Does anyone else ever mentally hum a tune during swim practices and/or races? My personal favorite, when I am trying to summon energy from my exhausted body, is the 1812 Overture--I try to time it so the cannons start firing towards the latter part of the race.
I'd be interested to hear what goes through other peoples' minds as they swim, musical or otherwise.
Former Member
I'm glad I'm not the only one who uses music in the head to get through practice. Although, having just learned flip turns, if I'm practicing flip turns I'm only thinking about the mechanics of getting in a turn as I swim down the lane. Otherwise, I find music in the head as a great motivator. I listen to music on my drive to the pool to get the process started. I'm with Randy on his selection as a start. However, usually towards the end of practice when I need increased motivation I switch to something with a strong cadence, such as Battle Hymm (sp?) of the Republic.
Gosh, most of the posts here swim to classical music...I better get in step ....because I mostly hear "Dark Side of the Moon" while I swim...:confused:
When I was growing up in AAU, everyone in the lane would pick the same song to think of during repeats. During the intervals, we'd check to see if we were on the same stanza... :p
The other day I was reading Dan Frost's interesting post The Losers. Then on the radio I heard Tom Petty song "Even the Losers" on the way to practice and that song just kept replaying in my head. I was thinking of all the people from Oregon and Virginia that had there times not count for the recently published 2001 SCM Top Ten for some sort of reason. I remember when that song came out from the album "Dam the Torpedoes" which broke Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers nationally. It had other good songs on there as well like Refugee, Here Comes My Girl, and Don't Do Me Like That.
Also about a month ago I was doing a workout at the pool and the music that was playing out on to the pool deck was the reissue from Rhino Records of Iron Butterfly "In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida" CD reissue that came out in 1995. I remember when this came out as a record in 1968 and it was one of the most popular albums off all time. That CD is 58:08 long so when I started I used the first 21 minutes to do a pre-set and then followed with a main set of 28 X 100 on the 1:20. The first part of that CD has all the other songs like Most Anything that You Want Girl, Flowers and Beads, My Mirage, Termination, and Are You Happy. When those songs were done is when I finished the pre-set and started the main set.
The next 3 songs on the CD are In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida, the original uncut album version with drum solo at 17:10, then the live version from a concert at 18:51, then the single AM radio version without solos at 2:59 totalling 37 minutes. That song is all I heard during those 28 100's which took 37:20 to do. Sounds boring, maybe, but that song can get you thru stuff like that. Young people that weren't around can't believe that original 1968 release was Atlantic Records biggest selling record of all time up until that time (1968-1969).
Can anyone top this? We were doing 75's, and our lane leader lost count - stopped after a 50!
Many years ago, I was watching New England Division I Champs (Boston College, Umass Amherst, etc.). It was evening finals of the 200 free. BC had a freshman who was 1:39 or so in the morning, seeded first at night by a bunch. He went out hard, and came into the wall at the finish and finished hard, and started the fist-pumping for his victory. Unfortunately, everyone else just flipped, since it was only the 150.
-Rick
Sometimes to get energized for a strong practice or race, I listen to these songs from CDs I juggle with:
1) "Thirteen Days" by J. J. Cale;
2) "Dear Mister Fantasy" or "Hole in my shoe" by Traffic;
3) "We Used To Know" by Jethro Tull;
4) "Tales" by Uriah Heep;
5) "Dream On" by Aerosmith;
6) "Conquistador" and "Repent Walpurgis" by Procol Harum; this is a combo of Beethoven-like organ by Matthew Fisher and monster-guitar by Robin Trower;
7) "Feelin' Bad" by Spooky Tooth;
8) "Special Care" by Buffalo Springfield;
9) "Born On The Bayou" by Creedence Clearwater Revival;
10) "The One I Love" by R.E.M..
These are within a style, and I am looking to add:
11) "Star Again" by Billy Idol;
12) "I am on the outside" by ...(?)... and Lewis;
13) one melody by Pink Floyd I heard but still have to identify, and some Moody Blues.
In general many kinds of flowing music trigger my imagination, however the above mentioned ones have a quiet aggressive quality in them that patiently raise my adrenaline.
You're right Randy -- Jimmy Buffett is a great choice! Especially "Fins"! If that doesn't get you moving, nothing will!
I need rock & roll to get me moving. Classical turns me to spaghetti. But classical for winding down is perfect. One of my favorites is St.-Saen's Carnival of the Animals. My swim club used it as the basis for a water ballet twice when I was a kid. One year I was a fossil, and the other time I was a fish. We also did a water ballet one year called "West Meade Swim Club Presents a Love-In" (can you guess this was circa the late 60s?), and I was in a number to "In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida"! It was truly bizarre!
Meg
During practice I am a counter. I even count lengths not laps. Odd numbers up and even numbers back. This helps me when I lose track.
I competetion I just go. No time to think of anything but fast.
My problem is in open water swims. There is nothing to count, the distance in long enough that it is not sprint pace, so I have time to think. I usually just think -one-two-one-two- how boring. I need to learn a song
