the17thman

Fitter and Faster Tour Presented by SwimOutlet.com

December & 2011 Rearview Mirror - Swimming

It's been a month of not much swimming it seems.  In December I've swum 30,950 yards.  Past Months To Compare -

In November I swam 51,550

In October I swam 37,550

In September I swam 41,150

In August I swam 42,900 yards.

In July I swam 29,550 yards.

June I swam 42,000 yards

May I swam 47,950 yards.

April I swam 44,950 yards.

March I swam 62,125 yards.

February I swam 41,750 yards.

January I swam 42,300 yards.

In 2011 I've swum 461,625  yards.  Not too bad.  It's a bit more then what I swam in 2010 which was 351,750 yards.  Of course I took almost two months off in 2010 but whose counting?

Almost Swimming Nekid!

What a morning!  I forgot my bathing suit and one fin.  The fin is no big deal as it fell out of my bag but no bathing suit?  Normally in the morning I put on my suit and then my pants/shorts over it.  So how I forgot to put on a swimming suit is baffling.  Luckily I was able to borrow one from a mate.  I was going to skip swimming but no such luck.

Warm Up
400 SWim
4x50's Kick on 1:10
4x50's Kick/Swim on 1:10 (800)

10x100's on 1:40 - 3 Rounds 1 IM / 1 FRee / 1 Back and the very last one all fly.  (1000/1800)

Not a bad workout.  Didn't feel great in the water but I did it.  One last swim for 2011 with 1,800 yards.  Sometime this weekend I'll add my totals up for the month and the year.   Yesterday at the gym I got in one hour of Group Ride.  So more time on the bike!

Northern Arena swimming tips with Dean Kent. Butterfly

Thursday's Swim Report - More Fun, Less Swim.

It's been a slow swim news week or two around the pool...

Lane 1 - SI posts "Olympics predictions for 2012.  The Michael Phelps-Ryan Lochte duel is too close to call, but if I have to pick now ... it's Phelps, barely. The world's two best swimmers should go head to head in two events -- the 200-meter freestyle and the 200 individual medley. Phelps is the defending Olympic champion in both, but Lochte won both world titles this year, becoming the alpha male of the pool in the process."

Lane 2 - Perez Hilton posts "New Stills From The Next Episode Of Glee!  Seems Sam Evans isn't the only Gleek heading in a new direction. Seems the whole club is getting in on the sycronized swimming action!"

Lane 3 - NewHampshire.com posts "‘Accordion-playing merman’ takes plunge in another swim for charity.  Dubbed the “accordion-playing merman,” Gary Sredzienski, known for his “surf rock” fare, will undertake a sizable swim in January to raise money for the New Hampshire SPCA."

Lane 4 - Mail Online posts "Still going strong: World's oldest triathlete continues to swim, run and bike-ride - at the age of 90.  Super-fit pensioner Arthur Gilbert prefers the swimming pool to the bingo hall - because at the age of 90 he is the world’s oldest triathlete.  While most people his age prefer a gentle stroll, since 1989 Mr Gilbert has raced in more than 40 of the gruelling events, which are made up of a 500 metre swim, a 12-mile bike ride and a three-mile run."

Lane 5 - This is a great video "Swimmer's Unique Tactic to Win Race Hill taylor The Dolphin Man Denied Record" via youtube

Lane 6 - Focus Taiwan posts "Swimming may improve bone resistance to impact: local scholar.  Swimming may be able to improve bone resistance to impact, a local scholar said Wednesday, citing the results of his research on rodents.  Huang Tsang-hai, an associate professor at National Cheng Kung University, said his experiment was carried out on rats that were made to swim for an hour a day, five days a week.  After eight weeks, the rats in the swimming groups showed lower bone mineral density (BMD) and bone mineral content (BMC) than those in the control group, he said."

