Showing posts with label Speedo. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Speedo. Show all posts

Wednesday, August 21, 2013

Happy Anniversary!



It's my first anniversary with swimming!  To honor the occasion, I've been reflecting on all the progress that I have made over the last year, and I realized that I had inadvertently captured a lot of it on Twitter.  So here are some highlights from my first year as a swimmer!

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Friday, August 9, 2013

I swam from Sri Lanka to India!

On September 13, 2012, I set a goal.  Using the Speedo Pace Club app, I mapped a route that I would swim virtually between two of my favorite countries: from Negombo, Sri Lanka to Tamil Nadu, India.  169.3 miles. A long way.  A big commitment.

The route I set on September 13, 2012

Over the last 329 days, I've chipped away at that goal.  I've gone swimming 143 times.  In Washington, DC, in Glenview, IL, in Scottsdale, AZ.  I've swum in open water in Virginia and Maryland.  I've swum in fancy pools and free public pools.

I've worn out 4 swimsuits (and dropped 2 suit sizes).  I've eaten ~300 bananas to prevent cramping, and still managed to cramp up at least 10 times.  I acquired 10 swim caps, and 3 pairs of goggles.  I've dropped minutes of my personal best in the 1650 free (the swimmers mile), relearned my flip turns, gotten my breast and backstrokes in working order, and avoided the fly like the plague. 

During the last 7896 hours, I've spent 115 of the them swimming.  I've swum a lot.

And tonight, at Open Water Happy Hour, I jumped into the flat waters of National Harbor on the Potomac with real purpose.  I logged a 1.5 mile swim (and it was a fast one for me--47 minutes) and when I climbed up the ladder to the pier, I reveled in the fact that I had finally arrived on the shores of India. 

10 months and 26 days later, I've finished the swim from Sri Lanka to India!
I have other milestones--200 miles for 2013 via U.S. Masters Go the Distance Challenge, of course the 3 mile Swim Across America Baltimore Open Water swim.  But this milestone was my biggest, it was the first enormous, crazy goal I set in my swim life.

Honestly, I feel a bit like Inigo Montoya after he's killed the six finger man in The Princess Bride.



But, for now, I'm just going to enjoy how far I've come. 
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Sunday, July 14, 2013

I won a medal! (It's not quite as impressive as it sounds.)


Yesterday I got to practice my racing at the Chris Greene Lake Swim in Charlottesville, VA.   And this race had a lot of firsts for me: first cable swim, first race without a wetsuit, and the first time I won a medal!

I headed down to Charlottesville on Friday night, and stayed at a very cute place I found on AirBnB.  The little apartment above a garage I rented for the night had all the necessities for the pre- and post-race: comfy bed, kitchen to prepare breakfast, floor space to do a morning yoga series and loosen up my hips and shoulders, and a good shower to get lake gunk (and permanent marker) off my skin.

The 1-mile race that I was competing in didn't start until 10:30 am, but there was a 2-mile race starting at 8:30 and I wanted to get the lay of the land.  Turns out it was a great idea, because Chris Greene Lake is beautiful, and we had some nice, mellow weather after a a couple days of rain.  Also, it was a relatively small event (about 200 swimmers between the 1 and 2 mile races) and everyone, as I've found to be the norm at open water gatherings-was really friendly. Also cool was seeing swimmers of all ages, including 2-mile swim, Brad Phillips (who swims at Virginia) set a new course record--breaking one that had stood for 25 years!

A bit after 10:30, I joined my fellow swimmers in Heat 6 for the start.  CGLS is an in-water start, and the heats were of 10 people, 30 seconds apart, which is nice.  The cable is basically a giant lane line, so my goal was to use it to site (it was on my left, which happens to be my stronger breathing side) throughout, but to stay 3-4 yards to its right.

Honestly, this part didn't go too well.  Sometimes I was 10 yards off the cable, at one point I was right on top of it. Still trying to figure out how to swim straight in open water!  I felt a little slow as a result, but certainly had the endurance to keep going after 1 mile, and probably could have kept up my pace for a second mile.  (Something to aim for later this summer!)  Which was good, because in the final 200 meters, I had someone following me who kept hitting my feet (despite loads of open water around us).  Finally, I just dug in and sprinted the last bit to get away from her.  When we were in the chute, she apologized--saying she was struggling to swim straight too!  I took it all in stride, remembering what Denis Crean from One Wave always says "Open water swimming is a contact sport."

So, how'd I do.  My goal was to come in at 35 or under.  Unfortunately, I missed the mark on that one (forgot to start my watch at the beginning of the race, so I just had to pace off of feeling--which I'm learning like swimming straight, is something I'm not quite sure how to do.  But, I did finish 3rd of 4 in my division, so I won a medal! 


