Craig Lord is the preeminent journalist in the sport of swimming. He has been writing about swimming since 1989, attending countless major international championship meets, speaking out doping in the sport from the very beginning, and generally being unafraid to speak his mind.  Craig is currently the editor and writer for Swimvortex. He also writes for the Times of London and the Sunday Times.

We talked for so long that I had to split the podcast into two parts. In part one, Craig and I dive right in to discuss how he came to be a "swimming" journalist as well as what he's seen change over the course of his career covering swimming from the media side. Then we turn to discuss the IOC's recent decision to ban Russia from the Winter Games and what the state of governance at all levels that affect swimming. Enjoy and watch for part 2 this upcoming Friday.

On the brief this week, we're talking to the guy who is relentless about two things: that #workworks and a general positivity about swimming: Mike Murray. Mike talks all about his swimming roots, including some harsh reflections on himself as an athlete. We talk about sharing what you learn online and I even ask Mike to coach me a little bit.

You can follow Mike on twitter, as well as facebook where he's an administrator for the Swim Coaches Idea Exchange Group.

Putting out the podcast early this week for everybody traveling. This week's guest is Nico Messer. Nico and I talked about longer interval training a few weeks back.

Today we tackle shorter intervals and all the stuff associated with it, whether it's speed work or USRPT.

We also discuss Nico's Thanksgiving plans, how to avoid talking politics with your right wing uncle (Jay Chambers) and how rec swimmers in Switzerland react to a few seconds delay. Also enjoy a cameo from my landlord and a plumber trying to fix the heat in my apartment.

This week Sherri Fisher takes us outside of the swimming bubble and we talk about words like "smart" and "talented" and how they actually play out educational and athletic environments. Sherri has some really cool rules for how to get people who have not been marked as "talented" to really up their game. We also talk about the flip side: kids that have been marked as capable but aren't "performing" up to expectations

For those of you who want to learn more about Sherri and what she does, go to http://www.learnandflourish.com/. If you want to check out her journal go to positiveedgejournal.com. Check back and I'll let you know when her journal becomes available. 

On the brief this week, Caroline Miller. Caroline is a published author and renowned speaker, with her latest book "Getting Grit"  being named by Live Happy as one of the ten books that will change your life.

Caroline and I go all the way back to the beginning to her experience swimming as a kid and a young woman, and how she re-found the sport fifteen years ago. We talk about some of the growth of Positive Psychology and some of the ways it can be dangerous if you apply knowledge without deeper knowledge of the concepts. Caroline also talks about some really crucial concepts in goal setting, there is so much you can get out of this listen. Enjoy

Another pod with my number one guest and curious swim coach Nico Messer.. Nico and I start talking about long distance training, especially longer repeats. What is it exactly? How do we define it? Then we go through some of the best arguments we've heard for longer repeats but also some of the worst, including a discuss of long term development models. 

Coley Stickels is currently an associate head coach at Indiana University, who's teams vaulted to high rankings, including #1 for the men, after some big dual meet victories over the weekend. We talk about some of the different ways he looks at training swimmers and his perspectives from both the college and club world.

We also have a discussion of the unique legacy of Doc Councilman at Indiana University and some of the ways a coach can leverage that working there.

This week on the Swim Brief: Sue Chen. Sue is an incredible coach that currently works for Nations Capital Swim Club in their Georgetown site alongside Bruce Gemmell. We talk a lot about how she's navigated a successful career up to this point, her partnership with Bruce, how to be an ally to women in coaching, and more.  

Have your goggles ever leaked? Do you care about the long term development of athletes in the sport of swimming? If the answer is yes to either of those questions, you should listen to this podcast.

On the brief this week, Niklas Hedegaard. Niklas is a swimmer I've coached who continues to swim at age 27, and we talk about his journey through swimming up to this point and what keeps him motivated to keep pushing forward. We also talk about his new venture with his friend Rasmus Barfoed in Denmark, TheMagic5, which makes personalized fit goggles using facial mapping. 

TheMagic5 on instagram

TheMagic5 on kickstarter

On the brief this week, Rick Madge. Madge is a swim coach, yes, and he's got some opinions on that. We also talk about some of the long form articles that he's written, getting into the data of what is going on the swimming world. Inclusiveness is a big theme of what he has looked into, and we talk a bit about how family life fits into being a competitor.

If you want to read the articles that we referenced in the blog, go here.