Terry Laughlin's Blog, page 22

How Much Drill Work Should I Do?

This question came up recently in the context of how we should go about training at home after swim camp (or workshop). So, I would like to elaborate here on the comments I made at camp…

How much drill work should I do?

Good question, but it is not easy to give each of you a personalized answer. Instead, I will share the concepts, as I understand them.

A drill is an activity for the body and/or the mind which slows things down or simplifies them so you can much more easily sense, then adjust, then master control over some feature of your swimming.

Only you will know, by experimentation, how much or how often you need to slow things down or simplify them in order to more quickly correct/improve a certain part of the stroke.

Let’s walk through the concepts…

What is the purpose of doing drills?

It may be commonly assumed that a swimming drill is something we do that is ‘slow’ or something ‘less-than-swimming’ – however, a drill can be in a full range, as passive as Superman Glide or as active as whole stroke swimming at race pace. A drill should be as mentally engaging as it is physically engaging, but it could be just a mental exercise. It can be at any intensity level. It is not necessarily slow, and it is not meant to be ‘easy’. It is meant to be just challenging enough to trigger problem-solving centers of the brain and stimulate improvement in a specific area of skill.

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“The Great Swim Debate” – USAT Art and Science Symposium

I was recently asked by Terry Laughlin if I would represent Total Immersion in “The Great Swim Debate” at the USAT Art & Science Symposium, Las Vegas, NV, Sep 13, 2014.  The swim debate would be with former Olympic Swimmer and Gold Medalist, Sheila Taormina, and Exercise Physiologist, Dr. Genadijus Sokolovas aka “Dr G” -  two heavyweights of the industry and they’ve worked with many elite swimmers such as Michael Phelps, Dara Torres, Ryan Lochte and Gary Hall Jr to name a few.

Although I was quite enthusiastic of this opportunity and honored to represent TI, as well as be on the same stage with Sheila Taormina and Dr G, negative thoughts of “what the hell was I thinking going up against these two giants” frequently clouded my mind.  But then I knew,  most of the coaches and athletes in attendance have similar triathlon experiences, and like me, came to the sport with a non competitive swimming background.

The debate format was simple, after short introduction by Rob Urbach, CEO USAT, each participant would deliver a 10 min presentation followed by question and answer in discussion and debate.  Sheila T was first to present, then followed by me and Dr G in that order.   Unfortunately each presentation ran over 10 mins and before we knew it the hour was up.  But Rob held us back for another 10 mins while he asked several questions of his own.

Sheila’s rather spirited presentation opened with, “this is really more of swim relay than a swim debate”, sharing information from different perspectives.  However once making that announcement, she described “gliding la-la-la strokes” as bad and acted out long strokes exaggerating a significant pause of the recovery arm at hip – certainly not what we teach at Total Immersion, but was an indirect reference nonetheless.   I was expecting this since I know she has issue with TI’s emphasis building the foundation of balance and streamline as a priority, that’s no secret.  Sheila’s emphasis is on the pulling arm manipulated by the shoulder and high turnover, fast turnover = speed.  While this has always been conventional wisdom and a convincing argument -  this advice often comes from an elite swimmer or an elite swimmer turned swim coach, one who has grown up and adapted into the sport, already has a solid foundation of balance and core stability, and thousands of hours of swimming.  This advice may benefit an elite swimmer, but quite naive of the triathlete facing the swim leg in triathlon.

Dr. G’s presentation however, was surprisingly in line with what we prioritize at Total Immersion, emphasis on balance and core stability – head position is critical.  He also noted a swimmer *must not* use arms and higher turnover to make up for a lack of balance, but rather “fix balance first”.  Again, in line with what we teach.

Dr G developed a testing process that syncs video footage with swim speed, measuring acceleration/deceleration timed with swimmers stroke in video.  This test is called the “Swim Power Test” – very impressive with the data collected.  He had an example test and video of a “10k distance swim champ”, and the test clearly showed the deceleration on the breathing stroke.  The swimmer’s head lifted too high, rotated more to get breath – leaving even an elite distance swimmer out of balance, sinking and slowing for a brief moment – deceleration was measured.  This amount of deceleration, although small, would add up over longer distances breathing on two’s.  And with this metric gem, one could easily estimate the added time over a 10k distance.  Great stuff and sobering statistics that would certainly prioritize fixing the breathing/balance issue of any swimmer, elite or otherwise.

The intention of my presentation was three fold:  1. Connect with coaches and athletes that were present – the adult onset swimmers, 2. articulate clearly what Total Immersion is and priorities of balance and core stability,  and 3. challenge the assertion Total Immersion creates slow swimmers.

Challenging the assertion TI creates slow swimmers, I countered with “The Right Turnover, not High Turnover”.  I’ve had several IM triathletes come to my Masters swims to improve their times and have got them all into the top 20% of the 2.4 mile IM times, some dropping 30 mins or more – and one most recently now swimming sub 1 hour (56:33) for the 2.4 mile swim .   This swimmer came in with a stroke rate of 70 strokes per minute at 24-26 strokes per length and a busy kick (75+ kicks per length).  Roughly a 2 minute 100 yard pace, and 1 hour 25 minutes for the 2.4 mile IM swim.  He was stroking at a rate far beyond his skill level and using a busy kick to remain stable – but (before coming to me) that’s what he had been told to do in order to go faster.  After a couple of months developing balance and core stability, learning to hold or ‘catch’ an arm full of water, he was swimming comfortably at 55 strokes per minute averaging 15 strokes per length, easy two beat kick (15 kicks per length) which put him at a 1:23 (1 minute 23 seconds) 100 yard pace, and sub 1 hour 2.4 mile Ironman swim – with far less effort.  Balance, core stability, streamline, and economy of movement, SKILL makes a faster swimmer.  High turnover with lots of kicking, more yards and harder sets, does not necessarily mean faster swimming as common wisdom and perception has lead us to believe.

