Just a quick message today, it’s a beautiful Sunday in Southern California and I need to experience the Great Outdoors at some point very soon!

I received a message from a happy Tri Swim Coach customer on Friday, and it reminded me of the importance of concrete goals, both in training and racing. Here’s the message:

“…since I started learning with you and TriSwimCoach 4 months ago, I have been able to drop my average 100m time from 2’30 to 1’45, and I now feel like I can swim as long and as far as necessary for triathlons. No distance frightens me anymore. One might even say I now “laugh at the water”. Thanks for everything!”

-Sebastien Monnet Clarkston, Michigan USA

Great example of someone who put in the time and effort required and in just 4 months has dropped 45 seconds from his 100m average time!

No need to wait until race day results, you can accomplish all kinds of “little victories” along the way.

Sometimes mini-goals turn into not-so-mini results!

This is the idea- set mini goals, and check in every couple of weeks. Can you take 2 seconds off your average 100m time?

Maybe your mini-goal is just to swim 1500m straight, or maybe it’s taking 1 fewer stroke to get across the pool.

The other thing to note here is…. mindset! If Sebastien thought of himself as a “slow swimmer” at 2:30/100m, he likely would not have experienced the 45 second drop, not even close.

Believing in yourself, believing in your ability to befriend the water is the absolute best way to bring your times down.

Saying “I am slow” means you will remain “slow”, whatever that means to you.

Start breaking down your goals into chunks, and start (or continue) befriending the water… and there’s your success formula!