New start

Okay, now I am excited and terrified. Even though I have not been writing the training blog, I have been training. This year I missed the nationals. It looks like I've missed all the pool competitions for this year.

Today I received a email, that there's a spot for me in the national team for the world championships in Belgrad.. I am still undecided.

This would mean prudent training, creating strong motivation, mental preparation, diet and a lot of hard work for the next 9 weeks. But it would be one experience never to forget.

Off season

Competition is over. I did not do 200m DYN, but I exceeded my pb in static and dyn. It is very difficult to summarize what went through my head during the weekend. There were lot's of surprises but none of them made me unable to perform under pressure. I laid huge expectations to myself but without overburdening under them. Feeling just after the comp was all worth it.

I've had one month off training. Just working and going to open waters once a while. Now it's time to start depth again. We've done couple of training runs already, but more is to be done. Compared to warm and clear waters of Egypt, diving in cold, black waters of Finland is another beast to conquer itself.

Finished with the training

 I've been spotting the nearby bridge when it's going to open up. Today was the day. Ice had melted to create a 4m wide strip just under the bridge to go for diving. Weather was nice and water was cold.

Also today was last pool practice before the big competition. Purpose of the last few training sessions have been just to keep the feeling to the water and keep relaxed. No more hard training. Basically this means that all the training is behind me for this spring. It feels that no matter the competition goes, I've exceeded my expectations and really exceeded myself during this year.

I do feel really enthusthiast for the comp. I know it's going to be fun. I only hope to perform so that I won't have any regrets afterwards.

Static with samba

Today we had a static practice to prepare to upcoming competition, which is in two weeks. My static training has been 99% dry. This was second session in the water. I did one preparation with pranayama, 1 frc and two warmup statics with 3min+ and 3:30. Contractions were light and easy. I only felt the harder ones and did not feel any discomfort. This strategy has worked with me on dry statics really well. Doing two warmups delayed the contractions and also the drop of SpO2. In water I don't know if they have so much of a effect.

After doing the the warmups I did my max. I did 4 deep slow breaths and 3 faster "yawns". Packed ~10 times and go. Contractions came earlier than on the previous one starting lightly under 2mins. They got harder around 3mins and I put my hands to railing at 3:30 mark. From there I just hold on counting slowly to 10. I did game my 4:30 mark. I got up at 4:45 with my first samba unable to do the protocol. What a funny feeling! You feel slightly awkward just after, but can't wait to tell your friends about it :) But I am really happy that I managed to hold easily to the samba in water. Doing it dry has been so far too difficult. Even better,  I actually got up by myself. I have pushed to my limit for the first time (and slightly over it).

Next time I can do more minimal warmup, less breath-up and remember to open my eyes to focus on the hypoxia signs around 4mins. Also I remember to do forced hook breath just after my face is out of the water. Regarding the competition this was very good exercise for it.

Closing in on the target

The target competition is getting closer by the minute. It's been most amazing training run so far. Freediving is the most spectacular sport. So much to learn and so much to learn about yourself. I did another competition practice today. This time DNF Preparation went great and I felt really good starting up from the OT. I surfaced at 101m with new pb. Dive time was 2:25 which is the longest so far for me. Surfacing was pretty tight, but still felt in control. At the end of the dive I lost some air because of strong contractions and using mask. Something to be changed next year. Also for this dive time, with better technique, I should be able to do many more meters. After the dive I got real rush of endorfine and adrenaline. I felt like jumping up and down.

Spring is also coming and I've been looking few times when the ice melts from the lakes and I could start the spearing season. Weather is awesome and I hope I can hit the waters soon enough.

Training camp

This weekends national team ring training camp is over. It was a fun one. I've been able to really concentrate on the training for the last two weeks because I have been on vacation. Few things have happened: I've increased amount of yoga and as a result many things about mental training have been solidified and clarified. I've introduced also solid gym training regiment tailored towards freediving which emphasizes on the lactic tolerance, buffering and mental training against lactics. I also intented to do some swim training, but this I didn't managed to do, so it came back to haunt me in the camp.