Lane 7 - CHEETAH GATE?  Tampa Bay Online posts "Tarzan co-star Cheetah dies at Palm Harbor sanctuary.  Cheetah the chimpanzee, who acted in classic Tarzan movies in the early 1930s, died of kidney failure Saturday at Suncoast Primate Sanctuary in Palm Harbor, a sanctuary spokeswoman said.  Cheetah acted in the 1932-34 Tarzan movies, Cobb said. Movies filmed during that timeframe starred Johnny Weissmuller and include "Tarzan and His Mate" and "Tarzan the Ape Man," according to the Internet Movie Database."  Meanwhile LezgetReal.com posts "Cheetah Dead At 80 – Well, Not Quite.  The original Cheeta, who appeared in the first two Johnny Weismuller Tarzan movies, was a chimpanzee named Jiggs who was brought to America in 1929 and died in 1938. He was owned and trained by Tony and Jacqueline Gentry. The Gentrys owned several chimps who portrayed Tarzan’s primate companion, including Jiggs Jr.  Gentry created a myth about one of his chimps, which lived at a sanctuary in California, so one of them was alleged to be past 70 years of age.  None of these are the Weismuller chimp who died on Christmas Eve of kidney failure."

Lane 8 - io9 posts (w/video) "Killer whale vs. shark brawl will make you happy to stay out of the water.  Last Tuesday at New Zealand's Tuatapere's Blue Cliffs beach, bystander David Evans witnessed an orca getting into a shallow water tussle with a gang of sharks. The whale was likely herding the sharks toward the shores, where the fish next encountered an overeager pooch."

How To Make A Frozen Swimmer In 30 Minutes or Less!

Wahoo!  46F!  A Heatwave!  Headed to the pool for a quick swim.  Gotta be at work early today!  Well earlier then normal.  So early for me.

Warm Up
200 SWim / 200 Pull / 200 Kick / 200 Swim (800)

2x400's on 6 minutes. Negative Split and Descending.  So I did that.  For my 200 splits  I was 2:40/2:35 for 5:15 for the first 400.  Then I was 2:30/2:19 for a 4:49.  Was trying to push the last 200 a bit faster but that didn't happen.  (800/1600)

Warmed down a 100.  (100/1700)  I only had like 30 minutes to swim so I'm glad I did squeeze in the morning swim.  Felt good in the water today.

USA Swimming - Kathleen Hersey's Favorite Olympic Trials Memory

Wednesday's Swim Report - Fancy Pants Swimmers

Lane 1 - Port Macquarie News posts "James Magnussen comes home.  PORT Macquarie’s world swimming champion James Magnussen has reflected on the biggest year of his life saying he’s learnt a lot about himself.  The 20-year-old became the first Australian to win the 100m world title in July and he admitted that it changed his life in a big way."

Lane 2 - iol posts "Cameron, Le Clos sparkle in the pool.  Cameron van der Burgh and Chad le Clos hogged the swimming limelight in 2011 with the former extending his reign as the country's king of the pool while the latter became the crown prince.  The duo provided a flicker of hope in an otherwise bleak year for South African swimming.  The national team placed a lowly 25th at the Fina World Championships in Shanghai, China, in July with three bronze medals – their worst performance since Barcelona in 2003. "

Lane 3 - China Daily posts "World highest altitude swimming race to start.  The 2012 Qinghai International Winter Yellow River Crossing Challenge will be held from January 6 to 7 in Guide County, Hainan Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, said organizers on Wednesday.  The race will take place over 2,200 meters above the sea level, said Tsering Thar, director of the Qinghai provincial sports administration.  Forty swimmers from China, Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan will compete in the extreme high altitude climate where the water temperature will be about four degree Celsius."

Lane 4 - This Is Grimsby posts "Medley king Tom has shot at London 2012.  EENAGE swimming talent Tom Paine has a shot at qualification for London 2012 after qualifying for the British Olympic Trials."

Lane 5 - Dorset Echo posts "Fancy dress swimmers make best West Bay Wallow so far.  NUNS, witch doctors, Santas and even Oompa Loompas took the plunge at the best West Bay Wallow so far.  They were among the 156 fancydressed swimmers to make a splash at the slipway in the seventh Boxing Day extravaganza."  Isle of Wight News has "Ventnor Boxing Day Swim: Over A Thousand Watch 100+ Swimmers.  Many gathered at Ventnor beach for the now-traditional Boxing Day Swim, raising money for PATCH, an Island cancer charity."

Lane 6 - Sooke News Mirror posts "Tide is turning for Rip Current masters.  Fifth place out of 18 teams at an Island swim meet is not a bad place to be, especially when you take into account that many of the members on the new SEAPARC Rip Currents masters swimming team have never competed before.  Masters swimming is an international adult program that is a carry over from competitive swimming, said Bell. There are regional, provincial national and even world events."

