Interview(s) with the Champion(s)

RE: Interview(s) with the Champion(s)

Former Member — Thu, 27 Dec 2007 17:44:37 GMT

I've won four USMS championships and broken USMS records on three occasions since turning 55 last year. All happened in open water and to be brutally honest I wouldn't have a prayer of doing either in pool events as I simply don't possess any natural speed, a source of great frustration my first 10 years as a swimmer. I got cut from my elementary school team at 12, failed to qualify for the NYC Catholic HS league championship as a 16 y.o. senior (however I did collect silver and bronze medals in the 400 and 200 free in the novice championship, swimming mainly against 9th graders) and failed to make a final as a 20 y.o. college swimmer in the NYC Metro Collegiate Championships (home of such powerhouses as CCNY, Lehman, Hunter, Brooklyn, Queens, Adelphi and St Francis Colleges). I started racing in open water that summer as a Jones Beach lifeguard and immediately experienced a sense of being "at home" that had eluded me in the pool. I've approached open water swimming as an exercise in problem solving, rather than physical conditioning, continually pursuing a more economical way to swim in chop, to navigate, to swim in packs, etc. I do most of my training in the pool (though I swim almost exclusively in OW four to five months a year) and my training goals in the pool have evolved from "being the hardest worker" in my teens to "finding the easiest way" to complete each set in my 50s. The most important lessons I've learned in my 50s have been how critical relaxation and integration are as you approach your "red line." Because "speed" in OW must be sustainable rather than sheer, those lessons have made quite a difference. When I broke my first USMS record, in the 2-mile cable swim at Charlottesville in July 06 (a race in which Chris Stevenson, an impressive OW swimmer, was first overall finisher or pretty darn close and broke the 40-44 record) my pace per 100 meters was only 1:28, which illustrates my point about speed not being a significant factor. Where speed does become a factor in that sort of race is when you find yourself in a closing sprint. This summer I improved my time for the 2-Mile from 47:00 to 46:20 (1:26/100m) but when I found myself in a flat-out race with Bruce Gianniny in the final 200m I got spanked. But I'm doing all I can to raise my game so I have a chance of breaking that record again. Oh yeah. How does it feel to break a record? At least for me, an exhilaration I can't even describe. I floated on my back with a huge grin, reflecting on that decade of feeling clueless. But even that doesn't outstrip the exhilaration I felt swimming mano a mano with Bruce, inches apart, forearms and hips brushing most of the final 400 at Lake Placid, even while sort of knowing he'd pull away at the end. I want to continue this Interview Post with Terry Laughlin next... Although, there is so much I want to ask everyone else, as I've really enjoyed your replies... We'll get to that, in time... First, let me start by saying, WAY TO GO, CHAMP!! What you've achieved can only be accomplished by a determined and exacting conscience, indeed, a lifetime of devotion and commitment to your sport; swimming. On top of your athletic endeavours, you've also pursued the inner world of swimming philosophy, and have produced pure exellence in that realm. Your contributions are an invaluable resource, and this opportunity for continued dialogue is a personal honour for me. There are a few questions I'd like to ask... If you were frustrated with the performances of your youth, was it the joy of the swim that kept you in the water? In the past, what is the hardest experience you encountered, and how/why did you resolve to overcome this? What do you enjoy most about teaching/coaching? What is your greatest memory as a coach? Thank you and Happy Swimming,

RE: Interview(s) with the Champion(s)

Former Member — Thu, 27 Dec 2007 17:10:26 GMT

To paraphrase *** Jochums: Those who strive, those who leave nothing on the table, those who take the risk will all be winners.......If you measure your performance by your preparation, and the physical and mental effort, you will never waiver from the truth of that performance......It's the way you undertake the journey that defines the champion... I really like this quote...

RE: Interview(s) with the Champion(s)

Former Member — Thu, 27 Dec 2007 15:25:45 GMT

Oh yeah. How does it feel to break a record? At least for me, an exhilaration I can't even describe. I floated on my back with a huge grin, reflecting on that decade of feeling clueless. But even that doesn't outstrip the exhilaration I felt swimming mano a mano with Bruce, inches apart, forearms and hips brushing most of the final 400 at Lake Placid, even while sort of knowing he'd pull away at the end. Terry, thanks for the recollection of your open water swim... That's something I'd like to hear more about from the members of this forum, I'd like to know about the best moments in swimming...

