Friday, January 17, 2014

Makatush................

Definition: To receive a swift, sideways, glancing blow across the side of the head from someone, usually with an open hand. However, a Makatush can come in a range of variations and ferocity as the intent is to remind the receiver that they have fucked up rather than to cause pain or discomfort.

Origin: Source, the Boland family patriarch, a derivative of the word, slap and often the action of a Makatush is used in conjunction with a single word such as Troon, Dickhead or Idiot. To Makatush is ammunition to penetrate armor, or get your point across, more efficiently than standard armor-piercing ammunition. Why reach for the BB gun when you can use the Uzi?

Today at our open water swim session I received a Makatush from Coach. Skip got one too. But the result was a water filled Makatush, the look, and a sideways directed comment about taking too long a rest and perhaps it would hav
e been better to do the 1st groups set first and then go the 2nd groups set after that. The Makatush came as a variation of the better known open handed swat, but packed no less a reminder that I had fucked up, with a swat at the water sending salty water in my direction. Ouch!

What was Coach trying to say? Hmmmm, "You're not working hard enough, Sammi!" Imagine an 'M' that was the set. Swim out to a boat, round it back to shore, run out of the water round a lump of seaweed on the ground, back in to the water before heading out to round another boat, then back to shore for a 30sec rest. Go! That was Coach's groups set The faster group, full of great swimmers and mostly boys and a couple of girls. Megzy's group would do a smaller 'm' shape round some buoys that were closer to shore, the girls group and the occasional male swimmer such as Gazza when he comes.

Problem is Skip and I are somewhere in the middle. We are left hanging off the disappearing feet of the 1st group, sometimes scary when we are out of the harbour in deep water. But too quick for the 2nd group. So when Coach said self seed. I planted myself in the 2nd group and so did Skip. Skip had a legit excuse in my books, she was shattered after huge training sessions getting ready for I.M Melbourne in just a few short weeks. You could see she was exhausted and so it would make sense to drop back. But me, fresh, easier program this week and after all, better to come first right? WRONG!!

What was my brain doing? Well, it was in conserve mode again. Racing on Sunday, don't push to hard. Don't want to get too tired. Just take it easy and cruise through the session so you are right for Sunday. Stay with the girls and just dissolve into the group. No need to go hard. WRONG!!!! Perhaps if it was a critical 'A' race or a longer race that required a taper, this thinking would have been ok and Coach would have given me the signal that taking it easy in this session was ok. But I took it upon myself to ease. I have to stop applying this thinking to my training. Always holding back, always avoiding going hard during a session for fear that I wont back up the next day. That if I go too hard I wont make it home......or it will hurt, or I will fail or come last.

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