Swim happy

OhHegV9uSR8&feature=youtu.be Her stroke looks pretty smooth. I think she will keep improving quickly.

Congratulations to Swimosaur for winning 4 silver medals at National Senior Olympics, in Cleveland! :applaud: :cheerleader:

My swim happy ... The Awesomeness of pdjang! Last weekend I had the pleasure of competing in the Senior Games National Championships, in Cleveland. While not strictly a USMS event, the times do count for USMS Top Ten, and it attracts a lot of USMS swimmers. It was a great meet! But I have to confess, the greatest part of the meet was getting to hang out with our fellow forumite, the totally awesome pdjang. He's a stunningly talented swimmer, an exceptionally wonderful gentleman, friendly, accessible ... and just all-around awesome. Kind of like the James Bond of masters swimming. You know what I'm saying? Here he is with a certain well-known, smoking-hot, drop-dead gorgeous USMS swimmer lady. The guy is so awesome, he hangs out with all the most attractive girls! forums.usms.org/attachment.php He's everywhere! Walking around on some random street in Cleveland, and there he is, on a poster! forums.usms.org/attachment.php In the Athlete's Village, inside the Cleveland Convention Center. There he is again! How awesome is that? The guy populates the entire city of Cleveland, all by himself! forums.usms.org/attachment.php And there he is again! On top of the medals stand, where he stood so many times last weekend! This particular shot was after the 200 back, me with silver, pdjang -- of course -- with gold. I took the silver to his gold THREE TIMES in this one meet! Awesome! But wait a minute! Can you see what I'm holding in my left hand? Too small to see, you say? forums.usms.org/attachment.php Ok ... ZoomHANCE ... !!! forums.usms.org/attachment.php That guy is a cute little dinosaur ... excuse me, a SWIMOSAUR ... given to me by Mr. Awesome himself, pdjang! No kidding! What a guy! My swim happy today: The awesomely great people you meet and befriend in masters swimming, including and especially, pdjang!

My swim happy ... The Awesomeness of pdjang! That guy is a cute little dinosaur ... excuse me, a SWIMOSAUR ... given to me by Mr. Awesome himself, pdjang! No kidding! What a guy! My swim happy today: The awesomely great people you meet and befriend in masters swimming, including and especially, pdjang! Your very own SWIMOSAUR! Pdjang, you rock! Swimosaur, that is your new good luck charm. Now you have to take it with you to all your meets. :banana: I noticed in the results that you guys were 1-2 in those three races. How cool to be beaten by somebody you like and respect. I'm glad you guys had such a great time at the meet. I plan on going in 2015 and hope to see you both there! :cheerleader: Congratulations to both of you!!! :applaud:

Heavenly Days Swim0saurus! Thank you very much for posting those photos. You are very kind for saying all of those things - and embarrassing the daylights out of me. But thank you again. The young lady that you reference is none other than Linda Larson (the face of USMS - who has graced the USMS website's home page. We swam together in college and reunited again via masters swimming - what's even cooler is that her brother - Allen (A.J.) is also swimming and both of them have the competitive fire - it's cool to hang around them. Linda swims for Ft Lauderdale (SFTL) for a great masters coach - Marty Hendricks; and AJ swims for the infamous "Shake and Bake" Dennis Baker in Portland. Both of them will be in Mission Viejo for LCMNATS. It was great meeting you and your son in real life. You are a very bright and talented person who has accomplished a lot in life - swimming is merely an extension of one's personality. What really impressed me is the fact that you are an amazing dad and are doing a fantastic job raising a very bright son who will accomplish a lot with his life - and that's what's really important. I know you will enjoy that Velocity-raptor - you're a speedy swimosaur! Namaste, Philipp My swim happy ... The Awesomeness of pdjang! Last weekend I had the pleasure of competing in the Senior Games National Championships, in Cleveland. While not strictly a USMS event, the times do count for USMS Top Ten, and it attracts a lot of USMS swimmers. It was a great meet! But I have to confess, the greatest part of the meet was getting to hang out with our fellow forumite, the totally awesome pdjang. He's a stunningly talented swimmer, an exceptionally wonderful gentleman, friendly, accessible ... and just all-around awesome. Kind of like the James Bond of masters swimming. You know what I'm saying? Here he is with a certain well-known, smoking-hot, drop-dead gorgeous USMS swimmer lady. The guy is so awesome, he hangs out with all the most attractive girls! forums.usms.org/attachment.php He's everywhere! Walking around on some random street in Cleveland, and there he is, on a poster! forums.usms.org/attachment.php In the Athlete's Village, inside the Cleveland Convention Center. There he is again! How awesome is that? The guy populates the entire city of Cleveland, all by himself! forums.usms.org/attachment.php And there he is again! On top of the medals stand, where he stood so many times last weekend! This particular shot was after the 200 back, me with silver, pdjang -- of course -- with gold. I took the silver to his gold THREE TIMES in this one meet! Awesome! But wait a minute! Can you see what I'm holding in my left hand? Too small to see, you say? forums.usms.org/attachment.php Ok ... ZoomHANCE ... !!! forums.usms.org/attachment.php That guy is a cute little dinosaur ... excuse me, a SWIMOSAUR ... given to me by Mr. Awesome himself, pdjang! No kidding! What a guy! My swim happy today: The awesomely great people you meet and befriend in masters swimming, including and especially, pdjang!

A little background for my greatest swim happy: As I have mentioned before (too many times, I know...), I had major shoulder surgery for TOS (Thoracic Outlet Syndrome) and thought I would never be able to swim, kayak, or kayak surf again. My surgeon assured me that if all went well, I should be able to get back to swimming again. (I didn't even think about competing at that point...) The surgery was successful and I sent him a thank you note, soon after I left the hospital. But, recently, I decided to write to Dr. Braun again, letting him know I was not only swimming again; I was competing with USMS. I received a heartwarming reply, including these excerpts: "The fact that you are swimming 3000 yards is amazing to me. In the first place, I probably couldn't walk 3000 yards unless it was gently downhill.* In the second place, using your arms to propel yourself through water for a distance of over a mile is simply mind boggling to a TOS surgeon." "The ultimate goal of orthopaedic surgery is to allow someone to enjoy his or her life in a way that they wish to pursue it. You have been extremely successful and I share your success in knowing that we did the right thing, at the right time, to the right person." "Thank you again for your letter. I will keep it in the file which I never intend to relinquish because it means a lot more to me than the diplomas on the wall." *Dr. Braun is now 78 years old and was 71 when he operated on me! He was and is still known as one of the leading TOS surgeons in the country and the only one on the west coast who will take the risk of performing the surgery he performed on me. So, everything I have done in swimming since joining USMS is one big swim happy for me! And, receiving Dr. Braun's letter was (chocolate!) icing on the (chocolate!) cake!! :bliss: awesome story!!!!!

This is an awesome story and I love the doctor's response! I've been meaning to drop a note to my surgeon who worked on my shoulder a few years ago and this made me get off my butt and do it! Thank you. :)

awesome story!!!!! This is an awesome story and I love the doctor's response! I've been meaning to drop a note to my surgeon who worked on my shoulder a few years ago and this made me get off my butt and do it! Thank you. :) Thank you very much, BrendaL and flystorms! Brenda, you dug that up from awhile back, but I thank you for doing so. I am on my way to Nationals, tomorrow, feeling a bit down that I am swimming nowhere near my NQT's. Due to a variety of physical/mechanical (not illness) issues, it has been a difficult year for me and my training. It has been one step forward and two steps back, rather than the other way around. Re-reading my post is making me put it all in perspective and remember that I should feel lucky to get to go to Nationals and swim in the first place! Even if I may not be able to "race" my events, just being able to make the attempt will be awesome. I am happy to hear my story inspired you, flystorms. You will make your surgeon's day, I am sure! :agree:

