Practicing in smoke filled air

Thank God for swimming--because when this settles out, it will be a great retreat for those relish the sport. Amen to that. For some of us swimming with the Ventura County Masters, these past few days have been stressful to say the least. Mind you, I'm not a firefighter. THOSE folks deserve our utmost gratitude and praise. What they've endured is simply incredible. Period. Some things take a back seat while life goes on - trying to save a property or animals, keeping family/kids safe, etc. Perspective. Our home was in the path of the north-western edge of the Simi fire throughout the weekend, with the fire line coming to within 1-2 miles and fortunately not any closer. The Santa Ana winds were pushing the smoke, ash, and embers directly at us. It was a busy weekend protecting, planning, and organizing, with little sleep. It's at such times that one can realize the true value of friendship. We received many calls of support, mostly from swim contacts. People in swimming are THE BEST! I've heard that an age group coach for a nearby swim team lost his house as the fire whipped through Moorpark. I realize this may seem a tad off-topic. It's not really. By the time my wife, children, and and I made it safely into Monday, we were looking for a slight escape. Swimming provided that, briefly in the morning, and within cautious limits. The pool at nearby Oxnard High School - where we train - was full of debris, both from the winds as well as the fire. The air had settled overnight, so the concentration of particulates in the air was low, but the pool water had plenty of fallout, most all of it settled on the bottom. We did some low-key stuff (kicking, backstroke) and then went back to reality. Ditto for Tuesday. This morning, the air in our area was much clearer and we resumed with a more normal level of training. I can't say how the folks further south or inland of us are doing, but since the fires still rage on in those areas, I'd be shocked if any are training in it. It just isn't worth it. Even though we're Californians, we haven't completely lost it! Our local paper, the Ventura County Star, has some web slide shows of both professional and reader-submitted photos from the area. You can see them here: web.insidevc.com/.../fireindex.htm

Thank God for swimming--because when this settles out, it will be a great retreat for those relish the sport. Amen to that. For some of us swimming with the Ventura County Masters, these past few days have been stressful to say the least. Mind you, I'm not a firefighter. THOSE folks deserve our utmost gratitude and praise. What they've endured is simply incredible. Period. Some things take a back seat while life goes on - trying to save a property or animals, keeping family/kids safe, etc. Perspective. Our home was in the path of the north-western edge of the Simi fire throughout the weekend, with the fire line coming to within 1-2 miles and fortunately not any closer. The Santa Ana winds were pushing the smoke, ash, and embers directly at us. It was a busy weekend protecting, planning, and organizing, with little sleep. It's at such times that one can realize the true value of friendship. We received many calls of support, mostly from swim contacts. People in swimming are THE BEST! I've heard that an age group coach for a nearby swim team lost his house as the fire whipped through Moorpark. I realize this may seem a tad off-topic. It's not really. By the time my wife, children, and and I made it safely into Monday, we were looking for a slight escape. Swimming provided that, briefly in the morning, and within cautious limits. The pool at nearby Oxnard High School - where we train - was full of debris, both from the winds as well as the fire. The air had settled overnight, so the concentration of particulates in the air was low, but the pool water had plenty of fallout, most all of it settled on the bottom. We did some low-key stuff (kicking, backstroke) and then went back to reality. Ditto for Tuesday. This morning, the air in our area was much clearer and we resumed with a more normal level of training. I can't say how the folks further south or inland of us are doing, but since the fires still rage on in those areas, I'd be shocked if any are training in it. It just isn't worth it. Even though we're Californians, we haven't completely lost it! Our local paper, the Ventura County Star, has some web slide shows of both professional and reader-submitted photos from the area. You can see them here: web.insidevc.com/.../fireindex.htm