68 - Ali Meeks and Conquering Your Fear of Open Water

Endurance Innovation is now on Patreon! Have a peek at our page and show us some love.2:15 meet swim and triathlon coach Ali Meeks4:30 the motivation behind Ali’s new book: Conquer Your Fear of the Triathlon Swim6:30 the fear of open water10:30 the two aspects of swimmingSafetyChoreography 13:15 the ‘not seeing the bottom’ fear and the source of our own safety15:30 the ‘friends in the water’ fear17:45 the 5 circles: 1 - calm, 2 - nervous, 3 - afraid, 4 - terrified, 5 - panickedAwareness of mental state is first step, always trying to come back to that first circleRetain connection to the physical body through mindfulness practice20:45 the ‘non-wetsuit’ fear23:00 sinkers vs floaters 28:00 the discomfort of wetsuits37:00 the role of intensityWarmup is key39:00 the difference between nervousness and excitement is expectation of outcome40:30 the Conquer Your Fear ProcessAgree not to push your limits in the waterFollow the process as slowly as necessary to increase comfort while staying in that first circleFace in water > floating and feeling the buoyancy > propulsion added to floating > back float for safety > open water in the shallows > open water in deeper water with easy access to shallow water Allow natural curiosity to drive progression47:15 the ‘other people’ factor48:45 the psychological impact of a death in the water on other swimmers 53:00 self-aware risk acceptanceLearn more about Ali at Ready Set Sweat. More info on the book is here. Conquer Your Fear of the Triathlon Swim can be purchased on Amazon.