So, you’re ready to learn something new!  What’s the 1st thing you consider?  The 2nd thing?  Hopefully the 1st thing you look for is a good instructor match.  The path to successful learning can be made so much easier with a good connection between teacher & student.  Make sure that your personalities match.  Make sure that your learning style is met…as well as challenged.  And make sure that you trust the methodology used by the instructor.  But the 2nd thing…?  The 2nd piece to boosting successful learning is how you practice.  How you review those new skill sets can either enhance or sabotage your learning.  Frankly, I think this is the more difficult part to figure out…simply because of a disconnect between what effective practice looks & feels like.  Effective practice often FEELS frustratingly chaotic & not “fun” at all!

This is why I’m so proud of Megan Clark.  As she practiced, she started to understand that the structure of her practice needed to change in order to better support her learning.  Way to go, Megan!

In Megan’s own words:

“I’ve been doing triathlons for several years.  I started with a sprint in 2017 & recently completed 2 full Ironmans.  While my endurance & confidence have improved, my swimming pace has remained fairly stagnant.  So, this year I took a break from racing in order to spend more time on things I had to say ‘no’ to while training…like swim technique.

When I started lessons, I don’t think I realized how much WORK learning a new style of swimming would be!  I often felt that I was failing when I couldn’t immediately perform each new technique perfectly.  But over time I realized that I needed to be more patient & forgiving with myself.

I also made a few KEY changes to my practice sessions which improved my feelings of success:

• More frequent, shorter sessions:  I realized that, after 20-30 min, my frustration level would rise & I’d struggle to perform techniques I had previously nailed.  So, I shortened my practice sessions & added one (or two) per week.
• Pick 2-3 things to focus on per session:  Initially I wanted to check off every single focus item every time I practiced…but that’s just not possible in 20-30 min.  And more importantly, learning a new movement simply can’t be rushed.  I narrowed down the focus points & then set a goal to limit my focus to just those things.
• Mindfulness:  When something doesn’t feel right, I try to pay attention to as many of the details as possible so I can follow up with Coach Michelle in our next lesson.  I try to describe what felt off, on which side it happened, when it did & did not happen, what I tried to do to correct it, etc.  This helps us hone in on exactly what needs tweaking.
• Set aside the ego:  At first, I really struggled with just drilling & not swimming.  Won’t people around me think that I don’t know how to swim?!  How will they know that I’m an Ironman athlete?!  I had to give myself a pep talk.  My goal is to actually BE a better swimmer rather than to try & impress the person in the next lane.  Besides…let’s be real…they aren’t even paying attention to me anyway!”