Hola, Comrades,
Sorry--Leslie et al--for my sabbatical from these postings, but the world of toil has ensnared me for the moment.
A quick update for those of you who responded so kindly in yestermonth regarding my inquiry about a swimming camp to attend (and write about for this New York Times magazine called Play, which comes out 4x a year.)
Anyhow, I am leaving next Friday for a couple days of instruction at the Race Club in Islamadora, FL. Should be fun and, I hope, illuminating.
They asked me what specifically I hoped to learn, and I listed a couple things:
--stroke analysis to become a bit more efficient and, especially, to make sure I am not doing anything to tweak my shoulder (which is often in a little bit of discomfort)
--starts, turns, breakouts, and any other easy ways to shave off some time in sprints
--and possibly some exercises/weight lifting/core training to again help swimming and reduce risk of shoulder problems
I am wondering if any of you can think of some better and/or different things to try to learn in such a setting? If so, let me know and I will do my best to vicariously learn these for you.
I will keep you posted on further developments.
PS please note that I have decided against taking a professional, or even semi-pro, masseuse with me, and indeed hope this entire experience will prove totally swimming related with no distracting hibiscus flowers of any sort to keep me from my goal of shaving at least .1 second off my age-adjusted 1650 time and .14 seconds off my hour swim (which, I just realized, would make it a 59:59.86 minute swim.)
Former Member
Jim, good writing (as usual) and all of us are envious. I don't know if you realize that while you were off gallivanting, you were also making appearances in various forums, the horror thread and as a prime suspect in the masquerade thread. Good multi-tasking.
As for the 52.69, I did this at CZ meet where I should add that I came in 3rd in my 50-54 age group! If I can hold onto this time till the 80-84 age group, and these other guys give up, I might be able to win.
Bob Hansen will never give up.
Great article! What was the age range of people attending the camp? Teenagers too?
OK, so how many people went to the Race Club website to see if they could swing a quick vacation?
I know I did.
Jim, it is funny that about your comments regarding the 100-104 age group, because that's what I say about my peers. I'm the same age as KPN et al. :shakeshead:
I'll chime in too--really enjoyed the article! I even bought a copy of the NY Times so I could have the print edition of it. And I'm going to post those freestyle tips where I can see them every day! It's making me want to try this swim camp. I wonder if a gig as a masseuse gets you free entry! :D
And thanks so much for posting the link b/c once I bought the paper and read through the magazine, I found another swimming related article--about Martin Strel who swam the Amazon. The article has a long title beginning "Swimming for Peace in the Middle East." One thing that surprised me is that Strel said he drank about a bottle of wine per day during his swim. Gotta wonder if that was an exaggeration, but he felt he swam more relaxed if he was a little tipsy. (Guessing that's a "Don't try this at home, kids" kind of thing!) :joker:
Hey Jim-
A coworker just brought me your article. I sat in my basement cubicle with no natural light reading the first sentence and started comtemplating how long it would take me to pack! Great job on the article AND the smoking fast 100 free.
Dana
