Full-day session

Yesterday, Sunday 27th, marked the end of the one-week Raya school break. Although some schools resumed classes earlier on Thursday, the majority of schools had their holidays until the 27th.

For the team, the holidays was a time to catch-up in terms of mileage and intensity. Admittedly, some kids had been missing sessions prior to the holidays and the one-week break was a much-needed "catch-up" time.

We had a full-day session (9 AM to 6 PM) on Thursday with most of the backup squad in attendance. Prior to this, we had been having heavy double sessions.

Warm-ups. Moderate physical took place prior to their morning swim workout.

Kicking practice. Some kids at the other side of the pool are already having trouble making the interval time.

Lunch break. Food, glorious food!

Rest time after afternoon physical, also referred to as K-O (knock-out) time. A much, much heavier swim workout awaited these kids.

18 Sept declared a School Holiday

Friday 18 September it seems, has been declared a holiday for all schools. I sincerely hope that those who have been inactive recently or throughout the year, but hope to represent the team in an upcoming national meet, will take this opportunity to prove that they are worthy of a place to compete in the team's name.

As it has been for quite some time already, swimmers in other clubs in Penang and other states in the country are doing more sessions than swimmers from PST. I only hope that PST swimmers can understand that if we are to achieve anything near the national standard, then we must be prepared to put in more sessions too.

KSN Meet Invite

We've been invited to a swimming meet by KSN (Kompleks Sukan Negara) known as the "Kejohanan Jaguh Renang KSN". This meet will be held from 10th to 11th October (Saturday & Sunday) at Bukit Jalil. It's a friendly meet, and the first three placings will be awarded medals, certificates and cash prizes. Anyone interested? Let me know.

Test set inevitable

Ok, there's no denying it, there's a test set -- no ... two test sets -- coming soon. The purpose of test sets are to analyze the performance of swimmers -- whether or not there's improvement, as well as to increase anaerobic threshold. In other words, it's to check whether or not you're improving and how fit you are.

It's not painless, I'll admit, but necessary and part of the training process. So, for those of you who've been having late nights, time to hit the sack a little earlier.

Delayed SPP

Ok, things aren't working out the way I had planned them. The swimmers' strokes still suck. Some of them aren't even trying. They're either thrashing the water or just making the necessary movements to move forward. As a result, there's no stroke efficiency, reduced propulsion and a lot of wasted time and effort.

Due to this, I've decided to delay our entry into SPP and spend more time in GPP working on technique. Granted, it delays our progress, but unless swimmers take stroke technique seriously, then we're in serious trouble as far as progress and development is concerned.

Jerm's time trial today was a disaster. It opened my eyes as to how serious and severe his stroke errors were. This is the result of reversibility I suppose. I wonder how many kids will encounter this before they understand the importance of training consistency. Worse is, I wonder how many kids will quit the sport as a result of what Jerm's experiencing.

New info ... SUKPEN & OKH

1. SUKPEN or SUKan PENang will be held from 28 (Sat) to 29 (Sun) November 2009 at the PISA Aquatic Center, Penang. Swimming events will very likely be held on either of these days. It should be no more than a half-day meet.

2. Competitors for SUKPEN will be representing their respective districts. PST belongs to Daerah Barat Daya (DBD), which is occupied by i) Permata Sports Management, ii) Bukit Jambul Country Club and of course, iii) PISA Swimming Team. Selection of swimmers for DBD will be made by the Team Coaches of these three clubs.

3. In view of this, there is no clash between the dates of SUKPEN and the National Inter-Club (or OKH). The OKH is scheduled to be held from 3 to 5 December 2009 at the Paroi Aquatic Center, Seremban.

Name failure

Actual name of a shop in Spain.

Another one

Here's another weird dream that I've been having:

Dream #4
I'm in a town. The town appears deserted. A group of people and I wander from shop to shop only to find the shops deserted. Then it happens - a plume of smoke overhead. Somewhere on the other side of town, a shop disappears in a plume of smoke. We (the people with me) rush out to the streets and take shelter in a nearby shop. Just then, the shop we were in goes up in a plume of smoke and debris. It's then that we learn that the town rebuilds itself by destroying its old, useless structures.

What does this dream mean?

It concerns me that this dream (and the ones mentioned in an earlier post) occur on an almost nightly basis, meaning, they seem to repeat themselves as if they're part of a bad Astro re-run. It makes me almost afraid to go to sleep since I know what's waiting for me in dreamworld.

In these dreams, I can't change the outcome and my movements seem to be restrained. Can anyone help me decipher these dreams? Or maybe an escape from them? I hate dying in my own dreams.