To Swim, Perchance to Dream: Piscine Josephine Baker

La Piscine Josephine Baker with the roof down.

Some people have a dream car, or a dream house.  But the more I get into swimming, the more I have dream pools.  Places I'd like to swim, or wish I could swim every day. 

Earlier this year, I had a day to kill in Paris in route to Fes, Morocco. I had planned to go for a swim (even used the great website Swimmers Guide to find a pool), but between the snow and cold, my jet lag, and some nasal congestion, I abandoned the plan for fear I'd drown!

However, if I ever find myself with some time to kill in Paris again, I vow to get that swim in.  Because now I know about La Piscine Josephine Baker.

Floating on the Seine River, it is a glass-walled modular barge with--get this--a retractable roof that can open when the weather's nice and close to protect from inclement weather.  It's located just below the Bastille, and from what I understand, i takes water from the river, treats it and eventually recycles it back into the river. (Sounds a bit like the NYC project +Pool).

La Piscine Josephine Baker with the roof up!

Have a suggestion for a future post of "To Swim, Perchance to Dream?"  Email me or tweet me with the hashtag #dreampool.

7 Great Quotes from Swim: Why We Love the Water

In addition to being a swimmer, I consider myself a committed bibliophile.  And it's a dead giveaway when I'm really enjoying a book, because I will often miss my stop on the bus or the train.  In the case of Lynn Sherr's Swim: Why Love the Water, I actually rode the bus two extra stops before realizing I had overshot my office during my morning commute!

Sherr, best known for her 30 year career as a newswoman at ABC, is also a committed swimmer, and Swim: Why We Love the Water interweaves her personal story of preparing for and swimming the Hellespont, the history of swimming, and insights into the science, training, and advocacy going on in swimming today.

Swimming the Hellespont features significantly in Sherr's book.

As I read Sherr's book, I actually felt a bit like she might be the (unbeknownst to both of us) godmother of this blog!

There were two things I enjoyed most about Sherr's book.  The first was her excellent research and storytelling about the history of swimming which went from Greek mythology until the modern day. The second was her uncanny ability to capture others' and share her own meditations on swimming. Here are seven of my favorites:

1. On swimming as a form of salvation...
Swimming is my salvation. Ask me in the middle of winter, or at the end of a grueling day, or after a long stretch at the computer, where I'd most like to be, and the answer is always the same: in the water, gliding weightless, slicing a silent trail through whatever patch of blue I can find.

2. On swimming as an inward journey...
Swimming stretches my body beyond its earthly limits, helping to soothe every ache and caress every muscle. But it's also an inward journey, a time of quiet contemplation, when, encased in an element at once hostile and familiar, I find myself at peace, able -- and eager -- to flex my mind, imagine new possibilities, to work things out without the startling interruptions of human voice or modern life.  The silence is stunning.  

3. On how swimming creates focus, order...
The lane line keeps us centered in more ways than one.  The rhythm of our strokes brings order to our senses.

4. On swimmers...
Swimmers are hale, not disease-proof, hardy, not ageless. 

5. On swimming and self-sufficiency...
Swimming is the ultimate on-your-own activity.  Everyone else gets stuff to make it easier: skis, bats, wheels, sticks, gloves, racquets, slick shoes.  Even teammates to help reach the goal. Not us.  An equipment malfunction in swimming means some part of your body has broken down.

6. The definition of swimming...
"The definition of swimming," according to one nineteenth century instructor, is "to keep yourself afloat and make progress."

7. On swimming and sensory deprivation...
"When you swim, you're taking away one of your senses, your hearing," he says. "So it leaves you the peace of your mind, the cadence of your swim."

Have you read Swim: Why We Love the Water or another book on swimming?  I'd love to hear your reviews and recommendations of swimming-related books!   Email me or tweet me with the hashtag #swimbooks.

Team Goldfish Supporter Snaps #4

As of Monday morning, I had gotten thank you notes in the mail to everyone who has supported me and cancer research through the Swim Across America Baltimore Open Water Swim. All of the "official" Team Goldfish swimcaps have been claimed, but there are more fun little incentives in the works.

As I mentioned in previous posts, I'm asking all team members to snap photos of themselves sporting their "official" team swim caps or stickers my team will be with me on race day, September 22. 

As past editions of Supporters Snaps attest, the members of Team Goldfish are a creative and fun bunch, and this week's edition is no exception!

Today's supporter snaps features two people I met when I worked at the Greater Washington Board of Trade.  On the left is my old boss, and current friendtor (friend + mentor) Caroline who is giving us all a virtual high five while sporting a chic black sheath dress.  And on the right is my friend Roxanne--a triathlete and all-around wonderful person--who's already getting me pumped to swim, swim, swim!  Thanks for the support and the good humor ladies!