RE: Interview(s) with the Champion(s)

Former Member — Thu, 27 Dec 2007 14:56:27 GMT

Jonathan Thank you for your very generous comments. I gather you're a Canadian Master. Are you also a coach? It took me several years to accept responsibility for being headstrong and impolitic away from the pool. yep, is this yours? >·´¯`·.¸ .·´¯`·.> ¸.·´¯`·.¸.·´¯`·.>

RE: Interview(s) with the Champion(s)

Former Member — Tue, 25 Dec 2007 06:07:42 GMT

My patience, willpower, and concentration are readily consumed by my attempts to catch flies with chop sticks.

RE: Interview(s) with the Champion(s)

Former Member — Mon, 24 Dec 2007 17:56:36 GMT

RE: Interview(s) with the Champion(s)

pwolf66 — Mon, 24 Dec 2007 09:31:57 GMT

And I'm SURE you applied all your considerable willpower too :weightlifter: :shakeshead: Paul

RE: Interview(s) with the Champion(s)

Former Member — Mon, 24 Dec 2007 09:09:46 GMT

Nope and nor, apparently, am I an English teacher. :mooning: Paul Ha! Sorry, it was too difficult to pass up.

RE: Interview(s) with the Champion(s)

Former Member — Mon, 24 Dec 2007 07:46:37 GMT

The experience to be valued is not in the destination, but instead, it is in the journey. I really got this this morning as I mediated in the pool. Paul Are you an attorney?

RE: Interview(s) with the Champion(s)

pwolf66 — Mon, 24 Dec 2007 03:44:13 GMT

Nope and nor, apparently, am I an English teacher. :mooning: Paul

RE: Interview(s) with the Champion(s)

pwolf66 — Mon, 24 Dec 2007 02:41:11 GMT

The experience to be valued is not in the destination, but instead, it is in the journey. I really got this this morning as I meditated in the pool. Paul

RE: Interview(s) with the Champion(s)

Former Member — Sun, 23 Dec 2007 17:16:38 GMT

RE: Interview(s) with the Champion(s)

poolraat — Sun, 23 Dec 2007 11:44:35 GMT

I've been undecided about jumping in this since it started, but here goes. I'm far from a champion in the strict sense of the word but in my own mind my swimming accomplishments are satisfying. I, like Dorothy started swimming 8 years ago as an adult. I was 48, overweight and out of shape and and wanted to change that. A former runner who quit in my mid 30's because of burnout, I had no desire to run again but when my 8 y.o. daughter joined the swim team I thought "Hey! I can do that." So I started going to the pool every morning and thrashing my way across the pool as many times as I could until I was thrashed (at first about 4 laps was all I could do and then :drown:). I lost the excess weight and eventually improved enough that I decided to enter swim meet. That was so much fun that I was totally hooked. I eventually improved enough that I made (5) NQT's for short course nationals last year and made the trip to my first nationals meet. I'm having the time of my life because it's all so new to me and at 55 I am setting PB's regularly.

RE: Interview(s) with the Champion(s)

ande — Sun, 23 Dec 2007 08:59:19 GMT

you're welcome and thank you Ande Thank you Ande, for joining this thread... You Are A Champion, and that's no exaggeration!