My presentation slides are attached (with a bit more context for those not present at the USAT conference) along with a before and after video of a former age group competitive swimmer: The Great Swim Debate (slides and video)

Although I wish there were more time for discussion, debate, and challenging assertions – it was a great experience, one that I would embrace again given the opportunity.  I have discovered among most coaches, there is far more in common than what separates us – but too often end up in divisions that only add to confusion which create skewed perceptions.  It all comes down to what each coach believes are the right priorities for each athlete and know what makes them tick to become smarter, better and faster swimmers.

Coach Stuart

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How a Swim Can Make You Happy

I’ve often said that the purpose of swimming is the pursuit of happiness. (If you haven’t had the same thought, consider that the Dalai Lama has written that the purpose of life is the pursuit of happiness.) Indeed, my main reason for swimming open water events is anticipation of the happiness they’ll bring.

My latest event, the Little Red Lighthouse Swim on Sept 20 was no exception. I entered as an afterthought after my long-time swim buddy Dave Barra agreed to swim the entire distance side-by-side (and occasionally stroke-for-stroke) with me. I’ll list just a few of the reasons I experienced happiness during this swim.

Dave Barra

Dave and I have swum over a hundred miles together in open water—many of them synchronizing our strokes. In March 2010, we swam 10 miles across Maui Channel, swimming every stroke in synch. Swimming in synch with Dave has always made me happy. Reason #1.

The Little Red Lighthouse Swim Course

The swim started at Pier 95 on the Hudson River, at 56th St and traveled 7.8 miles north, passing under the George Washington Bridge at around 6.3 miles. Swimming under bridges that most people only get to drive over has always made me happy. Reason #2.

Swimmingg under the GW–going south!

Our wave started at 3:15 pm (timed to coincide with flood tide–the Hudson flows both ways) and finished at 6:10pm. It was brilliantly sunny the entire swim with the sun setting over New Jersey near the end.

Swimming on Dave’s left , every 6th stroke as I breathed to the right, I saw the sun glinting off Dave’s blue-tinted goggle lenses. That glimpse of sun glint about every 6 seconds made me very happy. I literally had a smile on my face for nearly the entire 2 hours and 51 minutes it took us to reach the finish. Reason #3.

Ski goggles . . . but you get the idea.

The water was quite choppy for the final half but I was able to maintain a weightless head even in the chop. That felt fantastic. Reason #4.

It was the last day of summer. What better way to celebrate the end of summer than swimming in open water with 300 fellow enthusiasts. Reason #5.

The post-race awards took place, after sunset, against a backdrop of the beautifully lit ‘George’ (as traffic reporters refer to the bridge) a sight I’ll long recall with pleasure. Reason #6.

My 2014 open water season has one more event, the New York Aquarium 5K this Saturday, Sept 27 at Coney Island. A day later I leave for Martha’s Vineyard for a week of early fall swimming in Vineyard Sound and various kettle ponds. Almost too much happiness to contemplate.

 

 

 

 

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Going Further From Inside

I have a few students like this: they have been practicing faithfully for months if not years. They have the expected pattern of the stroke seemingly memorized. At first glance one might say, ‘Yeah, your stroke looks great!’. But these swimmers tell me they can sense that something is not quite right, they feel they go slower than they should be. I notice that they are indeed going slower than the amount of power they apply suggests they should be going. The pieces of the stroke are there, but assembled with what I would call a rigid, mechanical connection. They move through the stroke cycle, but it is more like a machine than a fluid wave of motion that creates ease and acceleration on each stroke.

When I see this ‘mechanically-correct’ stroke it reveals the need that swimmer has to go inward and find what is holding her back from more.

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To view 300+ articles of TI technique and training please visit TI Coach Mat’s Smooth Strokes blog.

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Marilyn Bell Gets Her Mojo Back

On Sept 9, 1954, Marilyn Bell. a 16-year old Toronto schoolgirl, entered the annals of marathon swimming, and left an enduring mark on Canadian sporting history by becoming the first person to swim across Lake Ontario.  On January 28 of this year, I had the good fortune to meet Marilyn and, since then, the privilege of helping her return to swimming after a 16-year hiatus.

Marilyn’s  is among the most uplifting of all TI Stories. What better time to tell it than the 60th anniversary of her historic swim?

In January  my friend Dr. Paul Lurie–at age 96, a Kaizen (constantly improving) TI swimmer–called to alert me that, one of his neighbors at Woodland Pond, a senior residence 10 minutes from my home in New Paltz NY, was a ‘swimming legend.’ I immediately googled Marilyn Bell (now DiLascio) and learned of her exploits. Paul said that Marilyn–now 76–shared the pool with him each morning. However, as Paul swam his customary 20 lengths, Marilyn was limited to ‘aqua exercise.’

Since age 60, a degenerative spinal condition had caused painful back spasms whenever she attempted front crawl. It pained Paul that a legendary swimmer could no longer do what had brought her such distinction, but he felt if anything could help her get her mojo back, TI could.

Reading about Marilyn on-line, I learned that after swimming Lake Ontario, in 1955 she became the youngest person to swim the English Channel, and in 1956 the first woman to cross the Strait of  Juan de Fuca from Port Angeles WA to Vancouver Island, British Columbia (9 hours in 47F water temperatures!)

Marilyn hung up her suit at age 18 but her fame endured. Babies, public parks, and a ferry were named after her. A quarter-century later, Canadians still considered her a sporting icon on a par with hockey superstar Wayne Gretzky.

At 19 Marilyn moved to New Jersey to marry Jim DiLascio, who she’d met when he was among her safety escorts as she swam the Atlantic City Marathon. Together they raised four children—all swimmers—in Willingboro NJ, where Marilyn taught elementary school and Joe worked in state government.

