Powerpuff girls save Aquaman and Wonderwoman

Happy Halloween From Aquaman and Doggie Shark!

Yeah, I dressed up in a lame Aquaman costume.  But look at Doggie Ludwig in his shark costume.  Best Halloween Party Evah!

Pre-Halloween Relay Fun!

Well not me I was a judge!  But, Boy do I make a sad looking Aquaman!  Later I'll have to upload a picture of me as Aquaman and Luwdig "Willy" as a shark.  Before the 10pm Halloween Parade and Swim Relay I did my own little swim.  I wasn't really feeling up to it this morning but I did swim. 

Warm Up
500 then 200 Kick (700)

300 sad little swim then another 100.  It was suppose to be a pace 500.  My lack of food and caffeine started to give me the shakes.  I stopped and drank some gatorade. (400/1100)

10x50's on 60 (500/1600)

That was it.  An easy day at the pool.   I went home ate a good breakfast and showered.  Then put on my sad excuse of an Aquaman costume and headed back to the pool to judge.  I snapped a few photos with my phone. 

As you can tell everyone had fun.  I loved the Swimoutlet.com costume with one person being "A Plug for SwimOutlet" and the other being a "Swim Outlet" as in power outlet.  They had to be able to swim 50 yards in the costume!  You can see the pictures better in my gallery on Facebook.

Friday's Swim Report - AQUAMAN is so cool!

Lane 1 - The Witness posts "Durbanite Le Clos leads world cup on points in build-up to 2012 Olympics.  Chad le Clos, one of South Africa’s brightest medal prospects for next year’s Olympic Games, says he will be disappointed with anything less than a podium place in London as he continues to enhance his reputation on the global stage."

Lane 2 - Geekology rests it's case with "Why 'Aquaman' Is the Coolest... No, Really!    The new Aquaman comic takes the Atlantean King out of the ocean and up onto land, trying to make it living in the air-breathing world. To do that, he has to really own the fact that the land dwellers not only don't care about the fact that he's royalty in the ocean -- they're willing to make fun of him to his face."

Lane 3 - Speaking of Aquaman.  Robaquatics has "Ample Aquaman Adventures in Avila.  I grabbed my Aquaman speedo from Splish, some old FINIS swim tights, and an Aquaman orange tshirt… I topped it off with a pair of goggles to obscure my true identity. Mix all these items together upon myself and you get Fat Aquaman… although I’ve come to enjoy a twitter friend’s reinterpretation of that as Ample Aquaman :)"

Lane 4 - Battle Creek Enquirer posts "Check out Master's Swim Team at Y.  he Battle Creek Y Master's Swim Team head coach, Elmer Egelkraut, was awarded the "Grass Roots Coaching Award" by the United States Masters Swimming Organization (USMS). This national award recognizes the efforts Elmer put forth to recruit and support our large and successful Y team. Through Elmer's efforts, our team grew from around 10 swimmers a few years ago to 80 swimmers this year and won the 2011 state championship."

Lane 5 - The Herald Sun posts "Thorpe is facing crunch time.  IT'S one of the biggest comebacks in world sport and one that I can't wait to see unfold, starting in Singapore next week.  Our most successful Olympic swimmer, the man with an outboard motor as a kick, is back in the pool and I'm thrilled for him."

Lane 6 - CNN posts "Nyad will continue chasing 'Xtreme dream'.  Diana Nyad may have had some setbacks this summer while attempting to swim from Cuba to Florida, but her journey isn't over yet, she said Wednesday."

Lane 7 - SI has "Australian Ironman world champ tries for Olympic triathlon team.  Chris McCormack's friends joked that he was going through a "mid-life crisis" when the two-time Ironman world champion decided to try to represent Australia in the London Olympics."

Lane 8 - Daily Record posts "Surfer's shock at close encounter with 8ft killer shark.. in mouth of the Spey."

Friday's Swim Report - Some Gator Soup On A Cold Day

Lane 1 - The Sun-Sentinel posts "Vassallo's swimming expertise spreading locally.  Due to the hiring of former Olympian and world record holder Jesse Vassallo, the Pompano Piranhas' swim team has seen new members join the fold.  New to the team is the U.S. Masters Swimming (USMS) that provides workouts and instruction at all levels for adults.  The Piranhas have become a real family affair with parents joining the Masters program under Vassallo's tutelage. Participants' age 18 and older get the chance to enjoy the facilities at Pompano Municipal Pool."

Lane 2 - US Masters Swimming posts "3rd Annual Rowdy Gaines Masters Classic - Oct. 14-16, 2011.  Over 225 Masters swimmers converged on the 3rd Annual Rowdy Gaines Masters Classic on October 14-16, 2011. Rowdy had some special guests and Olympians, including Brooke Bennett, Jeff Commings and NBC Olympics reporter Andrea Kremer! 12 NEW SCM FINA Masters World Records were set during the event." via youtube.