RE: Interview(s) with the Champion(s)

Chris Stevenson — Sun, 23 Dec 2007 08:41:18 GMT

This can only be done if there is at least some level of joy gained from the process. A process that is equally enjoyable regardless of the place you are on the scoreboard. Yes, absolutely! Here's the thing, I am not trying to denigrate myself or my accomplishments by referring to my past swimming as "second-tier." I have a very healthy ego, believe me, but a realistic picture of myself as someone whom did not cause the "big guns" to worry overmuch in the past. So what? I worked hard and I got plenty fast. One great thing about swimming is the stopwatch. Ultimately you are competing against the clock. Being first or breaking a record is a great feeling...but it depends on others "cooperating" by being slower than you. I believe pride in accomplishment should not depend too strongly on such external factors. Dorothy is very rightly proud of doing no-breathers in practice for the very first time after years of attempts. That accomplishment is not cheapened by any little bit the fact that others can do it (and many others who cannot). Terry is also rightly proud of his perserverance in the sport and eventually finding events (OW swimming) that bring him the most satisfaction. Although he didn't mention it, he should also be proud of spreading the joy of swimming to many others through TI (and right now I am using his book & DVD to further my ongoing project to bring my recently-retired parents into swimming). Records will be broken. There is always someone out there faster -- if not now, then in the future. Again, so what? We can and should use others' performances as motivation but their accomplishments should not lessen our pride in our own. Chris

RE: Interview(s) with the Champion(s)

Former Member — Sun, 23 Dec 2007 06:06:02 GMT

Sigh...there are people out there my age (Sean Murphy, Ron Karnaugh to name two) who can usually thump me in the backstroke but haven't bothered to race lately, so the "champ" business is a bit much...two weeks ago was the very first time in my life I ever shaved or tapered for a SCM meet so getting PBs wasn't really too hard. I don't think I ever swam SCM in college. But even with the old turns and the lack of underwater SDK, I was still a much faster backstroker in college (heck, even in high school). My college times were decent, second-tier stuff, please don't make too much of them. The fly WR was in the 53s (Matt Gribble) until Pablo broke it around the time of the LA games (though he got beat by Michael Gross that time). I missed finals there by 0.2 and ended up 12th -- like I said, second-tier stuff. I am happy with my college career but please tone down the hyperbole, okay? :) All this talk of people who may be hypothetically faster is redundant... Until they actually break your World Records, you are the CHAMPION. You might think of yourself as second-tier, but that sounds more like a rationalization, a way to accept your accomplishment(s) without actually having to take any credit for those performances... It's easier being 12-16th place, you might tell yourself... I've heard that before, but now you went and swam faster than anyone else, in all history for your age category... You can't simply dismiss this fact as meaningless.... Being fast once is admirable, but continuing to be fast as we age is astonishing. The fact is, most people lose something with age, and to be able to continue to perform at an elite level propels you further ahead of the curve in terms of athletic ability... This is not second-tier stuff... When looking at athletics from a purely physical perspective, having the ability to maintain performance over longer periods of time can be arguably seen as an even greater accomplishment... Not to mention the sheer will-power it takes to continue to train at an elite level... This can only be done if there is at least some level of joy gained from the process. A process that is equally enjoyable regardless of the place you are on the scoreboard. Masters, especially swimming, could become even more popular in the public mind. With the aging demographic and our mutual obsession with youth and vitality, to be able to show an alternative, one where you actually stay healthy and strong; this is bound to draw a larger interest. Happy Swimming,

RE: Interview(s) with the Champion(s)

Chris Stevenson — Sun, 23 Dec 2007 05:15:52 GMT

when my 8 y.o. daughter joined the swim team I thought "Hey! I can do that." Chuckle...I was wondering how many USMS swimmers started that way... Nice job with the personal bests. Hopefully they'll keep coming. Personally -- for the rest of us, anyway! -- I think we should wipe the slate clean every time we age up, trying every year for personal bests in that age group. It gives us yet another reason to look forward to aging up, too.

RE: Interview(s) with the Champion(s)

The Fortress — Sat, 22 Dec 2007 09:10:59 GMT

I won my first Masters National Championship in 1976 (100 BR LCM) and my reaction was stunned disbelief.How could little old me win a National Championship(and go faster than I had in college.)My favorite and most personally exciting race was 240+ Mens 200 MR at the 2001 LCM Nats. 3 teams broke the WR(though one was DQd) and a fourth broke the NR but we(OREG) won! I yelled in pleasure and amazement.:banana::banana: Why do you think you went faster in 1976 than college? Different training? Allen is not fessing up to being king of butterfrog!

