Recap - Pool national champs 2008

Ok… One job requiring overly intensive time allocation could be interpreted as bad luck or something similar and innocent, but two in a row is a sign of some unconscious masochistic perversion. Then again, I have some seriously ambitious goals also (or should I say ESPECIALLY) in working, so some extra efforts are required there as well in order to earn the privilege to play with the big boys. So training remains a tight balancing act between working and other commitments for the foreseeable future, but enough of that. Just understand that setting up my computer after working day is often not the first thing on my mind, so updates can occasionally be few and far in between… Anyway

By the time of my last entry I was approaching the final build-up stages in my build-up to national championships with at monofin that was falling apart with every kick I made. We were supposed to have a training camp with the national team with plenty of dedicated pool time. The problem was that the make-shift patches I had made did not hold, and I did not dare dive at all in the training camp with it. And to make things worse I had some annoying pain in my shoulder that prevented any DNF attempts. So, weekend of recreational diving and pizza for me. Bad luck but I managed to live through the disappointments. The other finalization trainings went to hell also: hypothermia, colliding with a scuba diver on max attempt, bailing out prematurely due to lack of concentration… Not exactly the kind of stuff to boost confidence and motivation prior to a big comp.

Then I FINALLY received the monofin I had ordered from Polyorg. 13 months after ordering. Yes, THIRTEEN. ONE-THREE. Additionally the monofin I finally received was not the one I had ordered: I had ordered a Russian Hyperfin with a clear extension that comes below the heel that gives a free upper kick, but instead I got a regular Waterway replica (?). No heel-extension, and the quality is not exactly top-notch, since some glue connections are already ripping apart… But, even though it was at least a temporary improvement to my previous monofin: The new monofin did not feel comfortable in constant kicking (too hard blade) or in kick-and-glide (too steep angle in foot pocket causing inefficient start position for the kick), but for 2-kick-and-glide style similar to Dave Mullins’s technique it was the best mono I had ever tried: first small kick to get the position right and then the second slightly harder kick to truly capitalize the extremely well-fitting foot pocket connected to a hard blade followed by a long glide where the steep angle keeps the mono in a hydrodynamic position. After getting the first feel of the mono I started to understand how Stig is able to do 50m with fewer than 10 kicks, and that it is not even all that hard a goal for me either!!! I knew it would be a big risk to use a new and fundamentally different mono in a big competition with less than 5 times using it in water, but the benefits were just so clear that I was ready to take that risk.

The last week before the comp I had trouble arranging any quality water time, but all of a sudden I got the perfect chance when the safety organization was doing their finalization training in the official 50m comp pool a few days before the comp. Long story short: I did comp-like preparations (concentration, stretching etc.), warm-up dives and had a go for it. I dove about 160m without any problems whatsoever. I have had several 50m dives that have felt more challenging than that one. I stopped at that point because I had no recent experience in long dives, and because it was enough to outdo Jyri Vehmaskoski’s unofficial national season best of 155m ;). So, some confidence was regained just in time for the Comp.

The actual preparations for the competition went without any incidents: spotting Antero and Aleksi for their statics, stretching, concentrating, hydrating etc. along the day. Then came my turn to do the DNF I had signed up months ago. I hadn’t done ANY DNF trainings for almost a year, and I was totally focused on DYN, so I had no urge to do the DNF in the first place. But I did start it even though I still don’t know why I did it. At the first contractions at 50m I started wondering what the hell I was doing there, and since I was not able to come up with a reason I ended the dive in 66m to save my strength for the main course. I was happy to see that the newer guys who have been training very hard on DNF were generally able to perform well in the comp: Atte and Jone got their first national medals and Mikko Pöntynen took the title with a new national record of about 130m. There was no way I would have had the guts to go that far without any routine on longer dives, so retrospectively thinking I had no chance to renew my title and record in DNF that time.

Then off to the main course, DYN. I kept myself warm, hydrated, focused and positive for the entire time before the dive. At 20min before OT I put the mono on, did 2x60m training dives to test the technique, and then sat on the side of the pool with the mono on until my OT. The waiting time was easy to arrange since I’m back to using my wet suit (minor inconvenience during diving is more than offset by the assurance that hypothermia will not kill my dive), and because the foot pocket is comfortable for up to 30min even though it fits like a glove. The start went well, no packing dizziness or problems with the timing of the start to OT-window. Instantly at the start I felt total relaxation during the long glide phases and I just kept enjoying the Flow through liquid :). At 80m I started to anticipate the uncomfortable zone, and it came at 90m but since I was so well focused I was able to shake it off already during the next glide phase, so at 95m point I was again totally in the comfort zone. As nothing unexpected happened until 110m I was sure that I would be making it to 150m. I did not feel any need to accelerate as the gliding was feeling so relaxing, but I think that out of some bad habit I was not able to glide quite as much towards the end of the dive. So, the main focus for the dive from 125m point on was to ensure glide position, relax and enjoy the glide, and before each kick pair to do a quick status check on lactic acids and O2-warnings. I felt the first lactic acids at 145m, but for the remainder of the dive I was able to shake them off completely during the glides. For what came to the O2-warnings that I had been so cautiously been preparing for, they never appeared!!! I just kept on kicking and gliding from 150m looking for some signs of O2-warnings, but nothing happened! Instead, I came to the point where the pool depth dropped once again from about 2m to about 1,2m, and I had beforehand decided that no matter what I felt at that point I would end the dive there since it would be a safe place to do SP as I would be able to stand firmly on the bottom. So, in the last few meters I aimed more for the bottom profile than for going forward that I almost lost my way to the next lane, but apparently it didn’t matter since I was able to perform the SP without any problems, and felt instantly after that I could have gone much, much further: Mild lactic acids and STILL no O2-warnings!!! The final distance was 184m, which was a new NR, and was enough to renew my national title with almost 30m margin. The dive was filmed, and it has been processed into a DVD that should be available any time now, so I’m looking to attach that video here as well, but remembering that computers hate me as much as I hate them I wouldn’t hold my breath while waiting for it.

So, after a big comp the first objective is to counter the unavoidable training hung-over, but since I had seriously been preparing for the competition only a few days the back-lash was short as well. I started training again within a week, still focusing on relaxation and fun rather than distance. Now my aim is to do multiple reps to 175m to gain routine and confidence for that distance and not go for 200m before I have had at least 5 successful and strong 175m dives. Looking back last summer I had performed only a few strong 150+ dives and then went straight for the 200m mark, and I don’t want to make that mistake again.

Unfortunately our indoor pool sessions end now for some weeks, so I’m forced to do more of other trainings for some time now. But luckily after that the Olympic outdoor swimming pool opens, and I’ll be having a chance to dive in a 50m constant depth pool once a week, so something good to look forward to.

Additionally some friends and I have planned another quite different diving project for this summer, but more on that when we have structured our thoughts better regarding it…

PS. THANX for your comments and encouragements!!! They have been a great source of confidence and motivation when I have been having some bad luck or other mentally challenging periods. Hopefully I can repay part of that by giving some possibly useful ideas / insights to the things that I have found useful in freediving.