Lane 3 - Outsports presents "Top 10 moments in LGBT aquatics history.  The key moments are heavily weighted to the 1980s and ‘90s simply because most of our firsts took place during those decades.  LGBT aquatics still has some firsts to accomplish, notably in Latin America, Africa and mainland Asia, but IGLA is an indicator of stability and success – IGLA’s current membership totals more than 60 teams in 15 countries."

Lane 4 - LA Times "U.S. wins 3 more golds in swimming at Pan American Games.  Amanda Kendall and Kimberly Vandenberg win gold for the United States, which extends its lead over Brazil in the medal count.  The Americans won three events Wednesday to Brazil's one, increasing their lead in gold medals in the swimming medals table to 15-7."

Lane 5- Response Source posts "Speedo launches Roadshow to inspire the nation to swim.  Speedo, the world’s leading swim brand, announces the launch of its new consumer facing ‘Speedo Roadshow’, a specially tailored 11.5m ‘transformer’ vehicle designed to present Speedo products and the brand to consumers in an innovative way. The Speedo Roadshow will highlight that in terms of products and brand, Speedo has more to offer above and beyond the competitive heritage for which Speedo is known. This exciting and engaging platform will aid Speedo's plan to 'Inspire People to Swim' by educating consumers about the benefits of swimming."  The Star posts "Make a splash to get fit, says swim star Rebecca.  OLYMPIC double gold medallist Rebecca Adlington came to Sheffield to encourage people young and old to take up swimming."

Lane 6 - Alligator posts "Gators swimming splits squad for Dallas Classic and Arkansas meet.  The first test for the Gators women will be a Southeastern Conference meet against Arkansas. Florida coach Gregg Troy is excited to see how his team fares against the Razorbacks, whom he considers to be a solid team.  But what excites Troy most about the meet is that it is the squad’s first road test."  Also from the Alligator "UF women's swimming team begins tough slate with win over Arkansas.  he first day of a grueling three-day string of competition was a successful one for the Florida women’s swimming team as they defeated Arkansas 173-125 in Fayetteville, Ark."

Lane 7 - The LA Times post "Aquaman surrenders to his greatest foe: ‘Entourage’.  Aquaman should be riding a big wave this year — this is the 70th anniversary of the deep-sea character and his own title was relaunched in September with superstar writer Geoff Johns at the helm — but I have a sinking feeling that we’re watching the King of the Seven Seas truly become the punch line persona of the DC Universe."

Lane 8 - KOIN 6 has "Surfer survives shark attack near Newport.  A man surfing south of Newport is alive after surviving an alleged shark attack Thursday."

Friday's Swim Report - Aquaman Splashes Down For Breakfast

Lane 1 - Bettor.com posts "Eamon Sullivan confident to dominate Ian Thorpe before the 2012 London Olympics.  Australian 100m freestyle former champion, Eamon Sullivan, expressed that he does not feel threatened with Ian Thorpe’s comeback. He agrees that Thorpe’s return is very beneficial for Swimming Australia but Sullivan has no aim of giving up his place for the former Olympic gold medallist."

Lane 2 - ESPN-W has "Kona champ Chrissie Wellington: Freak of nature?  Rumor has it that swim company TYR is coming out with a new wet suit line called the "Freak of Nature," in honor of you?  Chrissie Wellington: It's not in honor of me, it's just a name. It's a top-end wet suit. It's going to come in a briefcase and have a serial number. It's absolutely amazing. It'll maximize swim potential. It's very high end. But it isn't named after me!"

Lane 3 - "Grant Hackett and the Coles Sports for Schools Program" via youtube

Lane 4 - The Alligator posts "Florida swimming hosting dual meet against upstart LSU.  After blowing away the competition at the All-Florida Invitational last weekend, the Florida men’s and women’s swimming teams face a much stiffer test Saturday at 1 p.m., when LSU's 20th-ranked men's team and 18th-ranked women's squad comes to Gainesville."

Lane 5 - The Selkirk Journal posts "Swimming like a master.  Boulding Belugas Swim School in Selkirk is enjoying a great turnout so far this season as a large group of adults have come out to work on their swimming skills under some expert tutelage.  Paul Boulding, who instructs the class Monday, Wednesday and Friday from 5:45 a.m. to 7 a.m. at the Lord Selkirk Regional Secondary School Pool, and who is also head of the school, says his Beluga Masters Swimming Program is designed so that people of all levels of skill in the water can come to the class and learn what they need to in order to improve and become more physically fit."

