Announcing the new 2007 USMS Fitness Event: Go the Distance!
A new fitness event is being offered by the USMS Fitness Committee. The name of this new challenge is “Go the Distance”!
The objective of this event is for participants to track the distance they swim during the year 2007. When participants achieve specific distance milestones of 50 miles, 100 miles, 250 miles, 500 miles, 750 miles and 1000 miles – they will be recognized on the USMS website and awards will be available for purchase (for a minimal fee).
There is no cost to enter this event. Participants are requested to email (or use snail mail) to submit the total distance they swim each month. A list of miles per month and cumulative mileage will be tabulated for each swimmer. Once a distance milestone is achieved awards will be available for purchase. They will include swim caps, certificates, patches and t-shirts with the event logo and the distance of the milestone achieved. Details on these awards and how to purchase them will be available soon.
Each month the results will be updated on the USMS website in the Fitness Section. There will be lists to recognize all those that have achieved each distance milestone. Participants will also be able to look up their current total as well as view their progress toward the next distance milestone. In addition there will be graphs illustrating the participation for each zone, lmsc, age groups etc..
This event was designed to encourage folks to track the distance they swim in order to review their progress and to be recognized for their achievements. There is no time limit for the distance milestones (except that it must be in 2007) so speed does not count – just the effort to attain the next goal. We wish to recognize participation and achievement of goals with this event.
There will be an entry form, monthly results, award request form and a “distance tracking log” available on the USMS website (fitness section) soon. The log can be used to track one’s daily distance swum but is not required.
The Canadian Masters have a Million Metre Challenge that is quite successful. This event is similar in design but will be implemented a bit differently in the beginning. And of course, our goals will be in miles instead of meters!
I would very much appreciate it if you could spread the word to folks and consider participating yourselves! If you need any more information or would like to comment and make suggestions please contact Mary Sweat at gothedistance@swimoregon.org
Wishing you lots of fun swimming in 2007!
Mary Sweat
For the USMS Fitness Committee
Former Member
Like Rich, I am loving this challenge a LOT :applaud: I too go those couple of extra laps to add to my mileage goals! I am sooooo slow :snore: that it will take me quite a bit of time to reach a milestone for an award! Doesn't matter though -- it is the sticking with it and watching that little graph move forward that makes it fun and meaningful.
Nancy
Kathy. I feel for you in that weather in TEX. But here in AZ. it has been cold but I swim inside at L.A. fitness. I am trying to swim 50 miles a month. All free style (thats the only stroke I can do). As of today I have done, 28 miles. But slow. Hoping I can matain 50 miles a month. This is a 25 meter pool. Good sailing . DOM in AZ.:groovy: :woot:
Mary - How about a running total of yardage/meters for the week, month and YTD? Anyone else like to see those stats?
Hi Jeff,
Let me tell you a little bit about what I was thinking for the results so far ..... and then everyone can help with suggestions on things they would like to see.
I hope that at the end of January lots of folks will enter and send me the distance they swam during January! I've actually already received some entries - woo hoo! I intend on compiling the results and posting them on the website on a monthly basis. I know some of you are interested in weekly data - but I'm not sure the web folks are up for weekly updates (!) and we will have to see how much email I get (!) - more on this later.
I will keep the monthly and ytd running total of miles swam for each participant. These will be listed and I hope to be able to provide a graph of your progress per month - anyone interested in this?
The main feature will be the lists of folks who reach each distance milestone.
There will also be some graphs showing how far participants are swimming from groups around the nation. I'm thinking of breaking it down by Zone and LMSC at this point. So, let the friendly competition between zones and lmsc's begin!
And ... we can also have a look at the progress per age group and sex.
So, there's lots of things I can provide - I just need to know what you would like and make sure those items are provided.
My biggest curiosity (and biggest unknown so far) is the level of participation for this event. I would love to see lots and lots of folks participating! But this means tons of email and a bunch of files to post on the website each month. However, with any luck, we will have to solve this problem!
Maybe some day we can have daily on-line tracking and data compilation - whoa! But this will require extensive effort, energy and time for our web folks. So at this point, I'm thinking this might be feasible but it is really dependent on if the level of participation warrants it.
So please let me know the kind of results you would like to see (and stuff you don't care about too!). We can January as a test run and modify things as we go into February!
Mary
Poolratt. Thank you for your response on the spread sheet, for go the distance, 2007. But I am still having trouble.(excel). Can you tell me Excatly which buttons to press. Thank you ,Dom In AZ.:drink:
I'm not quite sure how to help, but I'll try.
First, are you able to copy the spreadsheet to your computer?
Once you open the file you should see a graph and a pie chart at the top of the page. Scroll down using the arrow keys until you see a yellow area that is labeled "Please enter data" Use the "right" arrow key to get the highlighted box to the Yards column then the "down" arrow key to get to the correct date. Type in your daily yardage and hit any arrow key. Then save and exit.
Hope this helps.
If you have a friend or coworker that uses Excel ask them to help.
Kathy. I feel for you in that weather in TEX. But here in AZ. it has been cold but I swim inside at L.A. fitness. I am trying to swim 50 miles a month. All free style (thats the only stroke I can do). As of today I have done, 28 miles. But slow. Hoping I can matain 50 miles a month. This is a 25 meter pool. Good sailing . DOM in AZ.:groovy: :woot:
Thanks Dom! I swim indoors too, but the ice was 2 inches thick on the driveway and I have a long steeply sloping driveway. I could not get out of my house:frustrated: . Things better today though. Went to work and will swim in the morning (5:30). :groovy: :woot:
Poolratt. Thank you for your response on the spread sheet, for go the distance, 2007. But I am still having trouble.(excel). Can you tell me Excatly which buttons to press. Thank you ,Dom In AZ.:drink:
Hey Rich!
I love your avatar! Is that your dog? I have a fawn colored pug named Frappuccino.
YEAH!!! I have a fawn colored pug named Lucy and we plan on getting a black colored little sister this spring (after Y Nationals).
Oh, and TODAY IS MY BIRTHDAY, 51, happy and loving every minute of being in the pool!
HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!:banana: :banana: :banana:
Isn't it great to be 50 something and be in shape? I call it my revenge.
I occassionally see old (emphasis on the old) HS and college clasmates of mine and walk away with a smile.
More :banana: :banana: :banana:
Hi Folks (especially Nacny, richjb and Kimberlie!),
I'm so jazzed that you are interested in this new event! I really look forward to seeing your posts - especially when you chat about your progress. I'm even more anxious to hear from you all at the end of the month to see how far you swam in January!
I think it's important for us all to remember where we started ... and how far we have come - regardless of how it compares to anyone else. It really doesn't matter if you swim 50 miles in one year ... or in one month - it's the personal challenge that this is all about. That's what is so cool about swimming - we can actually quantify our progress - whether it be speed, distance (endurance) or sheer enjoyment (I know I'm easier to live with when I swim every day!).
As an 8 year old, my brother and I did a 50 mile challenge offered by the Amrerican Red Cross. That got me hooked on swimming - and on accepting challenges. I started on my first swim team a few years later when we moved to a place that had one. That's where the idea regarding this event came from ...
Since then, I've done my fair share of really dumb things (like taking 20 years off of swimming and ... ahhh ...some other really stupid things you can probably guess). But when I started swimming again at 35 .... I could hardly swim 500 yards. Now ... I will rarely swim a 500 because it's too short (!) ... go figure. But all in all, it's always good to remind oneself just how far we have come ..... and enjoy the good feelings that come with it.
So enjoy the ride, swim to your hearts content and be happy and satisfied with your accomplishments whatever they may be!
Mary