After Marilyn was widowed, she moved to Woodland Pond, to be near one of her daughters (as Paul had  after retiring at 93 as an emeritus professor at Albany Medical College). They soon bonded over their shared love of swimming.  Within days of Paul’s entreaty, I met them at the Woodland Ponds pool

When I asked Marilyn to try a length of freestyle, she displayed classic 1950s form –head high, hips locked, legs churning. I was fairly sure that form was causing her back spasms and that technique improvements would enable her to enjoy pain-free swimming. Here, I’ll turn the narrative over to Marilyn:

Paul called me on a Monday evening and said: “Would you be willing to meet with my friend Terry?” Well, how could I say no to Paul Lurie. He wasn’t only a dear friend; I was so inspired by how beautifully he swam and the  enjoyment he got out of it.  

Marilyn, Paul, and Terry at the Minnewaska Distance Swimmers beach.

But, to be honest, I really doubted that I could swim again after so many years.  Then you arrived in the middle of a snowstorm at 6:45 the very next morning.  I thanked you for coming in such awful weather and you answered, “It’s an honor to meet a swimming legend” and I thought “Oh goodness, now I really have to go through with this.”

When you showed me video of my stroke, I could recognize the way I’d been swimming was unhealthy for my back.

The first exercise—Superman—brought back something I hadn’t thought about in 70 years–how wonderful it felt when I first learned to float. I’d completely forgotten that sensation. Superman also taught me to align my head and spine. I immediately felt more comfortable.  

But I struggled with the second drill–the Skate. Extending and streamlining each side of my body  made perfect sense, but I was so used to the old focus on pulling and kicking that I felt like such a klutz.  

I practiced every morning between your visits. I commented to Paul how hard it was to unlearn old habits. But the TI sequence of small and simple skills, plus your advice to focus on just one thing at a time, helped me make progress every day. That was exciting.

And Paul was an invaluable mentor. He has a good eye for TI technique, so he watched me closely and gave feedback. In addition, we filmed each other with my ipad and compared my form with his.

Two aspects of this experience were most rewarding. One was feeling such harmony with the water after years of discomfort,. And for the first time ever I was learning how swimming should feel. Even now, I get goose bumps recalling how sensual  the water felt to my arm the first time I slipped it into the ‘Mail Slot.’ 

Best of all, swimming is now a joyful experience. I always felt elated after completing my long swims, but swimming for pure joy is such an unexpected gift and I understand why Paul was so anxious for me to share this.

My swimming has long been a source of inspiration for people–of persistence and determination. I’m excited and grateful that I might once again provide inspiration, but of a different kind–not about how far or fast you swim, but about learning something new at any age–as Paul did at 93!

Swimming the TI way seems like an anti-aging prescription—not only for physical health, but as a learning challenge to keep your mind and senses sharp and your outlook fresh. You can literally learn something new each day. I’ve learned so much, yet still feel like I’ve only begun. I really want to master the form completely.  

I’ve always lived with a sense of gratitude, because I’ve had such a wonderful life, but this swimming rebirth has come so unexpectedly.

Overlooking Minnewaska and the Catskill Mountains.

On August 18, Marilyn swam in open water for the first time in 27 years, synchronizing strokes with me for 400 meters in Lake Minnewaska. See how beautifully she now swims in this video.

 

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Loosen Up!

I have kept this self-help idea in my pocket for a couple years since a TI Coach friend referred me to a masseur, who in turn recommended this home remedy to relieve some muscle knots that were developing under my shoulder blades from extensive sprint work I was doing at the time. But only recently did I start to use it to much effect after modifying how I use it.

This is it: A simple racquetball can be transformed into an amazing self-massage device.

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To view 300+ articles of TI technique and training please visit TI Coach Mat’s Smooth Strokes blog.

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The Perfect Ending to a Epic Swim for Team TI6

Wow what a experience one that will never leave our hearts and minds. All of us came from different backgrounds of swimming which made us the team we were where we decided to name our relay TI6. TI6 consisted of 6 Total Immersion coaches : Dave Cameron from Minnesota, Jai Evans from the UK, Stuart McDougal from California, Todd Erickson from Texas, Rachel VanScoy from Colorado, and Mandy McDougal from California. One common denominator between us all is our extreme passion for teaching swimming with the mindset and methodology of Total Immersion. As much as we thought we were prepared and ready, nothing compares to the amount of drastic emotion, patience, and incredible hope to get us through our week in Dover. We have all swam open water , but luckily in controlled conditions, we have never experienced that mother nature can and will decide when we are ready to tackle the channel as a unit. Having arrived in Dover amidst the tail end of Hurricane Bertha, we had the opportunity to train in significantly rough water or what the British classify as a bit “lumpy”.

Towards the end of our window of time, we had heard no word from the pilots. To the human eye the weather was not easing off and our relay team was still third on the waiting list to be called. As our window of hope turned for the worst, Dave knew it in his heart that it most likely wasn’t going to happen. So we decided to accept it in our minds that it wasn’t time and that we will have to wait for a better year. Dave decided to take us on a hike to Shakespeare beach to have one last final open water swim around the official start of the channel. Walking along the coast seeing the beach from afar, we all seemed quiet and a bit melancholy still trying to accept it in our minds that it wasn’t going to happen . Once we made it to the pebbled beach, intense rain, thunder and lightning struck the entire area. It didn’t seem to cross our minds for this particular moment could of been a sign we would later understand but either way we still headed back to town to have one last dinner together as a team.

As we arrived at Blakes of Dover with our drinks in hand, we gave a final toast to a amazing week of training. To our surprise, our toast was interrupted by Dave as he answered a phone call that forever changed our trip. The pilot told him that one of the teams decided to wait for better conditions and that we have a shot at making it across the channel at 9:30am sharp the next morning. Once we all heard the news , we had no idea how to take it because most of us were partially excited and somewhat guarded trying to prevent ourselves from further heartache. Besides our feelings, we had a team meeting and got our bags packed ready to go for whatever outcome came our way. As I was packing one of the quotes that stuck in my head at the time was from Mohammad Ali, ” If you stay ready then you never have to “get” ready “. Which seemed to be our motto for our entire trip from arriving, to training, to getting prepped for the possibility of going.