Lane 6 - Bloomberg/Businessweek posts "Ready or not, curtain coming up for Pan Am Games.  One of the biggest names on the track will be Cuban hurdler Dayron Robles, the defending Olympic champion and 110-meter world-record holder. World champion pole vaulter Fabiana Murer of Brazil will also get attention, as will swimmers Cesar Cielo of Brazil and Albert Subirats of Venezuela."

Lane 7 - Denver Post has "Missy Franklin earns four nominations for USA Swimming awards.  Missy Franklin, Regis Jesuit High School's 16-year-old swimming sensation, earned four nominations for the Golden Goggle Awards honoring the year's top performances for USA Swimming.  Franklin, who won five medals at this summer's world championships, was nominated for her gold-medal performances in the 200-meter backstroke, 4x200 freestyle relay and 4x100 medley relay in Shanghai. The Denver Post Youth Excellence in Sports winner in 2010, Franklin also was nominated for female athlete of the year. Her coach, Todd Schmitz, was nominated for his efforts."

Lane 8 - NYTimes posts "Serving Up Comics in ‘Specially-Marked’ Boxes…A marketing mainstay of bygone days, prizes inside boxes of cereal, is alive and well, with brands like the Big G line of cereals from General Mills offering various free trinkets and tchotchkes from time to time.  Now, Big G is upping the ante with a partnership with the DC Comics division of Time Warner. Big G is offering custom editions of DC’s Justice League comic books inside…One is that Halloween is a perfect time for the superheroes who belong to the Justice League; among them are Aquaman, Batman, Green Lantern, Superman and Wonder Woman."

Thursday's Swim Report - Crane Attacks 2nd Pool!

Lane 1 - Gulf News posts "A rare species in the pool.  The Kenyan hopes to be the first swimmer from his country to win an Olympic medal.  He's a rare species in a country known more for its world-class middle and long-distance black athletes. For starters, he is a white Kenyan and what sets him apart further is the fact that he is a world-class swimmer. Meet Jason Dunford, still only 24 and triple gold-medallist at the recently concluded Fina/Arena Swimming World Cup in Dubai."

Lane 2 - USA Today posts "Swim officials take closer look at water temperature.  Maximum water temperature for open-water races has been central to rules changes considered in the year since U.S. swimmer Fran Crippen died from drowning and heat exhaustion during a World Cup race in the United Arab Emirates."

Lane 3 - ESPN via YouTube posts "Sport Science - Breaststroke.  Olympic medalist Rebecca Soni demonstrates the technique for the breaststroke."

Lane 4 - Super Sport posts "Murer and Cielo to lead Brazil.  Pole vaulter Fabiana Murer and swimmer Cesar Cielo will highlight Brazil's delegation at the Pan American Games in Guadalajara.  The world champions will be some of the biggest stars in a Brazilian delegation traveling to Mexico with the focus on securing as many spots as possible in the 2012 Olympics in London."

Lane 5 - Naples News post "Don’t let her age fool you.  Naples resident may be 33 years old, but her skills in a pool are better than many her junior.  mong the many impressive swimmers on the T2 Aquatics team, there are a couple of athletes who particularly stand a chance at making it to not just the next level, but the top — on an Olympic team.  Naples resident Erika Erndl is one of those. She was recently awarded the 2011 Female Florida Swimmer of the Year Award. This is the second time Erndl has received the award; her first was in 2009."

Lane 6 - Heeb Magazine posts"The JLA as Seen by Fox News.  Aquaman always get the least credit, his views of humanity have always been more extreme than the other members of the JLA, and he wants to take us back to the Atlantian Gold Standard.  He’s clearly the Ron Paul of the group, so Fox News would ignore him."

Lane 7 - Bettor.com posts "Chad Le Clos wins Men’s 200m IM title: Day two – 2011 FINA Swimming World Cup.  Chad Le Clos won his second gold medal in the Individual Medley (IM) event on day two of the 2011 FINA Swimming World Cup, in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, on Saturday, October 8. Earlier, he won the gold medal in the 100m butterfly meet with a scintillating mark of 50.66 seconds."

Lane 8 - ABC posts "Swimming pool takes a plunge as crane topples.  A crane lifting an in-ground swimming pool into place has tipped over in a suburban street in Palmerston.  The truck carrying the crane tipped almost at right angles, sending its arm crashing through the roof of a carport."

Sunday's Swim Report - Happy 70th Birthday Aquaman!

Lane 1 - Gawker reports "Swimmer Diana Nyad abandoned her 103-mile Cuba-to-Florida swim after 67 miles thanks to stings from the Portuguese Man o' War, which is, Wikipedia writes, terrifyingly, 'not actually a single creature, but a colonial organism made up of many minute individuals.'"

