How to Swim On Your Back in a Straight Line while Outside

I've been getting a number of comments at my outdoor pool about my ability to keep a straight line while swimming on my back, so I decided it might make for a worthy inclusion here.

We've all seen those swimmers who when on their backs weave back and forth across the lane. That's fine if you have the lane to yourself, but just imagine if you are sharing the lane with that swimmer! Until a couple of years ago, I was that weaving swimmer, but I've cracked the nut on how to deal with the problem.

Let's start with why swimming on one's back in an outdoors pool is harder than doing so in an indoor pool. The answer is pretty simple, outdoor swimming offers few cues to allow you to keep track of where you are.

My indoor pools (I visit several each year) have any number of ceiling features that generally line up with the lanes. At my pools there are ceiling panels, ventilation pipes, fire suppression piping (yes, in the pool room!!!), wood planking, etc. All it takes to keep a straight line is to keep yourself in line with the selected feature and you're good to go. If you see yourself going left or right of the feature, you're not swimming straight and you need to make a minor correction. Easy, right?

But outdoor pools, generally offer none of the above except blue sky, if you are so lucky, so what's one to do?

My technique is to swim as close to the lane line as I can without rubbing against it. Every few strokes, I'll allow an elbow or hip to gently brush the lane line, just so I'm certain that I am where I intend to be. That's it. Very simple. It will work in any pool that has lane markers.

A couple notes to keep in mind. Make sure you keep your leading fingertips pointed away from the lane marker - you don't want to jam a finger. Secondly, this technique is solely for training and recreation purposes. For obvious reasons of speed, you don't want to use this approach in competitive swimming as it may subtract from your time, even if it is only for a brief micro-second.

Lebron James - 10 Meter Platform High Diver?

This is what you get when you put a basketball court next to a high-dive platform. Personally, If this had been me, I would have been tempted to jump to the side and splashed the DJ guy in the left side of the screen after he started yelling "jump, jump, jump".

Diana Nyad Calls it a Day Before Dawn

At 12:45am, this AM, Diana called it quits. NYTimes has a good article describing the circumstances behind the decision to end the marathon swim. Apparently Diana developed asthma, shoulder pain, and was nauseated after 29 hours in the sea. Still, 29 hours in the water while 61 years old - no shark bites, too! - I call that lady, one tough broad. Good job, all the same.

Diana Nyad's Cuba to FL Swim has Begun

Diana began her swim last evening. Here is a link for a tracking map courtesy of CNN.

See my prior post for details about Diana's swim quest.

Edit: Here's the tweet feed from Matt Stone who is following along in a boat.

New Pool Activity - Leisure Diving

Check out this hilarious web site devoted to photos of people doing what people do best at the pool ... no, not swimming (I wish). They like to be leisurely.

Oh, I forgot to mention one key feature ... all photos are of "people of leisure" taken as they are high up in the air after jumping off a diving board (or other), in full relaxed pose.

See the gallery of photos here.

"Old" Woman Plans World Record Ocean Distance Swim

Diana Nyad plans to swim from Cuba to FL - a world record swim. Oh, yeah ... she's 61 years old. In this video, Diana shares some of her philosophies on aging, laments and goals. Good luck, Diana and thanks AOL Video for the embed code!

Martin Strel Completes Grand Canyon Swim

What do you do for fun when you've already swum most of the major rivers in the world including the Amazon? How about a dip in 46 degree water for 19 miles down the Grand Canyon? (Best feature ... no anacondas or piranha)

Extreme swimmer, and favorite extreme swimmer hero highlighted in this blog, Martin Strel has another fin to add to his back with this accomplishment.

Link to Martin's web site and lots of pictures.

Ingenious Lap Pool in Oklahoma

See it here. Oh, it's the governor's? Word.

Memo to Staff - Please Install "No Diving" Sign

A Question About Goggle Sting

My well-sealed goggles burn my eyes (not the chlorine). Any ideas why and/or how to fix?

My trustworthy clear goggles that have served me well since September have started to split at the gasket, given me fair warning that I should be looking for a new pair. Given that, this AM I wore the pair I use outdoors which have a blue sun-glasses like tint to them. They are a good pair given they fit snug and have no leaks, but today when I wore them (first time all indoor season), my eyes began burning (and still are) as if I were soaking them in a chlorine bath. I had no such problem with the older clear goggles, and I recall having the same trouble with these blue goggles last summer, though at the time I blamed the pool chemicals. Perhaps I misplaced the source of the problem? Now I'm fairly convinced that the problem lies with the goggles.

Question: Has anyone else had burning associated with their goggles? Important, mine aren't leaking yet apparently make my eyes burn!

Best Above Ground Pool Ever

Like all above ground pools, there are drawbacks. They can fall apart. pic and story

Rebuilt, filled and ready for laps : Best above ground pool ever

Source for 1st pic: en.wikipedia.org
Source for 2nd pic: reddit.com

Why You Don't Screw Around at the Pool

Screen shot below says enough, but you might want to watch what leads up to this. I have no idea if the guy is ok. I'm guessing some back trouble may be in his future.


Swimming Pool Toss-In Fail - Watch more Funny Videos

A Familiar View?

What I look at an hour a day.

Source: ?

Best Pool Signage Ever

Click link to see the sign.

Little Boy SavesTwo-Year Old Sister with CPR

Great story, great hero ... but what's the deal with the reporter standing in front of a crappy hotel pool when it appears this happened at someone's house shown in the video.

Solution to Swimming Slow Like a Snail

Sometimes I feel like I swim like a snail. Here's a solution I found online to overcome the problem on my slower days. I imagine anyone could do this. Check out this gif here to see.

Source: Unknown. If original source known, please advise so I can provide credit.

Rest Period to Include All Swimmers Says Govt Health Official

A new law hits swimming pools across the nation this summer that will impact swimmers of all ages and abilities.

Citing the success of 10 minute rest periods for children, starting summer 2011, all swimming pools will be required to enforce rest period for all persons, regardless of age. The new law, written at the close of last year's season, hit the books April 1st. "We believe this will enhance the economy by stimulating the snack bar business," said a Government spokesperson who asked to remain anonymous.

;)

When Lifeguards Have the Day Off

Check out this link to see what happens when illiteracy, lifeguard inadequacy and parental stupidity mix together.

Sorry, I don't have a credit. If known, please advise.

Prediction ... Breathing Liquid Air is Our Future

Expert believes that breathing liquid air is not only possible, it's been proven to work, and he believes he knows how to make it practical and has plans to do just that. Oh, by the way, the expert is a retired heart lung physician.

Check out the article by Jerome Taylor, from The Independent.

For anyone who wants to hear what smart, albeit less experienced, persons think about this topic, check out the reddit.com link with an interesting discussion of the topic.

The Zen of Water ... Be the Water

I saw this, laughed, and knew I had to post this right away ... A master (of another discipline) speaks of the zen of water.



If you are too young to know who this is, it is Bruce Lee. BL, now deceased, brought the martial arts to the consciousness of the western nations back in the early 1970's before it was all faked in the movies using CGI. The guy is an amazing athlete. If you want to see more, just go to youtube.com and see dozens of videos about him.