It was 7am the next morning and we were more than ready to go. We walked to Dover Marina to meet with our fellow relay teams and to board our boat for the day , the Sea Farer, docked and ready to go to be our faithful companion along the way. As we settled into our boat and met our pilot and crew, it was time to go. The order of our relay was set to start with Todd , then Jai, Rachel, Me, Stuart, and Dave. As Todd was getting ready and revved up to start, the pilot took us to the shores of Shakespeare Beach where our official start was about to take place. All three of the other teams have started ahead of us including the first team starting thirty minutes beforehand which made us the last and final team to take on the course. Todd jumped in without hesitation and started our team off with a solid leg. The cold , the chop , and the spring tide pulling us away from course did not stop him from passing the first relay team coming up with graceful efficiency and speed. Todd was hitting 62 strokes consistently throughout his swim with no sign of exhaustion or slowing down. Once the first hour had passed, it was time for Todd to get out and for Jai to take on the next leg for the team. From Todd’s description, the chop and conditions were no different than what we trained in the harbor leading up to the swim which made us all feel more than ready to go. Jai’s stroke resembles something of remarkable fluidity and control. Averaging 60 stokes per minute, he continued to take us further passing another team along the way, with from the looks of his stroke, there was no sign of struggle. Sticking to a relaxed two beat kick and front quadrant stroke it was time for him to let Rachel take the lead.

Rachel was ready more than ever for her chance to get our team even farther ahead. As she swam with immense power, at 68 strokes per minute, she finished her leg coming right up to the third relay team paralleled to our boat. With somewhat calm and steady nerves, it was time for me to jump in feet first. Once the horn went off, I was ready to get the team where they needed to be. With a surprisingly relaxed stroke in such turbulent waters, I was able to time the chop to my advantage. Averaging in at 56 strokes per minute I was able to get beyond the third team and on into the middle of the course. Then it was Stuart’s turn to take on the channel as once he jumped in the chopped turned into bigger and larger swells that tested ones efficiency to the core. As Stuart pierced through the water he was able to maintain a solid, strong tempo and hip drive into his stroke which averaged at 58 strokes per minute. The first round was then finished with Dave who drove through the chop with immense power and control at 60 strokes per minute while the rest of us were holding on to the boat as the chop was getting heavy. Dave was able to pull us past the last relay team which made us ahead of the all the other groups. The spring tide threw us off course more than normal but with our ability to stay efficient and strong it didn’t matter what kind of conditions were in our way as we were still making excellent headway throughout the course.

It was time for the last round of swims amongst our team that led on into the early afternoon. Todd jumped in for his second leg and felt better during the second swim than the first. Then Jai took on the next and continued with enjoyment and taking it all in before Rachel took over for her next swim. Rachel finished her swim with a few powerful strokes of butterfly then it was my turn to lead the team through the twilight into the darkness. It was Stuarts turn to start the first official night swim of the group where the conditions turned to calmer seas. As the outside temperature drew cooler it was time for Dave to give his best swim of the day and to his account the best swim he had had in months. We were so close to the finish but due to strong currents we needed Todd to suit up and finish another leg to get us onto the shores of Calais. The dark waters were in full effect and Todd was ready to pull it in for the team. Finally we could see the remaining buoys that held us close to the shore where we began to cheer Todd on as he was only a 100 meters away. On the rocky beach of Calais, Todd found steady ground and placed both feet solid on the rocks and waved his hands to officially complete the course. As we all cheered in amazement we couldn’t believe that our team had finished in at 12 hours and 49 minutes before the rest of the teams made way. It was a amazing experience and a unforgettable one. We were a team that came together, supported one another, and trained harder than ever to give as much as we could to pull in a outstanding result.

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TI6 – Dover Day 7 – D-Day

WARNING!!!  This is a long post based on my observations and recollections of the our TI6 Coaches Channel Relay team on D-Day where we actually swam the channel.  I will do an epilogue post with my reflections of the entire fantastic adventure soon but needed to get this down before I forgot some details.  Amanda our official observer will be writing and submitting to the CS&PF an official summary and we are hoping to get a copy for our posterity sake so as she said in 20 years we can read what actually happened.  To my teammates Stuart, Mandy, Rachel, Jai and Captain Dave; thanks for a great experience and another opportunity to share our passion for swimming with grace, ease and speed.  A special thanks to Captain Dave for orchestrating this adventure and I’m sure at times felt like you were herding cats.  Enjoy D-Day from my perspective.

What a night!!!!!  Went to bed at 12, awake till 1, slept fitfully till 7.  I think the reality of the swim had hit me. Now the anxiety as well as elation was conflicting within my mind.  I knew I was more than ready, but there is always the unexpected when swimming in such a large body of ‘cold’ water, even if it is only in one-hour increments.  We still did not know the order Captain Dave had decided upon.  The team arrived at our hotel door to stow luggage till after the swim, as they were out of their B&B flat that day.  We left for the Co-Op Grocery store to buy 15 hours worth of food, water, snacks, and candy, whatever would get you through the day.  Swimmers are so different than my triathlon athlete friends and me when I get in that group.  We don’t hesitate a second to buy candy and sweets to help us during our races.  No gels or bars.  We do however, drink products like Maxim, Carbo-Pro, and Infinit for our during performance feeds and post swims.

