2,000,000 Meters and Counting

Warning:  Serious gloating in this post.  I hit another mini-goal today, with the completion of my two millionth swimming meter since I starting adding up my laps a few years ago (I only started counting because I needed something to keep me going, thought it was cool when I realized 1,000,000 meters was attainable and now I've doubled that!).  So what is 2,000,000 meters?  It's 80,000 lengths and 40,000 laps (25 meter pool), too many flip turns to count and 804 workouts.  Reality knocking ... serious competitive swimmers probably do this in 1/3rd the time or less.  Much less.

Old Guy Tying New Stroke? Beware!

OK, so I'm not Michael Phelps.  But I do have a bit of his ego and I thought maybe I could try his freestyle stroke.  No, not the one on the TV commercial where he plows through pavement.  That's for the younger crowd.  I'm talking plain old throw yourself up with each stroke like the a butterfly to get more reach and more body whip with each kick.  Where did I land?  On the couch for two days - unable to move.  I learned my lesson, or so I thought.  That was a year or more ago.  But yesterday, I recalled a recent reply to that post where I first pointed out MP's freestyle leap.  That reply suggested opening one's fingers to make the water slide through faster.  Sounds logical (after you get past the part about giving up on cupping the water to get more pull).  Well I tried it.  Naturally, my arms came through the water faster - so did my elbow and almost instant tennis elbow pain that throbbed until I was about 3/4ths through my workout.  So as for radical new stroke technique?  It doesn't look good for moi.  I guess I'm stuck in the slow lane with the guy in the waterproof leg cast.

So I'm Doing Laps When ...

If you've missed my regular posts (that's a joke) there's a reason.  Here goes ... So I'm doing my laps when I do my flip turn and I find this is staring me in the face ... 

Mississippi River Mini-Goal Completed

Sometime in late 2006, I realized I was cranking out the distance, but had never tracked it.  I really had no idea how far I went over time.  So beginning at the start of 2007, I opened up a handy spreadsheet and began tracking my distance for each swim.  Seeing that the totals were adding up, I thought it would be cool to set some goals.  My main goal was to keep swimming, so I set what at the time seemed to be an impossible goal ... swim to Hawaii from LA (via a lap pool).  That surely would keep me swimming for a number of years.  I told myself, I'd reward myself by swimming the last distance into shore at Waikiki (I can always dream).  Realizing that I needed some mini-goals to keep the long-goal in sight, I added a bunch of those.  Actually, some of them are far in and of themselves (e.g., swim to Bermuda from NYC, cross the USA, etc. - see list on left margin of this blog).  Today, I completed one of those not-so mini-goals, the length of the Mississippi (Duluth to New Orleans) or 1,171 miles.  It feels good to complete a mini-goal, but I'm still not even half-way to another goal I've added on top of Hawaii - the Atlantic Ocean.  Maybe I can swim the last lap like Kramer did on Seinfeld, and swim in the river around Manhattan (Let's not get too carried away).

What metric is your swim workout worth vs. other exercise options?

NewScientist published an article yesterday summarizing the science of fitness.  One of the topics covered just what counts as exercise.  They gave the example of golf  and the age old question of whether it truly is exercise.  Quick answer, yes - if you walk.  Less so, if you ride a "buggy".  How do they assess this? The article cites a compendium of data pulled together by university researchers (a Stanford researcher conceptualized the concept while the University of South Carolina developed the PDF cited below ) that details each type of exercise and its MET or metabolic equivalent, and yes, swimming is included.  Not only that, but each type of swimming activity, ranging from general leisure (not lap) swimming, to easy lap swimming, to vigorous lap swimming is there.  The compendium even breaks it down into type of stroke - breast, freestyle, and butterfly.  You can check out the compendium yourself, at this link. 