It was a fun way to wrap up the Chris Greene Lake Swim, and I celebrated this milestone in my training with lunch at one of my favorite eateries in Charlottesville--Eppies--before heading back to DC.
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Saturday, July 6, 2013

5 Useful Swimming Training Tools on the Web!

A strange thing happened to me since last August: I started calling myself a swimmer. Part of it's because in the last 11 months I've spent over 100 hours in the pool, and logged more than 150 miles. While that time and mileage isn't much to those who swim on teams in high school or college or beyond, for a working professional who took up swimming get fit, it's a heck of a lot of time and distance. I've been trying to join a US Masters Swim team for a couple of months, but it seems that the ones in DC are all full. So, I'm on a couple of wait lists.

As a result, I've had to get creative and find other tools to motivate and train and improve. Here are 5 online
  1. Speedo Pace Club--Since nearly the beginning, I've been using the Speedo Pace Club iphone app which provides training workouts in a bunch of categories (speed, endurance, losing weight).  The workouts include drills, which are often demonstrated by top swimmers in short videos.  Probably my favorite part of this app is that it lets me log my mileage against any route on the globe--I've almost (150 miles down) completed the 169 mile swim from Sri Lanka to India.
  2. US Masters Swimming Website--While I haven't found a local Masters Swimming team to train with, yet, I did join US Masters Swimming as a birthday gift to myself at the end of last year.  (Btw, Masters Swimming just refers to the nonprofit that organizes adult swimmers, if you want to learn more about them, visit their FAQ here.)  This site has workouts, message boards, and info about events.  Nike sponsors their "Go the Distance" program which is when you set an annual swimming goal and then log your swims to receive rewards.  After I logged 50 miles, I received a swimcap in the mail, I'm working my way toward 200 for the year, but as the Fitness Log reminds me every time I log in, "You'll need to pick up the pace to achieve your goal this year."  As of this morning I've logged 97 miles in the water this year, and I should be at ~102.  Good news is that I'll get in a two mile swim later today.
  3.  Swimming World Workouts Database--Swimmers and coaches from all over the country upload workouts here, which is useful when you've fallen into a rut, and to find new, fun ways to push yourself.  One of my favorite, fun weekend workouts comes from this site.
  4. Swimmers Guide--I travel a lot for work, and for fun.  So, I'm always trying to figure out if there's a pool nearby where I can get a swim in.  Swimmers Guide is the "most complete global resource to find a swimming pool on the web."  When I had a day free in Paris, it helped me find a public pool, and it's helped me find great pools when I'm visiting family in the suburbs of Chicago and Scottsdale, AZ.  
  5. YouTube--YouTube can be a wormhole (you start looking up tips on perfecting your flipturn, 4 hours later you've watched the entire Eve and Candace back catalogue--which I highly recommend).  But, it's amazing how many top coaches, and top swimmers demonstrate drills and technique to you for free.  The quality of these videos is variable, but there are lots of great tips just by looking up "swimming drills" or "swimming technique" and start learning!
 Here's one of favorite drills for freestyle:
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Wednesday, July 3, 2013

New gear for July! And Speedo's having a sale!


Since I've set out to do some ambitious training in July, it was time to get some new gear for the pool and the gym.  When it comes to swimsuits, I'm always looking for supportive suits with adjustable straps (since I have a bust, and the distance from my shoulder to bust is short).  I've found that Speedo seems to be the only company that makes suits that fit the bill.  When it comes to workout clothes, I'm always looking for items that are cut for someone with big shoulders/bust, wick, breathe and are relatively soft.

I'll report back on how these items hold up to the Team Goldfish challenge.  But, here's what I got today:
  • Speedo Fitness Spiral Splice Clip Back in Zinnia. Speedo's having an Independence Day Sale--25% off with the code JULY4SALE.  First impression: cute color scheme and the splice is flattering.  The straps are adjustable and I love how the clipback provides extra support.
  • Under Armour Women's Flyweight T-Shirt in Graphite.  I picked this up at Nordstrom Rack for $17.97 (retails for $29.99).  First impression: soft fabric, flattering fit (cut generously in the bust and shoulders, and has a higher neckline which will be good for yoga class), and unlike some greys, this one doesn't look like dishwater.
  • Marika Magic Slimming Control Capri Legging. Another Nordstrom Rack find for $19.97 (retails for $55).  First impression: the fabric's lightweight and feels like it can breathe, the capri is nicely cut and since it's fitted should be good for TRX (I worry about my yoga pants getting caught in the apparatus).
Have favorite swimsuits or workout gear to recommend.  Tweet me @AKGold11 using #TeamGoldfish!
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Tuesday, July 2, 2013

Swimsuit truth!

#1 now applies to me!
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Sunday, June 30, 2013

I woke up at 6 am this morning to drive out to an open water swim clinic...


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