Dave allotted 15 mins for the store and 15 mins to get to the dock.  We were walking fast carrying bags of groceries and arrived on time—at the wrong dock.  That was the dock Dave used 3 years ago—things change and when a fellow arrived and we inquired, he said they are on the other side of the bridge at the Harbor Masters Office Dock.  Off we went 10 minutes late.  We arrived to see four other relay teams assembling and waiting for their boats, captains, and official Channel Swimming and Pilots Federation (CS&PF) to come and collect them.  There was the triathlon relay (I think they were considered the fast relay) and three others.  We were the last to board.  As we were standing there Loretta (Nancy met days before) came over and took our group photo and asked Dave who was going first.  Dave said I was—shocked but excited.  We loaded up as we met our Captain Mike Orem, Nelson (assistant), and Amanda (Nelson’s mate and Official PS&PF Observer).  We shoved off from the dock; headed to Shakespeare Beach, remember we were just there last night in not such good weather.  What a difference 24 hours makes, sun shining, warm weather and God was smiling on us.  I asked how long we had till toes wet and Mike said 15 minutes.  Oh bugger!  I got ready and went over the starting procedures with Amanda.  The boat gets close to the shore, I jump in and swim to the beach, toes dry, wait for horn and jump back in and swim for an hour.  I forgot to mention that on our way over we were the last to leave.  Boat number 3 was clearing even with the harbor wall and boat 4 was just dropping off their swimmer on the beach, so we were last.  I jumped in and yelled “Oh Bloody” underwater, it was cold!!!  But, I was now in a complete calm state as I swam to the beach trying to keep my heart rate down.  I exited and there standing on the beach was our taxi driver Kenny, who was to have driven us to London this morning, but switched to Saturday at 9 am due to our last minute “go” on the swim.  He came over from the Harbor to see us off.  It was really special to see him and be on the beach as we were on the night before in completely the opposite conditions-God was now smiling, as I was convinced that this was His plan.  I heard the horn; it broke me from my thoughts of swimming for the next 60 minutes straight.  I walked to the water and dove in and broke into a brisk tempo to warm up quicker, quickly was not going to happen.  Water temp was around 62 degrees.  This is about the water temperature in the harbor and specifically by the Scalloped Wall.  As I caught up with the boat and it turned and then caught up with me on my left (they were very nice in accommodating my left side breathing) I fixed my target on the boat that had just left 5 minutes before me.  We were not going to be last!!  I soon caught and passed this boat and then since the previous boat had left 15 minutes prior I was not so much focused on catching them, but to closing the gap and swimming for 60 minutes.  The water was initially very calm off Shakespeare Beach for about 500 meters and then it turned into the washing machine on a turbulent day, but not the worst we had seen.  This is because the coastal currents, this one was moving to the south, are very swift and can tire a solo swimmer early in the swim.   I swam for a long while and then decided I wanted to view the cliffs behind, me, which I thought, were part of the White Cliff’s.  Found out later they are not part of the White Cliffs on the northern side of the Harbor.  They were still beautiful to look at.  This also provided a short relief for my shoulders, but I was not going to stop and bob—no bobbing!!  I swam some more and flipped to my back for another quick 10 strokes and then back to freestyle.  As I watched the boat, it became my swim pacer.  I was not exactly sure of the time but was beginning to anxiously see the Blue Shirt Flag indicating 10 minutes to go till switch.  This was the longest 10 minutes in my life.  I felt like a dog waiting for a treat looking at the boat with the cutest big eyes I could muster.  Of course due to my tinted TYR goggles they couldn’t see my eyes.  Next I saw my teammate and felt relief as he waved the green jacket.  I thought this meant 5 minutes and felt a great wave of excitement, similar to when a dog is about to get their long anticipated treat, that my 60 minutes was about over.  Apparently so did he, but in actuality this was the change over signal as I found out when I got back on the boat.  But by the 60 minutes I had forgotten what the green signal meant.  Then I heard the horn and awaited Jai to jump in behind me, I slowed to allow him to overtake and then aimed for the rear of the boat, sprinted to the ladder (the boat doesn’t stop) to rejoin my dry teammates.  I was greeted by Nancy, a wonderful site to see and great support, then Captain Dave.  Dave reminded me not to flip to backstroke again as it was not allowed.  Then Captain Mike said in jest, quit flipping over and looking back to England we are headed to France, which is in front of you.

 

