I think it is sad we have slipped down the slope we call “being civil”. Being away from these posts for the better part of a week has allowed me to look at them in a different light then before. The thoughts and feelings of many of the people who post here are very raw right now. Decency, understanding, compassion, patience and kindness have been lost to pain and anger.
I have learned some very valuable lessons over the past nineteen months. Often, anger is directly driven by pain. I read pain into many of the post here. People have offended one another and tramped on each others toes and people have been hurt emotionally.
Gosh, I am the farthest thing from a counselor or referee for that matter, but I am qualified to say that each of us has good days, and each of us has bad days. Without exception, EVERY SINGLE POSTER was decent, understanding and compassionate towards me during a very tough time in my life. Ion has a way of invoking anger and hostility in people. Having said that, he reached out to me during a very tough time and demonstrated a very different and compassionate side then the one we see here.
My point, in the final annalists we call life, what more do we really have then one another? We are a body of swimmers who share a common bond for the love of swimming and adult exercise in the water. Let us keep to this course as opposed to offending one another and fracturing our beloved sport with pain, hard feelings and anger. We are different, yet, we are the same. We all love our children, we all want to excel in life, we all want to think of ourselves are winners, we all want to be free people, we all want to raise our families and enjoy life as best we can. Regardless of how fast we are, how smart we are or anything else…. in the final toll….we all want and strive for many of the same things. As we all did on playgrounds all over the world as children, let’s shake hands and make up….
Former Member
Kiwi,
Great post. Thanks.
I love swimming in nature too. NO CHLORINE!!! WOW!!!!!!!!!
Your description of swimming in place in a river reminded me
of a fun experience.
I was on vacation in New England where tides
are significant. One day at the beach, the tide was going out. There was a big tidal lagoon with an outlet/jetty/bridge
right nearby . I started swimming "upstream"
against the tidal flow which was emptying from the lagoon. The current kept
getting faster and faster. By sprinting as hard as I could,
I could just barely make headway towards the bridge.
Talk about your endless pool! When I stopped, the current
immediately swept me rapidly toward the ocean again.
I did it again and again---talk about a VO2 Max/sprint
combo workout! :0)
Long distance open water swimming is not well known even
in USMS, myself included.
Was just curious about the statement- "pool swimming's more speed and that's what I look for."--so here is one example:
I was in a 5 mile open water swim in 6/2002. Water
temp was 19 degrees C or 66 F, lake was calm. The winning female was
40 yo. Never heard of her before, couldn't find her on the internet. She went 1 hour 46 minutes...that's averaging
12:04/ 1000 yard. I'd say
that was pretty good speed....
I did my first pool mile ever last week (in a race that is). I am curious to those who are experienced: Assuming the conditions are good, how much slower is an open water mile vs pool mile (which isn't really a mile). My mile time was 18:37 (1:07.7 per hunrdred, so a real mile (1760 Yards) would have been right at 20 Minutes. And in a college practice I did 3500 yards in 40 Minutes / 25 seconds.
Thoughts...
Jeff, also look for an open water race put on by a local triathlon club at Hagg Lake June 13th. The local USMS club will be assisting with this race as well.
Wahoo! I found the ignore button :)
Connie,
I wouldn't say I don't work out as hard, just not as many yards/meters. Thankfully, the 8,000 m workouts are in the past, as is being on the freezing deck at 4:45am.
I am happy to say that I have done my life bests in Masters, and I'm not done yet. Just a brief pause over the last four years to have three kids! In the words of our famous governor, "I'll be back!"
I was not aware there was an underground group of late bloomers, much less a covert group of late bloomers requiring a leader to take a stand on their behalf. I'm also not aware you are their annointed leader.
I am aware, however, of a group of people, commonly called swimmers, who like to have their accomplishments recognized without handicap. Because, as has been pointed out to the point of nausea, there is no category in any swimming community called "late bloomer."
Aquageek,
Did you see the other thread with the lengthy discussion about a "special shampoo" and "late bloomers"? It was all very tongue-in-cheek. Just wondering if you had seen it.
Can anyone tell me how long the Mattson Lies thread lasted ? (wanted to find out if I guessed correctly and can collect my prize money so I can retire early). Sorry for diverting the conversation - now back to our regularly scheduled program.
In regards to open water swims, I had a swimmer who swam with our team for about 2 years, he did a lot of the open water swims and was quite accomplished doing these 'marathon' type swims, he also did pool swims and was placed very high in the USMS top ten for free events 200m and up (also was a pretty good 400 IM er).
Even though I am primarily a sprinter I enjoy doing the open water events because of the camaraderie and the strategy involved (who to draft off of, who's going to work with you and who is going work you). Everyone basically swims at the same time (starts at the same time anyways) and those that finish early are usually there to cheer those that finish behind them to the last swimmer - plus the post race festivities (especially in Oregon) are hard to beat.
In the open water events I am familiar with, there are definite rules. One rule is "No Drafting" If you are going to pass, you have to move 1 meter away so you are not in the slip stream, and you have a certain time to pass. You are not allowed to sit on the feet of the swimmer in front. The time allocated for passing is explained at the mandatory pre course meetings for each event. Some non sanctioned events will have the rules printed in the brochure, and you will sign to say you will abide by these.
However in triathalon swimming, drafting in swimming is allowed. But is definitely not allowed in the cycle portion. It is too difficult to stop drafting in the swim event due to the large numbers swimming. In open water events, there are usually smaller numbers, so it is easier for the 'course officials' to enforce. Besides, it feels way to better to have achieved your goal under your own steam.
Yes the post race celebrations are the icing on the cake. Very enjoyable.
What swims are in Oregon?
Originally posted by kaelonj
Can anyone tell me how long the Mattson Lies thread lasted ?
...
Sure.
It lasted long enough for Mattson and you to know what I think.
Which is my intent.
