the17thman

Swimming under water- Pathé Baby

Tuesday's Swim Report - 5,782 Low-impact Swim Laps At A Time

Lane 1 - This Is Croydon Today posts "Man, 76, to swim 5,782 lengths of Purley Pool.  A PENSIONER who has been using his love of swimming to raise funds for charity for more than 40 years has embarked on his biggest splash yet – swimming from Purley to France.  Barry Kay, 76, of Kenley, will swim the equivalent distance to Cap Gris Nez on the French west coast by completing 5,782 lengths of Purley pool.  Barry is also calling for people to come forward to help Early Birds tip the £100,000 raised for charity mark with the group's Annual Relay Swimathon on February 4."

Lane 2 - The Age posts "Perkins tells Thorpe to travel less.  OLYMPIC swimming great Kieren Perkins says Ian Thorpe has ''challenges'' ahead of him in his bid to qualify for the London Olympics and should consider travelling less in the next few months.  But the three-time Olympian, who twice won gold in the 1500-metre freestyle event, also criticised Australia's swimming administrators for poorly managing the long-term careers of star athletes.  Perkins said young swimmers needed to be encouraged to plan their careers between 10 and 20 years and avoid the emotional post-Olympics period when decisions were often made.  Leisel Jones perhaps best exemplifies career longevity in Australian swimming. The 26-year-old is trying to qualify for her fourth Olympics."

Lane 3 - This Is London posts "Swimming's golden girl calls on London to join Sport Relief run.  Hundreds of Evening Standard readers have given their backing to the Get London Running campaign which will raise money for the capital's most deprived people.  As more than 500 logged on to our campaign site, Olympic swimming medallists Rebecca Adlington and Keri-Anne Payne called on more Londoners to sign up to run the Sainsbury's Sport Relief Mile along The Mall.  The Standard's Dispossessed Fund has joined forces with Sport Relief to help pull people out of poverty and improve the lives of tens of thousands of others."

Lane 4 - Sabotage Times posts (w/video) "Base Jumping Off The World’s Most Insane Swimming Pool."

Lane 5 - The Sun posts "Shark slide is fin-tastic.  IS this the world's scariest ride? It's a waterslide going straight through a SHARK tank. Thrill-seekers can get on the three-storey chute, which ducks and weaves past the animals through the centre of an aquarium.  It is made of 4in-thick acrylic to protect swimmers from the deep-sea creatures surrounding them.  The 200,000 gallon tank is filled with Sandtiger sharks, brown sharks, Pacific blacktip sharks, nurse sharks and zebra sharks and southern stingrays."

Lane 6 - mUmBRELLA.com posts "P&G targets mums with Olympics campaign.  P&G targets mums with Olympics campaign Olympic hopefuls 234x150Procter & Gamble is launching an integrated Olympic-themed ad campaign featuring three of Australia’s hopefuls and their mums.  The ‘What it takes to raise an Olympic hopeful’ campaign will feature champion swimmers Eamon Sullivan, Emily Seebohm and Sophie Edington and their mothers."

Lane 7 - Stamford Advocate posts "Future of top swim meet in Columbia uncertain.  The Columbia Daily Tribune reports (http://bit.ly/y9 IAQV) that the Missouri Grand Prix at the Mizzou Aquatic Center is in the final year of a four-year deal with USA Swimming. The event was first held in Columbia in 2008 and included an appearance by Michael Phelps before he won a record eight Olympic gold medals later that year."

Lane 8 - The Columbia Spectator posts "Protecting your joints, one low-impact swim at a time.  Swimming provides many benefits for muscles and joints. The resistance provided by the water helps to strengthen muscles while also providing low-impact exercise for joints.  If you struggle with injuries, especially in the joints, finding low-impact exercises to do is extremely important. But even if your body is in perfect shape, doing low-impact exercise is the best way to prevent future injuries from developing. By far, the best of these exercises is swimming."

Love A Swimmer

Not only is it my birthday in 7 14 days it's also Valentines Day!  Which means various retailers will be promoting pink and red items.  Swimoutlet.com has a few Valentine Swimmer Gift Ideas.

 

So go show some love for that swimmer in your life...maybe a new heart candy swim cap?

Not that I wear a cap but you get the idea.  Come on, Show Your Swim Love!

 

January Swimming Rearview Mirror

Here it is.  The last day of the month means time to look back at my swimming.  Since I'm using the USMS Go The Distance to log my workouts it means no more math for me.  I don't have to add up a month of swimming.  Yeah!

Looking at my swims I seem a bit eratic.  But I think that has to do with work and such.  That and recovery days.   I did swim 46,000 yards for the month.  That's pretty good.

Compared to 2011 Swims -

In December I swam 30,950 yards.

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.

So I was a bit above average compared to 2011 and up from January last year.  Of course we had more very cold mornings last year which kept me in bed.  Now I would normally do a Running Rearview Mirror but I only ran once this month.  Oh well.

