The Goldfish Net: Interesting Swim Stuff from Around the Interweb #2

The more I've been swimming and blogging about swimming, the more I've discovered that there are so many great resources on the topic.  Occasionally I'll round up some interesting swim stuff from around the interweb using The Goldfish Net.

Toyko 2020--After Tokyo was selected as the host for the 2020 Summer Olympics, Mike Gustafson wrote a great piece about his experience swimming at a Japanese Masters meet.

Endless Summer: Catching Up with NYC's Longest-Serving Lifeguard from the New York Observer.  This guy is a kick, and it's a great read both in terms of inter-generational relations, how he met his wife, and swimming as a life long sport. Hat tip to NYC Swim for bringing this to my attention.

New Trier HS Girls Begin Quest for State Championship 4Peat-I didn't swim in high school, but I did attend New Trier High School and our swim program--boys and girls--has always been top notch. From SwimSwam.

How Long Does it Take to Fall Out of Shape?  Outside answers, and it's a bit of a bummer.

Greatest Swims: Five Epic Swims in the Wake of Nyad's Feat from the folks at National Geographic features some well-known people and swims in the open water world.  Lord Byron, Gertrude Ederle, Lynn Cox and Matthew Webb all get their kudos.  Don't know who they are?  All the more reason to read the article!

I don't know if you heard, but Diana Nyad swam from Cuba to Florida.  I kid, I kid. It was AMAZING as was her message on Ellen.




In line with this sentiment, Nyad's already set her sights on her next aquatic feat, issuing this invitation on her website:

"Join me in NYC or donate to help those still suffering the effects of Hurricane Sandy.  To mark the one-year anniversary of Hurricane Sandy, I will swim for 48 continuous hours in NYC’s iconic Herald Square to benefit AmeriCares' disaster relief activities. For every $1 donated since 2010, they have provided $20 in aid. It’s natural to show support and compassion for victims of natural disasters during the moment of tragedy. It’s equally important to show solidarity for those who are still working to repair their lives almost a year later. This swim is about demonstrating that we continue to stand by their side supporting them as passionately now as we did then."

Monday Morning Video: The Other Shore Trailer

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The Other Shore

The Other Shore follows world record holder and legendary swimmer Diana Nyad as she comes out of a thirty-year retirement to re-attempt an elusive dream: swimming 103 miles non-stop from Cuba to Florida without the use of a shark cage. Her past and present collide in her obsession with a feat that nobody has ever accomplished. At the edge of The Devil’s Triangle, tropical storms, sharks, venomous jellyfish, and one of the strongest ocean currents in the world, all prove to be life-threatening realities. Timothy Wheeler’s documentary brings Diana Nyad’s extraordinary adventure to life as Diana sets out to prove that will and determination are all you need to make the unimaginable possible.

If you're anything like me, you've spent the last week celebrating Diana Nyad's successful open water swim of the Florida Straits.  She's rightfully been called the toughest athlete in the world and she's 64 years old!  

There is a documentary coming out about her called the The Other Shore which follows, "Nyad as she comes out of a thirty-year retirement to re-attempt an elusive dream: swimming 103 miles non-stop from Cuba to Florida without the use of a shark cage. Her past and present collide in her obsession with a feat that nobody has ever accomplished. At the edge of The Devil’s Triangle, tropical storms, sharks, venomous jellyfish, and one of the strongest ocean currents in the world, all prove to be life-threatening realities. Timothy Wheeler’s documentary brings Diana Nyad’s extraordinary adventure to life as Diana sets out to prove that will and determination are all you need to make the unimaginable possible." 

So in honor of Nyad, today's Monday Morning Video is the trailer for The Other Shore!  Can't wait to see it.

Learn more about Diana Nyad on her website.

Diana Nyad Inspires Me to Set 2 Personal Bests!

“@diananyad: "People always ask me What's the hardest part? By far, without a doubt, it's the moment before embarking.” via @OtherShoreMovie
— Alison Gold (@AKGold11) August 31, 2013

Yesterday I watched Diana Nyad complete an extraordinary challenge.  In her fifth attempt, she swam the 110 miles of the Florida Straits from Cuba to Key West in ~52 hours of non-stop swimming. It was the longest open water swim ever done without a shark cage. On Twitter and her blog she received congratulations messages from Olympic gold medal winning swimmers and famous actors, "regular" people and the President of the United States.

She was greeted by 100s of people at the beach at Key West and many television cameras.  Despite her exhaustion and sunburn and chafed skin and lips she said, "I have three messages. One is, we should never, ever give up. Two is, you never are too old to chase your dreams. And three is, it looks like a solitary sport but it's a team."

Diana Nyad Florida Straits Swim Tracker.

About an hour later, I headed to the pool for the first time in more than a week.  Buzzing from having watched the live footage of Nyad's accomplishment, and anxious to see what the time out of the pool and on the hiking trails would do to my swimming, I decided to log some yardage.

My Labor Day workout:

Warm up:
200 free
100 drill (alternating 25 fingertip drill/25 catch up)
200 free

Main Set:
2x1650

Warm Down:
100 free
50 breast
50 back
100 free

I was pretty shocked when I checked my Poolmate watch for my time on my first 200.  I felt like my body was rotating well and I was really "feeling the water."  But, 3:34 was an 8 second drop on my previous personal best and I wasn't trying to go fast.  Then I managed a 3:35 on the second warm up 200. 

I was hoping that I could also log a new personal best in the 1650 free, also known as the swimmer's mile.  My previous best was 32:01 from back in May.  And because I have been working on distance per stroke and technique, I've logged a lot of slower swims in the last couple of months.  But, I also know that in the last couple of weeks, the tweaks to my stroke had started to click, and the strength training and open water practice were helping me move more water.

Even with a week out of the water, I was fast and feeling good.  Similar to what I experienced when I logged my new personal best in the 1000, both my 1650s were better than my previous personal best!  The second was 31:50, which was a respectable 12 second drop from my previous record.  Especially since I had already swum another mile set just 2 minutes before that one.  But the first set was a doozie:

  It was a 1 minute and 50 second drop!  I was so excited I had to let Diana Nyad know:

.@diananyad was my inspriration in the pool today & I dropped 1:50 on my swimmer's mile! #xtremedream #teamgoldfish pic.twitter.com/c0V9cc42jE
— Alison Gold (@AKGold11) September 2, 2013

And despite the fact I mispelled inspiration, her team retweeted it! A great way to head into the final three weeks of training before the big swim!