such as "late bloomers" to gain the recognition that his stand alone swimming times can't. If this helps him stay motivated to train everyday more power to him, its the public "challenges" that he issues in these forums that are the biggest problem.
Ion, I hope you can find a more zen like relationship to your training. Swimming is a beautiful thing, much of that beauty has little to do with speed or fitness but rather with how you interact with water. My biggest thrill is simple gliding, whether thats off a turn, a start, or on a dive at 100 feet. Find that "feel/balance" and you'll find a whole new experience in the sport you love so much!
OK, I'll come back into the "dog park" and lift my leg.......
A few personal observations:
- Ion has an incredible passion/obsession for our sport, sadly in forums such as this it is very negative.
- Since I've known Ion I've always given him credit for being more fit than most masters swimmers (as well as the general population). He trains exceptionally hard, putting more days/miles into swimming than a lot of high school/college swimmers.
- His technique is extremally poor, he has marginal flexibility, he suffers from athsma and breathes side to side every stroke, has no "feel", no streamline, "flop" starts, doesn't race with goggles, doesn't eat right during meets, gets extremally nervous before races and has gotten to the times he's at purely from being "fit" (he is far stronger in the weight room than me). If Ion ever tested his VO2 max he would probably disprove his own theory, its probably far higher that most even without the base training in ages 13-19.
- This is where his obession and reality collide, he wants so badly to excel that he's devised "categories" such as "late bloomers" to gain the recognition that his stand alone swimming times can't. If this helps him stay motivated to train everyday more power to him, its the public "challenges" that he issues in these forums that are the biggest problem.
Ion, I hope you can find a more zen like relationship to your training. Swimming is a beautiful thing, much of that beauty has little to do with speed or fitness but rather with how you interact with water. My biggest thrill is simple gliding, whether thats off a turn, a start, or on a dive at 100 feet. Find that "feel/balance" and you'll find a whole new experience in the sport you love so much!