Just What Do Those High Tech Swim Suits Do? Illusions

Late last month, I found myself swimming (indoors naturally) in a lane adjacent to a man who was wearing one of those new high-tech swim suits.  The suit was a one-piece job with a rash-guard top (short-sleeves) and above-the-knee length lower half.  The swimmer was nothing exceptional, but as he glided by me, seemingly effortlessly, I was shocked.  Was I swimming in the same water as this guy?  I studied him as we parallel swam for half a lap before he zoomed ahead.  What was going on?!  Well, I kept up this voyeurism until I got some ideas. Here's what I noticed.  The suit held the swimmer a good two inches higher in the water than I.  That alone eliminated some of the drag from the water. 

Leaving that day, I wanted one of those suits.  But thinking back on it now, I think not.  Much like wearing fins - just for speed - a suit that makes me faster would do just that.  It wouldn't make me a stronger swimmer.  It would just makes me look like a stronger swimmer.  In fact, it would probably make me feel like a crappy swimmer on those days when I wore a traditional suit. 

Funny Polar Bear Plunge Almost Turns Tragic

Just in time for Jan 1st, in case you were planning a polar bear plunge, here's one guy who finds out the truth.  Scary about half way through. 
Fat Guy Lake Cannonball Fail - Watch more Funny Videos

Calculate the caloric value of your swim workout

I'm sort of a techie nerd and got myself on the mailing list for wolframalpha.com early this year when it rolled out. If you don't know what wolframalpha is, it is a "computational knowledge engine" - i.e. a search engine that is extraordinarily good at doing calculations. This means that you can ask it stuff and it kicks back replies based on the calculations it does behind the scenes. What does this have to do with swimming, you ask? Well in today's year end newsletter, the web site announced it has a fitness calculator. This is the cool part. I typed in "swimming 55min" and it kicked back a screen showing energy expenditure, fat burned, oxygen consumption and metabolic equivalent. It defaults to a body weight of 160 lbs, but you can enter your own weight and it will give you these results for your profile. If you're across the pond, you can have the results in metric equivalents.

Don't know if this will help anyone for the upcoming holidays, but here's something I calculated that I found useful for my 210lbs profile. WA says I burn 550 calories in my workout (at a leisure pace). That means I can eat two doughnuts at 224 calories each, and still be ahead! Awesome!

Mini-Goal Completed - Canadian Border via Great Lakes

Today, I completed one of my mini-goal milestones on my way to swim the distance of the Atlantic Ocean from Leiden England to NYC (the same route our pilgrim forefathers took ... they missed Manhattan). The completed mini-goal was to swim the distance of the Canadian border through the Great Lakes region - Kingston to Thunder Bay - a distance of 1,134 miles (or 36,316 circular laps in a 25 meter swimming pool). This took 735 swimming workouts, begun officially on Jan 2, 2007.

My prior goals and future goals may be seen on the left of this page.

Idea for a gadget to help you swim more efficiently

Do you swim in a straight line? Really? Sure, there are the novice swimmers that snake all over the place, but if you're well practiced, how do you really know? Most peoples' bodies swivel a little bit, and it can really make a difference for that efficient stroke. I try to hold the line but while my eye always follows the line in the bottom of the pool, I'm not so sure my body really does as much as I'd like to believe it does.

I've come up with a concept that some engineers out there might find interesting (or crazy). The solution is cheap and very high tech (i.e. cool factor! yeah, baby!) ... it uses lasers (think sharks with lasers).

Basically, my idea is that if a waterproof gadget the size of a quarter could be created, with an embedded toy laser (like those toys you buy at the pet store to give your cat something to chase) and that gadget was attached to the body (e.g., chest, belly, shoulder, or foot via a Velcro strap), one could see the exact line in the bottom of the pool as one swam, including the variability from center.

To add value to this concept, it could have several settings. Setting #1 would be a standard light that shows the dot on the bottom of the pool as you swim. Keep the dot on the side of the line in the bottom of the pool. A memory chip could be installed and setting #2 could record the track and play back the actual line swum in the prior lap during the next lap. Setting #3 could record the track without showing the track and play it back during the next lap, forcing the swimmer to practice the perfect line without the aid of the laser. The unit could use a proximity indicator, like in an iPhone so it could know when a swimmer has made the turn.