As Jai took over I dried off and thought that I actually felt warm.  I think it was the blood rushing out to my extremities that made me feel warm.  I put on warm-ups and began my watch of keeping an eye on the swimmer while I drank my hot Infinit to warm the core up.  Jai did a great job during his swim and we were able to catch the third boat and move into third.  Not that this was an official race but what else do competitive people do but turn it into a challenge and a race.  We were all motivated now to catch the lead boat of the “Super Sonics.”  Jai looked strong in the water and we continued to make progress catching the next boat and moving into 2nd with the Super Sonics left in the lead (they had a 30 minute head start).  Next in was Rachel.  The exchange went smoothly even with swimming on the opposite side.  Jai and I are left sided breathers and swam on the right (starboard) side and the rest were right-sided breathers and they swam on the left (port) side of the boat.  The water had continued to turn from the coastal brown into a nice blue.  Not as deep of blue as the Pacific but still pretty just the same.  Rachel would swim 100 strokes freestyle and then do 25 butterfly to break up the 60 minutes.  As we neared the next exchange it was decided that instead of the air horn we’d start using the portable speaker that played the ole song (the soccer ole) to notify the swimmer as sometimes the rolling sea caused you to lose track of the boat.  I forgot to mention that the washing machine slowly turned into a bigger rolling sea tossing the boat and swimmer about.  So off Mandy went for her first swim in the big blue ocean.  Mandy did a great job of keeping us closing the gap on the Super Sonics.  The next changeover was between father and daughter with Stuart relieving his daughter Mandy.  Again the Ole song was played and the switch made.  Stuart swam well through some seriously tough conditions.  The current was really pushing him around.  The boat was starting to sway back and forth even more violently.  At some point during Stu’s swim, Amanda, our observer commented that she didn’t know how much more she could handle of this tossing about and she’s a seasoned observer for the Channel swims!  Her paperwork kept getting tossed to the deck from the counter.  Dave started to get ready and we told the Captain his task was to overtake the Super Sonics who were now clearly within reach of his time in the water.  Again the Ole song was played and the switch made.   Captain Dave was off and holding a good pace.  The water was still extremely active and made it tough to really stretch it out.  About 30 minutes in I started to get ready for my second swim by hanging from the roof extension over the back stern area.  I needed to stretch out my shoulders and lats—oooh did that feel good.  Dave was able to close to within even of the Super Sonics when we made the switch to the sound of Ole, Ole Ole Ole.  I was a little nervous about this second 60-minute swim with only 5 hours rest.  Not because of the sea conditions, but because of my shoulders and worried how they would respond.  The water was still a beautiful blue and still heaving and tossing, and did I mention still cold, slightly warmer by a degree or two, but still cold at first.  As I settled into my swim with my boat pacer next to me I found myself more to the front half to the bow of the boat.  I thought more about my TI mechanics of relaxed recovering arms (throwing the elbows out away from my body and forward), spearing into and reaching forward keeping my head in a good neutral position and feeling that dive into and under the waves with a good acceleration.  I thought about this more so than stroke counting trying just to hold a good rhythm, which I had honed through my two months of training leading into this swim.  Which was around a 1 stroke per second rate.  I felt really good during this swim, more so than the first hour.  The sun poked its head out and felt good and made the water look even more spectacular.  Nothing noteworthy happened during this second hour other than keeping pace with the boat often times out in front of the boat.  I missed the blue shirt signal and when I heard the Ole song I was thinking, really an hour already, wow what a great swim.  I climbed back on board and looked to our right to see where the Super Sonics where and they were behind us, we were now in the lead and we were going to keep it.  Jai took over and again swam a very good hour extending our lead.  Rachel was next up again and did a great job.  She was always smiling at us from the water and even would now and again shout something at us—always the ever thespian in her coming out.  We were on the brink of several severe storms approaching from the south but they seemed to be tracking the course as the boat heading to France and not up through the channel, which would have meant some really rough conditions for us it they had overtaken us.  Looking at the rain bands you couldn’t see through them they were so heavy.  Mandy readied for the exchange putting on our lights for the first time.  Mike, the boat skipper didn’t think we needed them this early but Captain Dave was taking no chances.  The Ole song sounded the exchange and off Mandy went.  We were now entering our 10th hour into our swim.  We could clearly see the French coast approaching but it was still a long way away, I think just over 8 miles at this point, but that doesn’t mean much with the fast currents we’d face as we neared the end of the swim.  About 15 minutes into Mandy’s swim she let out a loud scream and started swimming head up freestyle directly towards the boat.  Just as she neared the boat, about 15 feet away she said it was seaweed and it just startled her.  We had not encountered anything in the water up till this point.  Mandy continued on keeping her pace consistent as from her first hour.  We knew that if any one of us decided we couldn’t go on the entire swim would be over for all—this was a great motivator to keep going especially because of the road we had traveled getting to this point.  Stuart was next up ready with his lights and it was getting to be dusk. Other than Dave, Rachel (lake swims), and Stuart (one time in LA) none of the rest of us had ever experienced night swimming before.  Again the Ole song and the father-daughter switch was made.  Stuart swam well as we entered the first night swim.  At the end of his swim Dave readied and waited for the Ole song.  Mike had told Dave we were within three miles of finishing but the current was getting swifter and he would have to swim very strong to finish.  As our song played Dave was in and off at a good pace.  Stuart had missed the blue signal and was still swimming next to the boat.  He looked up a little confused as he heard the song and said he hadn’t seen the blue signal.  We yelled (because it was noisy) for him to get in the boat quickly as we didn’t want to lose sight of Dave in the dark sky and waters.  Stuart missed his first attempt at the ladder and we had to tell Mike to slow down so Stuart could reach the ladder, he looked tired and didn’t look like he had a sprint left in him.  Stuart was aboard and now the search for Dave.  I think we were all a little panicked because we had lost sight of Dave.  He wasn’t on the left side of the boat where he should have been.  Mike then yelled that he was on the opposite side of the boat about 25 meters away.  We all were yelling at Dave as he started to look around as well and was wondering why the boat was on the wrong side and headed in the opposite direction he was.  The current had grabbed him and was taking him away from the course of the boat. All fell back into place and Dave assumed his position on the left side.  I started keeping a close eye on the time and the GPS to see if I was going to be needed to swim again.  Honestly I was not looking forward to getting back in, not because of the cold, but because it was going to be my first night swim, my third swim of the day, and I might be the one landing on the beach in the DARK.  I asked Mike if he thought Dave could make it about 30 minutes into his 60.  Mike said no he wouldn’t, we were going to miss the point of Cape Gris Nez due to the fast current.  He said that for every knot we were making in a straight line the current was moving at 4 knots 90 degrees to us, pushing us out away and around the point.  Mike felt I was for sure going to swim and depending on how much we missed the point we might be swimming for several more hours.  It was approaching 1045 pm, 12 hours from our start time.  At 15 minutes, I readied myself, putting on my lights, turning them to check working condition (even though Mandy had just used them earlier), trying to get my head in the game about the night swim. I had changed from my polarized tinted TYR’s to a clear pair that were a little smaller.  I wasn’t confident about these goggles as I had troubles with them while swimming with them in the pool (brand to go un-named but not TYR).  