Lane 2 - From The Aquaman Shrine "Happy 70th Birthday Aquaman! And when we say 70th birthday, we don't mean the birthday DC Comics has seen fit to give him within their continuity--that's January 29. No, we mean that on this day seventy years ago--September 25, 1941--More Fun Comics #73, Aquaman's debut appearance, hit newsstands."

Lane 3 - The Kansas City Star has "After a long wait, a sweet victory for 52-year-old triathlete from Leawood.  People don’t always get a second chance in life, but sometimes they’re given different chances.  Leawood’s David Reed just made the most of one this month in Beijing, China.  Thirty-one years after Reed watched his U.S. Olympic aspirations evaporate in the face of politics, the once world-class swimmer, now 52, found himself cheered by thousands as he crossed a finish line to become ranked as one of the world’s fastest triathletes."

Lane 4 - Pamtagraph.com posts "Pantagraph’s Richardson becomes an 'Ironman'.  There isn’t an easy answer to satisfy people who ask why I wanted to do a grueling Ironman triathlon just shy of my 60th birthday.  Why swim 2.4 miles, ride a bike 112 miles and run a marathon of 26.2 miles, all within a 17-hour time limit?  My quick response is that I wanted the Ironman tattoo, a tradition to mark the accomplishment"

Lane 5 - Santa Cruz Sentinel posts "Meyer celebrates 25 years at Santa Cruz Triathlon.  For Marguerite Meyer, the 1986 Santa Cruz Triathlon was just a pit stop she made along the way to visiting relatives in Carmel. After collecting the women's title, the professional triathlete boarded a plane for her home in Alabama. 'This year, my goal is just to finish. I haven't trained that much on the bike or the run,' said Meyer, a regular at the masters swim sessions at Simpkins Swim Center and UC Santa Cruz."

Lane 6 - La Canada Valley Sun has "'Dolphin Tale' a swimming success.  When a film says 'inspired by a true story' what you usually can expect is a diluted Hollywood version of a true story, and there is plenty of manipulated fiction in the new family film 'Dolphin Tale.' But guess what? It doesn’t matter. The central crux of the story and the film’s marine mammal star, an adorable dolphin named Winter, are all real enough and are guaranteed to tug at the heart strings."

Lane 7 - NZ Herald posts "Swimming in new depths.  The loss of confidence in those running Swimming New Zealand has reached its depths with the decision by key stakeholders to opt for a complete overhaul of the sport less than a year out from the Olympics."

Lane 8 - The Missourian has "Missouri swimmer works toward dream of London Olympics.    Dominique Bouchard’s dreams were gone in three-one-hundredths of a second. In less time than it takes to blink, the Missouri swimmer had lost."

It's All About The Voices In My Head!

SPOILER ALERT:  This post contains an image of a few pieces of my Halloween attire!

It's all about the voices song in my head!  That can sum up my workout this morning.  It wasn't a super hard workout with lots of yardage is was all about the effort I put into the workout itself.  A spin (24Cycle) instructor once said in class "You only get out of this class what you put into it" by which she meant if you put in a half assed effort you'll get a half assed result.  It goes along with what Anna Kournikova said on The Biggest Loser the other night "If You Can Talk, You Can Keep Going!"  Or at least that is what I thought she said.  The point is that I had to self motivate myself this morning.  And with that came a lame song that is on my Walkman (okay iPod and yes I'm dating myself!)

Yeah, it's corny.  But I had it in my head and was swimming along to it this morning.

The workout:

200 Swim, 100 Pull, 200 Pull w/ Paddles and 200 Kick (700)

Then I was on my own.  Which is tough.  I sometimes miss having someone nipping on my feet to push me. 

4x50's on 50

took 10 seconds extra rest

100 on 2 Minutes

3x200's FAST ("Good Effort") on 3:20

The 50's were to get my heart rate up so I made the interval on 50.  The other folks did 6x50's before going into the 200's but I was told to do whatever I needed to get ready for the 200's so I did a 100.  I figured going from a 50 to a 200 might be too much for me mentally to handle.  But at least a somewhat fast 100 would give me a pace base.  Now the 200's were to be fast or good effort and descend.  I did a 2:21, 2:18 and 2:15.  Not by best workout 200 times but good.  I may have gone faster on the last one but thought I was going to puke so pulled back a bit on the 7th lap.  Hey, at least I can count to 8!  (900/1600)

I then did a 100 easy so only 1,700 yards.  Once again it was all about effort.  The 200's were okay for me.  I won't be swimming again to Monday since I'm working this weekend.  But I'll do some crosstraining at the gym.  Today I'll be doing Group Power and tomorrow I'm planning to do Group Ride (spinning) and then Group Kick (kick boxing.)  Sunday should be a recovery day.   

Wonder Woman VS Aqua Man