If anyone out there takes this idea and runs with it, please let me know. I want one.

How Swimmers Repair Dry Skin

Chlorine and sodium bicarbonate can really take a toll on a swimmer's skin. Add in winter dry air and you might find your skin peeling off - and you thought a sun-burn was the only cause of that! I've been dealing with the problem for years and it's only gotten worse as I've aged and my natural skin moisteners have failed me. Of late I've had peeling on my finger tips - last place I ever would have imagined. I tried all sorts of remedies including udder cream - all which helped but none fixed things, then I remembered an old radio ad that promoted a product that Norwegian fisherman purportedly use - I think it was Neutregena Hand Cream. Anyhow, I bought a tube and found that if I put the cream on within about 10 minutes of drying off, it works well and the healing begins. The cream is thick and while moistening your hands it then seems to create a barrier that helps keep the moisture in your hands. If I wait too long, my hands dry out. While the cream helps if I put it on hours later, I don't get as good results. I may be wrong about that, but it's my observation. Vaseline may do basically the same thing but I haven't tried that. The barrier, seems to be key. As for the rest of my body, I haven't tried anything yet. Will post if I find something.

Note: Disclaimer ... I am a sample size of one. Your results will probably vary from mine. Neutregena and I have had no direct contact or business arrangement. These are just my observations. Neutregena and Neutregena Hand Cream are trademarks of Neutregena Corporation.

For my back yard, please

If you know anything about this blog, you know I'm not looking at the building. Check out the blue thing to the left.

Coolest Job in the (Sea) World

Are you skilled at using gravity to show off? This isn't an ad or any of that, but today I was checking out my (this) site to see if all was in order and one of my adsense ads just blew me away. It was for Sea World. The ad was seeking (I paraphrase) skilled spring board and platform divers for SeaWorld Viva show jobs. Having been to Sea World on several occasions, in FL and Hawaii, I got to thinking. Where do they have diving? Well they've got some that dive and assist with the killer whales show. I'm too old and floppy to have ever been a high-diver, but if you've got the skills, here may be your chance to be the envy of everyone who has ever visited a waterpark. Scoll through the adsense links above and maybe the ads are still there. If not, you might try Sea World directly or try googling whoever hires talent for the place. Apparently, they've got some openings that require someone skilled at using gravity to show off. PS I get paid if you click on the link. That's some new law, I have to tell you that. So ok, I've told you.

Danny Kunze - World Record High Dive

Another one for the swimming heros award - I think I need to add a sub-category for the real whack-jobs. This guy seems sane until he starts going higher, and higher, and ... yeah, he's a whack-job, but he is still alive so ... hmmm.

Feeling Fatigue? You May be About to be Awesome

I've heard about bio-rhythms for as long as I can remember, and as I age, I am starting to notice my own body cycles a little bit more. One particular oddity stands out in my mind and one I'm just starting to see as a pattern is in my body's ability to accommodate a hard workout. A week ago, and for the week prior, I noticed a discernible decline in my ability to get through a full-speed workout without giving out half-way or two-thirds of the way in. The workouts seemed to get progressively worse as time went by. Then a couple days ago, things went the other way - I was getting stronger and stronger, faster and faster - and on Tuesday I had one of the best workouts I've had in years. This has happened before but only now am I beginning to discern that indeed it follows a pattern. I need time to define what is happening, if I can. Is it my diet? I have had more protein lately. Is it my sleep? I've had some bad nights and some good ones. Maybe something else? Cue the Twilight Zone music.

Super Family

I think I may have posted this before, but I stumbled across this on the web this evening and had to share it (again?). Enjoy and pass it on (oh, and emulate if you dare).

Does Swimming Pool Temperature Matter?

