Newsletter

Monday Memo – September 7th, 2010

Fall Practice Schedule at In Motion Fitness - White Group - 3:30 to 4:15, Navy Group – 4:00 to 5:00 pm, PreSenior/Varsity 4:45 to 6:15 pm, Senior/Varsity 5:00 to 7:00 pm. FRIDAY Schedule: White - 3:30 to 4:15, Navy 3:30 to 4:30, PreSenior/Senior- 4:15 to 5:45.  MINIJETS- Tuesday and Thursday - 3:45 to 4:15 p.m.

Our next team meet is the Penquin High Point Meet in Grass Valleyon September 25 & 26^th. This meet has filled and closed. We have a block of rooms reserved at the Holiday Inn in Auburn at a rate of $119.00 per night. To make reservations call 887-8787. It is a full service hotel, kids under 12 eat free in the restaurant.

TIMING VOLUNTEERS at Grass Valley– We have been assigned lane 5 for timing at the Grass Valley Meet. There will be volunteer sign up on the website starting tomorrow. Sign up early to get the best spots!

REMINDER: Personalized cap ordersare due to the Merchandise Drop Off file by the second Tuesday of each month. We do not have enough orders at this time to place the order. If you would like to have the caps in by the Grass Valley Meet please order right away.

Whiskeytown Lake Open Water Swim, Sunday, September 12^th– The lake swim is our next team event, it is a fun change to our regular pool meets. The event includes a 500 yd race for 8 to 10 yr olds, a one mile race for 11 & 12 yr olds, and a 1 and/or 2 mile race for 13 and over swimmers. This is also a masters race for 18 and older swimmers. Jim and Betsy will be at the event cheering you on! Registration forms are in the meet sheet file.

Our October team meet will be CCA's Spooktacular held in Roseville, October 8-10. I will email when the meet is available for registration.

We are asking all AquaJet families to participate in the eScrip program. This is a no work fundraiser. Pleasesupport the team year round by registering with eScripat www.escrip.com/. Search by our group name CHICO AREA SWIM ASSOCIATION, group number 3691990.

Join our ChicoAquaJets group on Face Book at http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=2509301356

If you have questions or concerns please contact Betsy at betsyaird@sbcglobal.netor 518-7946.

Betsy’s Blurb... ABCS OF MENTAL TRAINING

O is for Overtraining

By Dr. Aimee Kimball//Sport Psychologist

Physical exhaustion, sore muscles, mental fatigue, moodiness – what swimmer hasn’t experienced this before? While most swimmers are accustomed to wearing themselves out, too much exertion with not enough rest can lead to what’s often referred to as “overtraining.” This is a very common problem with swimmers and the physical and mental aspects need to be understood in order to prevent overtraining and ultimately to avoid burning out from your sport.
 
What is overtraining?
Basically, overtraining occurs when athletes train to their maximum without getting the physical and mental rest their body and mind need to recover. While athletes should be training to their utmost capacity, the importance of appropriate rest cannot be stressed enough. Overtraining is often more about the amount rest/recovery than about the training itself. If you’re going full speed ahead for weeks (or in some cases just days) and you don’t train at lower levels, eventually you are going to run out of energy. Overtraining can technically be both positive (when athletes are able to adapt and increase their training threshold) and negative. For the purposes of this article, I am going to focus more on the negative aspects.
 
How do I know if I’m overtraining?
There’s a fine line between working hard and pushing it too much.  The symptoms of overtraining are similar to what you would experience after a long, exhausting practice. However, overtraining tends to occur after a period of time where you consistently have symptoms such as physical exhaustion, moodiness, apathy and trouble sleeping. If you start experiencing excessive weight loss, a higher than normal resting heart rate, consistent illness or injury, or chronically sore muscles, you may be experiencing what is called “overtraining syndrome.” If you hit this phase, it’s likely time to take a day off or have a very light training day because your body is telling you it’s time to slow down or it’s going to have to shut off. If you continue at the current training level and don’t give yourself adequate rest, you’re susceptible to burnout. Athletes who hit the burnout phase usually have to take more time off from their sport because they end up lacking motivation and just don’t want to be near a pool for awhile.
 
How is overtraining related to tapering?
Before big meets, many coaches will push their swimmers to their limits with the intention of giving them significant rest before the competition. In this case, “overloading” the athletes is intentional and is often a planned part of training so they can peak at the right time. Coaches who use periodization strategies often consider a variety of physiological factors to ensure their athletes are maxing out but also able to recover.
 
How is overtraining related to mental training?
Just like every athlete has a different capacity to endure physical challenges, individuals’ mentality can also impact their likelihood of experiencing overtraining or burnout. Your ability to cope with stress and to handle the pressure you place on yourself (or that others place on you) can affect how you interpret the difficult training you are going through. Constantly focusing on how hard training is, doubting the training is going to make a difference, worrying about what the coach will have you do in practice, and even experiencing stress unrelated to swimming can all increase the likelihood that you will burnout.
 
Mental Tips for Hard Training

• Have a positive attitude and take time to manage your sport and life stress.

• Ask the coaches for their rationale behind the training. This will allow you to be more confident in their plan and help you to trust that the fatigue will be worth it.

• If you have some life stressors going on outside of swimming, talk to your coaches. Individual stress is something they need to consider to make sure they are training you hard but not overtraining you.

• Do some relaxation exercises before practice. You’ll find that by starting out in a more relaxed state you’ll be able to endure higher levels of training.

• Set goals for training. It’s easy to focus on pain and just surviving tough practices, but if you focus more on what you’re working to accomplish you’ll find the training much less exhausting. 

Make it Great!
Dr. Aimee