78F+41Y/O=1WK+1Y/O Workout

Happy Last Day of the Month!  Can you believe it's only two weeks till my birthday?  Well it is, and what are you buying me?  Anywho…

It was back in the water for me today.  Although I did swim in a few fun relays on Saturday that was for fun so it felt like I haven't swam in ages.  I skipped Friday since it was rainy and everyone was swimming at a different pool then we normally swim at.  Didn't want to get up an extra 15 minutes early to swim in the rain.  Sunday I slept in.  Stupid as I thought I would be swimming on Monday but I got called into work for the early morning shift.  So today was a make or break day.  I had to swim.  Hell I'm not tapering or anything. Or am I?  No, not yet.

So swimming it was today.  The coach gave me a workout all hand written to swim by.  As we all were getting ready to jump in one of the swimmers announced the temperature of the pool a very fine 78.7F.  Wahoo!  Well wahoo if it wasn't 45F outside on deck.  Yesterday the pool people backwashed the pool and I don't really understand pool stuff but I guess when they do that the heater is turned off or turns off or somehow magically goes off.  Either way the pool's heater wasn't working all night.  So 78F was the pool temperature which is perfect for me.  I loved it.  I jumped in and was swimming pretty damn good from the get go. 

Warm Up
Mixed 500 then 300 kick (800)

Main Set:
1x100
1x200
1x300
1x400 Pull
1x300
1x200
1x100

The first 100/200/300 was breathing every 3 on a 1:40 base interval.  Piece of cake as I was easily coming in on 1:20's at my slowest.  I was a slightly faster in my pull and didn't use paddles.  I wanted my arms to be ready for my next part of the set.  I think after the 400 instead of a 6:4 interval I took an extra 20 to square up the clocks.  I think.  Then the last 300/200/100 was fast on an 1:30 base.  My 300 I was in around a 3:40 if not a bit faster.  I sorta forget.  My 200 I was in right at 2:20 and my 100 was a 1:07.(1600/2400)

I then did 8x50's IM Switches on 55.  (400/2800)

Overall a good workout.  Glad I woke up and swam.  Hopefully I can get some quality swims in this week.  I'd like to be faster in workouts but I'm slowly getting to be a bit faster or my old speed.  Getting older is making me slower and only one week till I'm even slower, I mean older.

Monday's Swim Report - The Comeback Underwater Cybershot

Lane 1 - Super Sport posts "Swimmers display Olympic potential.  South Africa's swimming team for the Olympic Games in July was expanded to a potential 11 following impressive performances by Herman Heerden and Riaan Schoeman at the weekend."

Lane 2 - GIzmodo posts "Sony’s Underwater Cybershot TX200V Is the iPhone’s Fat Photo-Taking Cousin.  ony's new glass-faced TX200V is a decidedly opulent stab at something we've been asking for around here: a waterproof camera that doesn't sacrifice optics and design. It's just that it does it at a pretty painful price point.  It's out in March for $500."

Lane 3 - The Sac Bee posts "Woman Conquers Her Fear, Swims Nine Miles in Open Water to Raise Awareness and Funds for Disease That Killed Her Father.  Effort Supports the Coalition for Pulmonary Fibrosis.  Catherine Goodrum has been afraid of being in open water most of her life.  In an effort to overcome her fear, Goodrum joined a Total Immersion™ Women's Swim Camp in St. John, U.S. Virgin lslands and turned the experience into a tribute to her father who died from Pulmonary Fibrosis (PF) in 2009. Goodrum swam a total of nine miles during the camp and used her personal victory to raise funds for the Coalition for Pulmonary Fibrosis (CPF) and its Daughters of PF program."

Lane 4 - Sky Sports posts "Payne to share success.  Stockport swimmer admits pre-Olympic nerves.  n a little over a month, world 10-kilometre open water champion Keri-Anne Payne will begin the journey she hopes will see her share Olympic success with best friend Rebecca Adlington."

Lane 5 - Cape May County Herald posts "Rescue Swimmers Jump into Ocean to Save Lives.  Who would want a relatively low-paying job that demanded applicants be in top physical condition, desired to save lives, have no fear of jumping into the ocean from a hovering helicopter, and be willing to relocate to remote regions of the globe?  Answer: Coast Guard Aviation Survival Technicians, also known as Helicopter Rescue Swimmers."

Lane 6 - The Australian posts "Comeback swimmer Ian Thorpe is ignoring the pressure after latest failure.  IAN Thorpe is like everyone else who would like to see at least one fast race from him before he contests the Olympic trials in March.  But if it doesn't happen, he won't panic.  Thorpe made some progress at a meeting in Luxembourg at the weekend when he produced his two fastest 100m freestyle swims since making his comeback (50.82sec and 50.76sec) but he is still about two seconds off the pace needed to win his way in to Australia's 4x100m freestyle relay team.  Thorpe has one competition remaining, in Zurich in late February, before the trials in Adelaide."