They didn’t fit like my TYR’s and I really needed a confident fit.  Amanda, official observer, could sense my trepidation about getting back in and was encouraging me by saying how cool it would be to be able to say that I walked in the water from England and walked out of the water in France.  It sounded great and I knew she was really trying to get me pumped up about swimming but it was having marginal effect.  I checked back in the cabin with Mike with 5 minutes to go and he said you only have 1500 meters to go (in a straight line) and that I could do it just swim fast.  I readied on the side of the boat and waited for the Ole.  Ole sounded and I jumped in—immediately my goggles came flying off my head as I went underwater.  I thought “Oh Bloody” (as Stuart coined the incomplete phrase) and immediately started searching with the overcast of light from the stern of the boat.  I found them and started treading water to put them back on.  The right goggle couldn’t get a could seal and filled with seawater, the left could seal but was cloudy (maybe a little from my Vaseline fingers).  But, I got them on and was off in a ‘cloud of camel dung’ as my late Navy Veteran father-in-law likes to say. The water felt warm- several degrees warmer then my first two swims.  I must have had a good pace going as my heart rate seemed to be high and I was having trouble getting my breath.  Not sure if it was a combination of first night swim, rough water conditions, wanting this to be over or all of the above.   I made myself think about all the focal points we teach our clients and soon I was back in my cocoon of calmness and back in a good rhythm, all was good.  This was actually beginning to become really fun swimming in the dark.  The sea was still pretty rough tossing and throwing me and my pacer boat around.  I decided to swim up a little in the spot light area off amidships of the boat putting me about 6-10 feet away.  The waves would push me in to sometimes 2 feet of the boat and then back out.  I forgot to mention that they had the rear deck light on, the stern light on, and a spotlight shining down into the water from the upper deck.  I found that swimming up in this light was right in my eyes when I breathed and made it so that I couldn’t see a thing but this bright light in my eyes.  I adjusted towards the rear and that was better and could see Nancy sitting on the side keeping a watchful eye on me.  I could sense that she was really concerned and nervous about my third swim in the dark.  I would occasionally move back towards the spot light and at about 20 minutes in, I felt an electric shock on my right arm between my wrist and elbow.  It was a short intense shock/pain and nothing I had felt before.  I immediately thought jellyfish and then remembered that Dave had mentioned that they don’t like to use too many lights pointed into the water because things in the water at night are attracted to the light.  So I repositioned to the aft of the boat telling myself to stay away from the spot. The pain in the forearm subsided a little but still felt like after an initial severe burn.  Not really super painful but you can’t keep it out of your mind.   I remembered that I couldn’t give up as this whole swim would be for naught and I would let my TI teammates down.  At one point I was swimming and getting my breath and I realized that I was hearing the exhaust directly, like immediately, in front of me.  This could only mean one thing and that I was about to hit the stern of the boat on the starboard edge and I knew the propellers where somewhere not far behind.  I immediately juked to the right about 4 feet.  Nancy told me afterwards that a wave had picked me up and pushed directly into this position and she yelled to Mike that I was about to go under the stern and he immediately turned to the left helping to create that immediate 4 foot separation.  Things got back to normal.  At this point I had a feeling that I had been in the water for 30 minutes and had not reach the beach so I resigned myself to keep swimming and Jai would be relieving me to make the final swim to shore.  Not long after this I notice the boat slowing and I was now up even with the spot light again.   I stopped and looked up at Mike and asked what was going on (of course I had earplugs in, so hearing was hard) and Mike was yelling back to keep stroking, get going, keep going straight (whatever direction that was, it was dark I couldn’t see straight).  So off I went in the dark.  About a minute later the boat came zooming past me and continued.  I was thinking what the bloody hell was going on, why were they leaving me in the water in the dark.  Then I thought oh, they’re letting down the dingy maybe I’m close.  So as I approached the boat, because it had stopped again, I noticed everyone on the back deck staring at me.  So, like anyone inquisitive, I stopped and asked what was going on, is the dingy in the water and everyone yelled back simultaneously, keep swimming, go-go-go.   Of course they all knew I only had about 70 yards to go but I didn’t have a clue.  The boat passed me again and stopped.  This time I decided to take out my right earplug so I could hear properly what they were saying.  I stopped and inquired; they said I only had 70 yards to swim to shore.  I naturally said where’s the shore?  The said there was no dingy and to follow the spot light.  So that’s what I did, I took off in pursuit of the light, then the light disappeared, I kept going straight, then the light appeared and I could see the land, then the light disappeared (I later found out that they were concerned about hitting the rocks and needed the light to keep an eye on them as well).  As I was swimming the water was really calm and had little swells, I picked my head up and started swimming head up and could hear the waves breaking gently ahead of me, so I figured it wasn’t going to be a rough surf landing, I could also smell the seaweed in the air and knew I was close.  I put my head back in the water and began swimming again.  A few strokes later my right hand hit something hard as I started my pull and I thought oh wonderful sand bottom shallow I can stand up.  Then my left hand just went all the way down hitting nothing, I thought sandbar, as my right hand also hit nothing.  Then within 2 more strokes my right hand ran into something really hard and big but about a foot below the surface and I thought rocks-Oh Bloody!!  I started to be pulled back off of the rock with the outgoing surge but held on and pulled across it on the incoming surge, then more deep water and then another rock just below the surface.  I pulled myself up on the rock quickly (I remembered in reading Lynne Cox’s book “Swimming to Antarctica” her chapter on crossing the English Channel, which I re-read on the plane over, about her landing on the rocks and they had barnacles on the them and she cut her knees) so I thought I better get up on this rock quickly before the next wave came in.  I climbed up, took my goggles off and saw that I was on boulders that were separated from each other by from 1-6 feet with water of unknown depth in between.  Having two artificial knees I was not going to jump from rock to rock, as I didn’t know how slippery they were.  So I eased back into the water and swam to the next rock and pulled myself out again.  My feet were still in the water and I knew they needed to be toes dry.  So I went for another rock.  I could see the dry ones but they were still approximately 50 meters away and I was hoping this last rock would be sufficient for Amanda to end the swim.  I pulled up on the rock, toes dry.  I looked towards the dry area of the shore and saw three lights heading my way.  I couldn’t hear anything but voices; I turned and looked at the boat and yelled is this good enough but couldn’t understand them either.  Finally, the Ole song played and I was elated.  I turned to see the land lights getting closer and thought maybe the Gendarme were coming out for me, so I quickly slipped back into the water and went feet first sculling with my hand back through the gaps in the rocks towards the boat.   As I approached the boat I could hear everyone yelling happily.  I reached for the ladder and the boat took off leaving me there in the wake wondering what the bloody was going on.  Then it stopped and I swam to it and was able to grab the ladder and climb aboard to hug and high five my teammates.  It was over, 12 hours 49 minutes and some odd seconds.  I sat down and toweled off.  We had finished first of the five boats despite starting 30 minutes behind.  As we headed back to Dover (a two and a half hour ride that would put us back at the dock at 3 am) we came across the other boats still plodding towards France.  Mike decided that we should circle the boats playing Ole and cheering them on.  I wasn’t sure how they’d react to this as I first thought it sounded more like gloating that we beat you than keep up the good work you’re almost there.  The next boat in was an hour and forty-four minutes behinds us with the last boat landing at 5 am.