RE: Interview(s) with the Champion(s)

dorothyrde — Sat, 22 Dec 2007 04:15:08 GMT

Masters swimming is about friendship, staying healthy, and having fun only compare your performances to yourself make it easy to feel good and hard to feel bad the social aspect is awesome you get to see and support your friends in their events The best part is the stories and beer after each day or the end of the meet Meets are fun. Training is too. Ande I know and when I can stop being the chaffeur and volunteer for the kids(really kid, cause the other is in college now), I can have more time for ME! I did have a first in the pool last night. This first is easy for most 8 year old speedsters but for me it is hard, and I have tried and tried and never done it. One of our coaches like those no breathe 25's, so she had put up 9 25's breathing 2,1 and 0. I said, OK on the 2, maybe on the 1, but the 0, don't think so. Well I did all three no breathes, near died, but did them! So hey, this old lady can improve.

RE: Interview(s) with the Champion(s)

Chris Stevenson — Sat, 22 Dec 2007 03:37:23 GMT

I wouldn't be surprised if within ten years we see a 40 year old man go under 20 sec in the 50 scy fr I bet Neil Walker could do this if he trains a little after he retires though to do the Dara equivolent he'd need to go under 19. Yah, we need a whole new vocabulary: the "Dara equivalent." I checked using the calculator at www.vaswim.org/.../rcalc.cgi and the equivalent of Torres' 50 free last summer would be 19.01 for a 40 year-old male in scy. Don't think that will happen anytime soon, but who knows? Slightly more "realistic" would be a 19.72, which is equivalent to Susan Von Der Lippe's 100 *** lcm of 1:13.80 last summer. Still amazingly fast!

RE: Interview(s) with the Champion(s)

ande — Sat, 22 Dec 2007 02:22:14 GMT

There's guys and women out there, that if they started training again they would be very fast. Matt Biondi, Tom Jager, Rowdy Gaines, I wouldn't be surprised if within ten years we see a 40 year old man go under 20 sec in the 50 scy fr I bet Neil Walker could do this if he trains a little after he retires though to do the Dara equivalent he'd need to go under 19. I wonder how many former greats are going to come out of the woodwork for Austin 2008 I was talking with Eddie Reese about this. Eddie said "I go because I want to see every one and have fun." "These guys (the former greats) are likely to only show up if they are in good shape and can win."

RE: Interview(s) with the Champion(s)

ande — Sat, 22 Dec 2007 02:11:28 GMT

Masters swimming is about friendship, staying healthy, and having fun only compare your performances to yourself make it easy to feel good and hard to feel bad the social aspect is awesome you get to see and support your friends in their events The best part is the stories and beer after each day or the end of the meet Meets are fun. Training is too. Ande Boy do you have that right. That intimidation factor is one thing that keeps me from going to meet sometimes. The main reason is the drive, 2 hours to get to most meets. But then I think, do I want to drive 2 hours and look like a fool in front of people who have been swimming all their lives? So I stay in my own little pond, and work on my own times, and the aerobic ladies think I am the most graceful thing ever(I swim during their class), and life is good.

RE: Interview(s) with the Champion(s)

Allen Stark — Sat, 22 Dec 2007 02:04:35 GMT

I started Master's in 1974, and have been swimming continuously since. As to why I was faster than in college, in college we only swam 200 *** in dual meets and our training was focused on the 200. On my own, I could do more speed work. I've always liked and been better at the 100. :banana:

RE: Interview(s) with the Champion(s)

Former Member — Fri, 21 Dec 2007 17:29:08 GMT

Significantly slower than current times What do you mean by this? Your current SCM backstroke times are your best ever SCM times, am I reading that right? Is that because of the new turns, and the natural gift you have for under-water dolphin? (Something you probably acquired in your butterfly training)

RE: Interview(s) with the Champion(s)

Rob Copeland — Fri, 21 Dec 2007 12:48:23 GMT

My college times were decent, second-tier stuffDarn, I’ll need to rewrite my swimming bio. If NCAA All American Honorable Mention (top 16 or was it 12 back then?) and being an Olympian (top 16 again) qualifies as “second-tier stuff”, then I guess I was somewhere around the 20th to 30th tier.