Lane 7 - Wicked Local posts "Cape Cod dolphin strandings a mystery.  It’s been a bad couple of weeks for dolphins, but the worst is over.  At least 86 common dolphins have stranded along the beaches and marshes of Cape Cod Bay since mid-January. The International Fund for Animal Welfare released 24 back into the open ocean, mostly from beaches in Provincetown."

Lane 8 - The Guardian posts "Charlie Brooker swims with the fishes in Australia.  'When you tell people you're going swimming with tuna, they laugh in your face'.  Swimming with dolphins. Everyone yaps on about wanting to do that before they die. But swimming with tuna? For some reason, when you tell people you're going swimming with tuna, they laugh in your face. It sounds inherently absurd, and I'm not entirely sure why. I think it's because we often encounter tuna in tins."

Swim and Survive with Eamon Sullivan

AQUAview: Instinct Annual Swimwear Issue

Download Instinct Magazine on iTunes

PACE PAL Underwater Pace Clock for Swimmers

my pace pal

Sunday's Swim Report - Swimming With The Flow

Lane 1 - Gator Country posts "UF swimming splits at Tennessee.  Florida’s Marcin Cieslak blew the competition out of the water in the Florida men’s 162-138 win over Tennessee. Cieslak had three of the eight victories for the men with each time qualified for a NCAA ‘B’ cut. He was able to continue his unbeaten streak in the 200 fly by touching the wall at 1:48.49."

Lane 2 - NZ Herald posts "Sue's young at heart and stays fit.  Those of us who are back at work and struggling to find time for fitness in a busy week need to talk to Sue Pollard.  The CEO of the NZ Nutrition Foundation keeps to a strict fitness routine and is a regular competitor in the popular State Beach Series at Takapuna Beach.  "The beach series is an opportunity to swim in the sea every week and socialise afterwards," said the 68-year-old."

Lane 3 - Florida Today posts "Swimmers go with the flow of exercise.  Merritt Island family links aquatics with health care.  A study published in 2009 by Dr. Steven Blair at the University of South Carolina showed that the risk of death in swimmers is about 50 percent less than runners, walkers and sedentary people.  Swimming also keeps you young, as masters’ swimmers will attest."

Lane 4 - The Australian posts "Failure is not an option for Ian Thorpe. IAN Thorpe made no progress on the clock in his latest race in Luxembourg yesterday, but declared he had "no intentions of failing" at the national trials in March.  Time is running out for Thorpe, Australia's greatest Olympian, to find his feet in his comeback to the sport after a five-year retirement."  Also from The Australian "Ian Thorpe sets fastest comeback time in 100m freestyle."

Lane 5 - CNN posts "London 2012: A swimmer's story.  Katy Sexton.  It’s not long until the British Olympic swimming trials in March, and it’s really exciting because it’s the first time I’m going to see the new pool in London. Days are ticking by and it’s getting really close.  I’m really excited by the prospect of actually competing at the Olympic pool for the first instance in the trials, and then hopefully I can convert my times into a place on the team and compete there again in the summer. I went to Sydney in 2000 and Athens in 2004, and I want to be involved again."

Lane 6 - Adelaide Now posts "Matt Targett shows he means business.  OLYMPIAN Matt Targett set a new personal best in the 50m freestyle last night at the SA Long Course Championship.  The Victorian had a time of 21.98 seconds, showing he is set for a big year with the Australian Championships in March and the London Olympics.  Targett led from the start at the SA Aquatic and Leisure Centre and edged out Matthew Abood on 22.15 and fellow Olympian James Magnussen on 22.41."

Lane 7 - NZ Herald posts "Battle of the sexes back on in capital.  A transtasman battle of the sexes will resume tomorrow in round three of the State Ocean Swim Series in Wellington, dubbed the Capital Classic.  In round two at the Bay of Islands, the 2009 world champion Melissa Gorman was the overall winner of the race, becoming the first female in the history of the series to beat all the men home.  There's also a strong group of Kiwi men and a top-rated Australian, George O'Brien. The Swimming New Zealand High Performance Centre swimmer, coached by Mark Regan, will face all of the leading Kiwis who tested him at the national championships last weekend."

Lane 8 - The Lying Liars That Lie posts "Brazil's Teeny-Weeny Bikini is Not So Teeny Anymore.  The image of the tall, tanned, Supermodel thin women on the sands of Rio de Janeiro and other Brazilian beaches is being challenged by the growing empowerment of plus-sized women in one of the world's most body-conscious nations and Brazil's bikini manfactuers are taking note.   The Girl From Ipanema has put on a few pounds, and for many sunbathers on Brazil's beaches the country's iconic itsy-bitsy, teeny-weeny bikini just doesn't suffice anymore.  A growing number of bikini manufacturers have woken up to Brazil's thickening waistline and are reaching out to the ever-expanding ranks of heavy women with new plus-size lines."