We have a new pool director at the indoor pool I frequent during the cold season. She has added an innovation to our pool room, an information board. It includes among other things, the names of our lifeguards, the date, the weather (outside), pool activities for the week, and the pool temperature that day. The board is updated daily so it did not take us regulars long to realize something was screwy about the reported pool temperature. The reported figure never varied by but a degree, but we experienced swimmers knew better since the feel (to us) jacked around like a jumping bean. Generally if the temperature was 84 or more (think 85 - 87) the board reported it at 83. Below 83, same deal (though we only got to witness that once, but for a week). I asked a guard about this. The reply I got back was something to the effect that "she" (the pool director) didn't like to report temperatures when they were out of line ... the members just get mad. Well, duh. But we get even more upset when we're treated like stupid imbeciles. I've come to expect the warmer temperatures. The director seems to find it easier to appeal to the dippers rather than the swimmers. I enjoy jumping into warm water as much as anyone, but much after that and you can have it. We swimmers fatigue faster with warmer water. My time to the mile can vary by as much as a minute and a half dependent on the water temp. So given that cooler water temps are out of the question, I've taken to faking myself out by taking a hot shower before my jump in the pool. The hot shower makes my first few laps feel relatively cool, gets me going faster than I might otherwise. I still fatigue out faster than I might in cooler water, but at least I feel like I have some control.

Pushing Swimming Pulls

No that title is not a typo - by swimming pull, I mean the pull in freestyle. (swimming pull - kinda cool name, huh?)

I wanted to talk about swimming pulls and pushes today because I am fighting myself to do them properly.

Done properly, the freestyle stroke begins as a pull down to approximately one's chin and following a transition point (the S) turns into a push back towards and to the thigh. Lots of people skip most of the push and bring their arm back up (to begin their reach again) prematurely (before completing the push). This simple error can eliminate as much as 1/2 of the stroke's power potential.

I'm fighting this myself. I naturally want to start my arm back toward the front as soon as I've reached my waist. If I concentrate on it, I can add an additional foot of thrust (push) to each stroke.

Unfortunately, it can be fatiguing if one is not accustomed to doing this additional work. I'm practicing when I go slow, with the hope that it will build the muscle for faster workouts later.

It's Flu Season - How Hard Should I Work Out?

A fascinating article in today's NYTimes, titled, "Phys Ed: Does Exercise Boost Immunity", says that scientists have found a correlation between amount of exercise and immunity.

The author, Tara Parker-Pope, says that studies found that mice, exposed to viruses, who ran to exhaustion, were more prone to the negative impacts of the virus than those that exercised more leisurely.

Given the high virulence of H1N1, I highly advise reading the NYT article.

So I guess this is a "Don't feel so guilty this season when I do a half-assed workout" (get-out-of-jail free) card.

If you can't swim maybe you're trying too hard

It never ceases to amaze me how hard people work when they are swimming or trying to swim. We've all seen these people - perhaps you are one of them. They flail their arms and legs, twist their bodies every contorted direction and push water around the pool so much so that a tsunami warning ought to be issued, yet they make little to no progress in propelling their body across the pool. And if they do get anywhere, they are wiped out within 25 meters of doing so. Meanwhile, the guy in the next lane over has gotten down and back in as few as eight strokes. What gives?

Perhaps you are trying too hard. The guy in the next lane can pull off the eight stroke lap because he is using the dynamics of physics to his advantage. If you look at anyone who can pull this feat off successfully, I can almost promise you'll see the following:
1. The good swimmer is keeping his body line straight throughout the stroke - this means as he goes through the water, he cuts through it like a knife so there is minimal resistance (unlike the contorted body swimmer who creates a wall of water between himself and his destination with each stroke).
2. The good swimmer keeps his hands and arms in line with his body - they do not flair out to the side like an owl. Think, which is faster in a dive, the owl or the eagle?
3. The good swimmer has a long pull, from the furthest point in his reach forward, to the furthest point he can reach behind. The flailing swimmer using only a small percentage of the available stroke distance.
4. The good swimmer uses little energy to propel himself. Fact is ... the good swimmer spends a huge proportion of time in the stroke gliding compared to the flailing swimmer. The flailing swimmer does not glide at all.