As I don't have any background in any watersports. In fact I have never really enjoyed swimming, so as a result my ability to perform swimming technique is mostly constrained on staying afloat and paddling franticly. I can probably dive further than swim. At the training camp we had basic swimming drills, which work great towards DYN / DNF technique, but I definetely need to find time during summer to train these. I don't resent swim training, because I know that with some training I can get the basics down pretty fast.

Another thing was the max dynamic dive. Goal for saturday at the camp was to do maximum dynamic effort which would work towards to the spot on the national team. I did not have that high hopes though. My goal was to train competition start and preparation. All the preparation went great. There was almost a hour before the dive, when I already had my suit on and relaxed on the side of the pool. I did visualization exercises on the previous day and during hte morning. I felt good and ready to do a long dive before the start. I did realize that unfamiliar pool (shallower than my regular pool) and few weeks with very little pooltime (due to easter) would show in technique and relaxation, still is should be able to do nice, long dive with decent dive time. The dive itself started well, but felt horrible after 100m. I surfaced on 125m with dive time 1m25sec, which is pretty low. I felt very high co2 and for some reason my tolerance was all time low. I just gave up. Start and surface protocol went okay, with slight grab on the surfacing. As a result I figured out that the competition dive will most likely feel much harder than normal training long dive. It should not really matter and that should be trained before in not-so-optimal conditions. I think the training should prepare you on much more difficult performance that it actually will be.

As this was my first competition style start, it was very good overall experience about the preparation, about the dive itself and what I need to do to prepare for the next one.

What is enlightenment?

I have been wondering recently, that if I should try to find myself a coach, a guru or a teacher. I feel that I am doing very well without and constant self pondering, reflection and hunger for more information keeps me occupied and happy. Is the reason why I think I need one, because others have had one too? I realized something important while reading a article from wefreedive.org. It boils down on my motives and goals why I freedive and train. I train not to become the best freediver in the world. Comparing my results to other divers is irrelevant. I train to become the best I can be. Here are the wise words of Immanuel Kant (quoted from wefreedive.org).

An Answer to the Question: What is Enlightenment?

Immanuel Kant - 1784

Enlightenment is man's emergence from his self-imposed immaturity. Immaturity is the inability to use one's understanding without guidance from another. This immaturity is self-imposed when its cause lies not in lack of understanding, but in lack of resolve and courage to use it without guidance from another. Sapere Aude! [dare to know] "Have courage to use your own understanding!"--that is the motto of enlightenment.

Laziness and cowardice are the reasons why so great a proportion of men, long after nature has released them from alien guidance (natura-liter maiorennes), nonetheless gladly remain in lifelong immaturity, and why it is so easy for others to establish themselves as their guardians. It is so easy to be immature. If I have a book to serve as my understanding, a pastor to serve as my conscience, a physician to determine my diet for me, and so on, I need not exert myself at all. I need not think, if only I can pay: others will readily undertake the irksome work for me. The guardians who have so benevolently taken over the supervision of men have carefully seen to it that the far greatest part of them (including the entire fair sex) regard taking the step to maturity as very dangerous, not to mention difficult. Having first made their domestic livestock dumb, and having carefully made sure that these docile creatures will not take a single step without the go-cart to which they are harnessed, these guardians then show them the danger that threatens them, should they attempt to walk alone. Now this danger is not actually so great, for after falling a few times they would in the end certainly learn to walk; but an example of this kind makes men timid and usually frightens them out of all further attempts.

Thus, it is difficult for any individual man to work himself out of the immaturity that has all but become his nature. He has even become fond of this state and for the time being is actually incapable of using his own understanding, for no one has ever allowed him to attempt it. Rules and formulas, those mechanical aids to the rational use, or rather misuse, of his natural gifts, are the shackles of a permanent immaturity. Whoever threw them off would still make only an uncertain leap over the smallest ditch, since he is unaccustomed to this kind of free movement. Consequently, only a few have succeeded, by cultivating their own minds, in freeing themselves from immaturity and pursuing a secure course.