I'm like a Timex watch; I take a lickin' and keep on tickin'. :D Having a left leg 1/2" longer than the right and a tilted pelvis throws the entire body out of proper alignment, causing many of the injuries I have experienced. Couple that with inheriting a whole host of ugglies from my father, including severe degenerative disk and joint disease, I'm an accident waiting to happen. Just as I was finally getting my injuries healed and having great results from trigger point dry needling physical therapy and foam roller massage, I showed up to Nationals with what I thought was a mildly strained QL or bruised rib (cause unknown). Swimming made it feel better, however, I think I jammed my leg and hip on a misstep on the uneven terrain in the tent city behind the bleachers. On Friday night, I had severe muscle spasms and was up all night. So, I went to the massage tent, prior to my 400 IM. As it turns out, my 1/2" longer left leg now appeared to be 11/2" longer (according to Chuck), due to the muscle spasms on my right side! Chuck, the head therapist, said I had a subluxation (dislocation) of my last rib which is a floating rib. The rib was pressing on my kidney, causing the pain. So, he did what he could to get the spasms under control, however, he wasn't qualified to get the rib set back in place. He said to return on Sunday to see Dr. Mike. Unfortunately, Dr. Mike didn't arrive until I was just about to swim my 200 fly, so I had to see him after my race to get my rib set. As it turned out, I ended up racing my 400 IM, 200 breaststroke, and 200 fly with a dislocated rib poking my kidney on every stroke. Swim happy: I completed all of my races successfully- very slowly :cane:, but successfully without a DQ. I ended up 9th out of 12 in 200 breaststroke, winning my first individual Nationals medal. And, I came in 4th out of 5 (the 5th DQ'd) in 200 fly, for another medal. My time was 1:13 slower than at Greenville :afraid:and much slower than my 2,000 yard butterfly pace, but I did it! Good job :bouncing::banana::bouncing:.In my opinion any 200 fly or 400 IM you can walk away from is a success.

I'm like a Timex watch; I take a lickin' and keep on tickin'. :D Having a left leg 1/2" longer than the right and a tilted pelvis throws the entire body out of proper alignment, causing many of the injuries I have experienced. Couple that with inheriting a whole host of ugglies from my father, including severe degenerative disk and joint disease, I'm an accident waiting to happen. Just as I was finally getting my injuries healed and having great results from trigger point dry needling physical therapy and foam roller massage, I showed up to Nationals with what I thought was a mildly strained QL or bruised rib (cause unknown). Swimming made it feel better, however, I think I jammed my leg and hip on a misstep on the uneven terrain in the tent city behind the bleachers. On Friday night, I had severe muscle spasms and was up all night. So, I went to the massage tent, prior to my 400 IM. As it turns out, my 1/2" longer left leg now appeared to be 11/2" longer (according to Chuck), due to the muscle spasms on my right side! Chuck, the head therapist, said I had a subluxation (dislocation) of my last rib which is a floating rib. The rib was pressing on my kidney, causing the pain. So, he did what he could to get the spasms under control, however, he wasn't qualified to get the rib set back in place. He said to return on Sunday to see Dr. Mike. Unfortunately, Dr. Mike didn't arrive until I was just about to swim my 200 fly, so I had to see him after my race to get my rib set. As it turned out, I ended up racing my 400 IM, 200 breaststroke, and 200 fly with a dislocated rib poking my kidney on every stroke. Swim happy: I completed all of my races successfully- very slowly :cane:, but successfully without a DQ. I ended up 9th out of 12 in 200 breaststroke, winning my first individual Nationals medal. And, I came in 4th out of 5 (the 5th DQ'd) in 200 fly, for another medal. My time was 1:13 slower than at Greenville :afraid:and much slower than my 2,000 yard butterfly pace, but I did it!