What will Team Goldfish members think up next?

Monday Morning Video: Touch the Wall Trailer

Earlier this year, I backed a Kickstarter campaign for Touch the Wall, "A feature documentary that follows swimming phenom Missy Franklin and teammate Kara Lynn Joyce as they prepare for the London Olympics."

The documentary is being released this fall, on the heals of her record setting 6 gold medals at the FINA World Championships, and as Franklin heads to college at Cal. Now there's a trailer for the doc, which is this week's Monday Morning Video.


Learn more about the film.

Team Goldfish Sunday Fundraising Update: Greater, Faster, Farther!

It's been a week of big milestones for Team Goldfish-in the water and outside of it.  I'm excited to share them with you!

Greater!  In the July 21 Team Goldfish Sunday Fundraising Update I announced that I was unofficially trying to double on my fundraising goal for the Swim Across America Baltimore Open Water Swim.  As you may remember, my initial goal was $1500, which Team Goldfish supporters helped me raise really quickly.  And with 43 days to go, we've already broken the $3000 goal and regained the fundraising lead for my category at the swim!  Thank you to the amazing members of Team Goldfish who made this possible!

If you haven't yet donated, don't worry, you can still support me and the important cancer research happening at Johns Hopkins Medical.  Unfortunately, I'm out of Team Goldfish swimcaps, but I do still have stickers for anyone who contributes!

Faster! Every month, I try and assess my progress by timing myself doing a 1000 or 1650 yard set.  Over the last couple of months, my times in the 1000 have plateaued as my focus had turned to building endurance and improving my form. 

But, as you well know from this blog, over the last month I've been training hard (between the pool, yoga, strength training and open water practice), and I finally feel like my mind and my body have internalized all the changes to my form that I've been working on all summer. 

On Saturday, I got up early, and committed to doing some significant swim: 4000 yards.  The bulk of this would be my main set where I set out to do 3x1000 with 2 minutes rest in between sets.  My hope was that I'd break my previous personal best 19:08 in the first set.  And I did.  Actually I smashed it, dropping 52 seconds off my personal best in the first set (18:16!) and swimming the other two 1000s in 18:30 and 18:38 respectively.  Saturday's swim was great validation of the work I've been putting in, and is keeping me motivated for September 22!

 
Farther! This week, I achieved the first major goal I set when I took up swimming last summer. After nearly 11 months, I completed my virtual swim from Sri Lanka to India.  Read all about it here!

My route from Sri Lanka to India!

Again, thank you to all the members of Team Goldfish for your support--both monetary and emotional.  This continues to be an amazing and exciting challenge, and I'm really honored to share it with all of you!

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. 

The Cadence of Your Swim: Music and Motivation

There are many sports where you can easily listen to music while you train, but swimming isn't one of them.  Sure, you can buy yourself a waterproof MP3 player, but as swim coach Robby Lambert said in Lynn Sherr's excellent book, Swim: Why We Love the Water, "When you swim, you're taking away one of your senses, your hearing...So it leaves you the peace of your mind, the cadence of your swim."

That being said, music is a huge motivator before I swim.  I have a playlist of psych up music called swimming songs on my iphone. (I also have a playlist called yoga warm-up which is much mellower for before sunrise yoga at 6:30 am, and walking songs which is mainly cheery songs of moderate pace for my walks to and from work).

My musical preferences tend toward the indie, garage, alt-country and post-punk genres.  So if you don't like noise, these probably won't be for you. But for those who do, I figured I'd share three songs that help me get pumped up to swim.

(We Are) Augustines-Chapel Song
This track has such a great driving beat, and it is the perfect pace to have in my head when I'm heading out into open water.  It's from the band's first album, Rise Ye Sunken Ships--so maybe the connection to the open water was intentional.




The Features--Blow it Out 
I've found that this is a great song to listen to pre-swim on the mornings where it's tough to get out of bed, or it's cold outside.  It's just so darn infectious.  Because "if you're happy and you know it/turn the volume up/and blow it out!"

 
Weekend-Mirror
This is the newest of the tracks in my psych-up rotation, because I just discovered Weekend's record, Jinx last month.  But it's been in constant rotation since I downloaded it. This song has a great driving beat, and a mix of edgy noise and harmonics that  I'm a sucker for, and the refrain "I feel sick, sick, sick, sick/In my heeaaarrrrtt" is another good one for pacing.


Do you have favorite psych up music for your workouts? Email me or tweet me with the hashtag #swimsongs.