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
OMG was in reference to Morgan's 74.5 miles in one month:confused: How in the world does one to THAT I can't help but wonder! I simply wonder -- I will never be there at this point in my life, but find it wondersome:laugh2:
Keep on keeping on Kimberlie -- we slow ones do just as much work as those fast ones!
Rich, sorry to have to ask, it's probably obvious, but what does "Shoal" mean?
It's another,perhaps British word, for group of fish. Whereas "school" is used here. There may be a marine Biologist among us that can clarify. Shoal may be specific to a type of fish. I'll investigate.
Yeah 74.5miles. It makes me question if I spend any time on land haha.
but yeah, I'm 20--well 21 in less than a month...and most of that yardage is just yarbage from swim team stuff. This month will be a lot less, because we're tapering for 8 days...then have a 5day championship meet....then I start swimming on my own...which hopefully I will still be able to get in 6000 yards at least every other day and maybe 4-5k on the opposite days...we'll see.
:o AH! age 20. That explains a lot! And now I don't feel quite as inadequate!!:wave:
Yeah, it's a huge amount by masters standards, but not crazy by college standards. There are lots of programs who routinely do more than 50,000 yards per week. This translates to somewhere around 120 miles per month! :eek:
I remember I logged all my workouts one season in college and I easily surpassed one million yards. The season is about five months long. I'd find the one million mark to be very challenging now for an entire year (you need to maintain nearly 20K per week).
I mentioned the event to one of my coaches and was surprised at his negative response: "An event that only keeps track of yardage will encourage less quality swimming." I told him he was wrong (based on what I said above)! Wondering if others participating in this event agree with me.
Masters Swimming Canada has a similar program called the Million Metre Challenge:
http://mymsc.ca/Million.jsp
And some people expressed similar concerns when it first started, but on the whole I think the program has done more to encourage people to make that extra practice or not skip a set than to just swim mindless distance. The idea is to record what you do, not to change all your workouts to distance freestyle! It's very nice to be able to look back at how far you have swum and how many workouts you have done. The program has been very popular and has provided a lot of motivation for a lot of people, I'm sure that Go the Distance will do the same for USMS!
I'm realizing that what attracts me to USMS Discussion Forum is all the positive attitudes. ...the idea is to record what you do not convert your workouts to distance freestyle!... well said Lindsay, thanks.
Morgan, you'll probably swim more during your taper than I do the whole month. Maybe this could be my personal challenge for Feb., do more this month than you manage to do during taper.
I'm realizing that what attracts me to USMS Discussion Forum is all the positive attitudes. ...the idea is to record what you do not convert your workouts to distance freestyle!... well said Lindsay, thanks.
Morgan, you'll probably swim more during your taper than I do the whole month. Maybe this could be my personal challenge for Feb., do more this month than you manage to do during taper.
Attagurl Kimberlie hehe. Morgan's mileage makes me wince just reading it!
I enjoyed the website Lindsay. And I agree that you put it well when you explain the goal of Go the Distance. It wasn't clear to me if the Canada challenged needs a membership?
I will actually be in NB this summer (I live in the Seattle area). I will be bicycling with Atlantic Cycling for about two weeks. I am hopeful to fit in a swim or two while there even though chances of that are slim. If I figure out what towns we will be in perhaps you could name a pool nearby that would welcome a nonmember. At the beginning of August we start with our 3 day rally in St. George, then bike up the St. John River to Quebec. Not much detail I know, but I haven't looked at it all very closely yet.
The Canadian Million Metre Challenge is intended for members of Masters Swimming Canada. You have to specify your club from the list of Canadian clubs.
You will go by Fredericton, NB which has a masters club that welcomes guest swimmers, further north there is a club in Edmonston, and you may pass some clubs in Quebec, depending on your route. There is a club list with locations on the mymsc.ca site, under the MSC menu.