Lane 7 - StAugustine.com posts "Polar Bear swim New Year's day.  Join St. Johns County lifeguards with a plunge in the chilled waters of the Atlantic in the annual New Year’s Day Polar Bear swim. The one-mile swims are not competitive and take about 30 minutes to an hour to complete, depending on the water conditions. Wet suits are advised."

Lane 8 - Non-swimming but incredible story from The Villages Daily Sun "96-year-old Villages yoga instructor inspires her students."

It's Swimsuit Season!

It's 39F degrees outside so you know what that means?  Swimsuit season has arrived!  Huh?  I get home from the pool and the first email in my box is from Neiman Marcus promoting the "New Swim Collections."  Oy!  As for my swim well it went a lot easier then I was expecting. After 4 Group Ride (Spinning) Classes yesterday in a row I thought my legs would be toast today. But I felt good.  Must have been the massage afterwards!

Warm Up
300 Pull w/o Paddles, 200 Pull w/ Paddles and 50 Swim.  Then we did a 200 Kick.  (750)

350 Swim pushing laps 3/6/9.  I had no speed as I was warming up still (1100)

Main Set:
4 Rounds -
50 Fly on 55
50 Back on 55
50 Breast/Free on 55
150 IM NO Free on 2:45

100 Warmdown

Nothing much to say about it.  It was what it was.  I really thought I was going to die when I heard the set but it went pretty easy as I was swimming.  I wasn't record breaking fast but I felt okay.  Getting ready for the 400 IM in Feb down in Clearwater.  Yeah, I'm going to finally bite the bullet and race the 400 IM.  I figure I'll be there for the 1000 free so why not attempt to drown in the 400 IM.  Workout Yardage - 2400 yards

Tuesday's Swim Report - I have had it with these motherfucking snakes on this motherfucking pool!"

Lane 1 - The Australian posts "This comeback is not about London. . . I am back in love with swimming, says Ian Thorpe.  WHEN we meet to talk about his comeback, I am concerned that this is probably the last thing in the world Ian Thorpe wants to discuss.  Here we have an Olympic icon making a return for one last Olympic Games. And it is not going well."

Lane 2 - WXYZ posts (w/video) "Local Olympic gold medalist teaches Detroit kids to swim.  Program to make urban kids bona fide swimmers.  With the help of Olympic gold medalist Peter Vanderkaay , a group is teaching many kids as they can to be good swimmers.  Vanderkay is also University of Michigan All-American swimmer.  He was a part of the 2008 American summer Olympic relay team that set a world record along with Michael Phelps."

Lane 3 - The Press of New Zealand posts "Orcas, sharks in feeding frenzy.  oxing Day at a Southland beach turned into a feeding frenzy as a pod of orcas and a group of sharks clashed in the surf.  Tracy Thomas said it looked like the orcas, also known as killer whales, were hunting sharks, with one wounded shark washing ashore on Blue Cliffs Beach, near Tuatapere, with a bloody gash on its snout."

Lane 4 - The Dispatch posts "Hucknall pool makes splash with Olympic swimming champ.    DOUBLE Olympic champion Rebecca Adlington is adamant that Hucknall Leisure Centre has a vital role to play in unearthing the next crop of world-class British international swimming talent.  Mansfield glory-girl Adlington is lending her support to British Swimming’s Big Splash campaign — ahead of the London 2012 Olympics.  And the pool at Hucknall Leisure Centre, off Linby Road, is one of more than 1,000 pools across the UK getting involved."

Lane 5 - MSNBC posts "Too much holiday spirits? Swimmers take icy plunge around the world."  photo gallery

Lane 6 - The Squeeze has "New swimming wristband tracks your laps.  Fresh on the heels of the recently released Striiv, a UK-designed portable fitness device called Swimtag aims to come to a pool near you to help monitor your laps and make swimming more interactive  The product launched this summer at pool centers in the UK, but hopes to expand its reach even further once it builds traction."

Lane 7 - Texas Sports posts "The 2012 season means more to University of Texas swimmers than most -- with the 2012 London Olympics in July, many of head coach Eddie Reese’s student-athletes are preparing to compete at the United States Olympic Trials in June.  And senior Jackson Wilcox plans to make a splash in the swimming world.  Originally from Nashville, Tennessee, Longhorn men’s swimming coaches Eddie Reese and Kris Kubik recruited Wilcox, the four-time Tennessee state champion in 200m and 500m freestyle events, in Spring 2008."

Lane 8 - USA Today has (w/video ) "Fla. family's Christmas surprise: 13-foot python in pool."