 

Next up the epilogue.

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The TI6

I’m excited to be counting down the hours before we start our relay in the English Channel. We’ve assembled six experienced and enthusiastic coaches from a wide range of backgrounds and locations in the US and UK, and we’re ready to hit the Channel and show that grace and efficiency can make a smooth ride out of the toughest of challenges.

The English Channel is a bit more familiar to me than to most swimmers. In 2004, without having ever done an individual open water race, I trained for and completed a solo attempt. Three years later, I made a double attempt after coaching two relays of masters and youth swimmers who raced each other across the Channel. My double was not to be, but I did shave another 30 minutes off of my solo time from 2004.

Since then, I’ve gone over to England on four more occasions to coach relays and solo swimmers. Dover is a place I’ve come to love because of the singleminded focus I can have here on preparation and training for swimming, and it’s been an honor to share this with other coaches and swimmers.

This year, for the first time, I got to pick my own team. With only a couple months of planning, we assembled a relay that included and age range of more than 30 years, but we all share one passion- we all think of ourselves as coaches who are wholly committed not just to help people swim faster, but also to build communities of passionate athletes around this sport and to help new and experienced swimmers understand and love the deeper technique and knowledge within swimming experience.

We’ll post more about ourselves during and after the swim. Let’s get started with a little summary of one of my previous endeavors!

2004 Channel Swim

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Far Beyond the English Channel

I haven’t had a chance to write a blog entry as I took most of my time trying to take everything in these past few days. After a extremely long flight with zero sleep and a cramped neck, we landed in London to meet up with Dave and Rachel since their flights had landed around the same time. Tracy’s boyfriend picked us up from the airport and drove us to Dover. And what a cool little harbor town that rests beneath Dover Castle which is intimidating but magnificent to look at. I even caught myself staring at it so many times as we walked through the streets of the town. But going back to when we arrived we spent no more than a few minutes to place our things inside the Churchill House which is a little BnB that we are staying at for our entire trip.

I wasn’t expecting to go get our suits on right away for a swim in Dover Harbor, but Dave insisted and I know I didn’t have much of a choice, I mean after all I potentially will be swimming the channel so I have to dive in head first without a second thought. So we met up with Todd Erickson and his wife Nancy for our first group swim and man… it was choppy and rough to say the least. Getting into the water was a challenge since the entire beach was covered in painful rocks. Once I got in the water, it was still a cold water shock as we have to wear just our suits, one cap , and earplugs but we adjusted quickly to start our swim. As Dave guided us to the first wall to our left, which we have forever nicknamed the “scalloped wall”, is the roughest side of the harbor if the conditions tend to be outside anything but calm. It is literally like being in a freezing human washing machine where it isn’t considered completed until you have touched the wall that is covered in sharp barnacles and seaweed. But during the swim I couldn’t help but stop and take it all in . The scenery was incredible overlooking Dover and the Castle up on the hill with the Channel off in the horizon. I caught my dad with a huge smile and infectious laughter since after all… we were still in disbelief that we are getting to experience this very moment. I know I will never forget that moment in time and there are many more that I am grateful to have during this trip.

The walk to our first early morning swim was a practice of extreme discipline for me since the entire walk down was stormy , windy, and rainy so I knew it was going to be rough out there. To my amazement, there were only a handful of regular swimmers ( normally theres over a 100 ) waiting to go in. While putting on my cap and goggles all I saw was the perfect storm ( you’ll only get my reference if you have seen the movie) none of our pictures or video do it justice but hopefully my writing will describe the sheer …..”holy crap this is for real ! ” kind of moment. So the advisor told us no go on heading to the left wall as it would wash us out but we can head to the right wall which I named to myself the “haunted Titanic” as it looked like a eerie, rusted old ship which didnt help the situation or my fear for that matter. So everyone headed down the beach as I followed and thought to myself , “alright this is …uh ..this is happening…okayyy they are really going in arent they?!”. And I proceeded to just dive in a carry on with my swim. I’ll tell you right now I haven’t pushed myself to those elements or those conditions ever and I successfully pulled through with a good swim and no heart attack.

After the perfect storm practice, Dave had us swim again and again everyday, twice a day, if we could fit it in between Rachel and my jet lag comas that followed our training, it was GOING to happen. So to summarize our training experience we have pushed through some tough conditions and I know for myself I pushed myself beyond my comfort zone to a whole new level of training and after today’s morning swim , Dave congratulated me in finishing four of those walls straight through that I didn’t think I could even do as we first arrived on Saturday. This was some SERIOUS swimming for me and I have felt I have come along way since arriving.

So I don’t want to write for too long as I will make separate blogs about other parts of our trip that I feel need more explanation. However, I would like to say that tonight we will find out if we are going to get the official “Yes” from the pilot that we will be swimming the EC after these stormy weather conditions and amidst the teams that are in line before us. When I was preparing for the trip and during the first couple of days, I was fixated on hoping we get to have a chance out there in the channel but after spending time with my team , TI6, learning about them more and more and what experiences we’ve had , getting to train together and go through the same challenges , I feel that these times are far more important at this moment. I have had a incredible opportunity to swim countless miles like terminator through swells, laugh till we cant breathe, eat amazing food, walk through ancient castles/ cathedrals in amazement, and bond with my fellow TI coaches and of course my Dad! This trip is definitely for the books and I know if we don’t get to swim the EC by the end of this trip, then we will just have to come back again….. oh darn

I would like to say thank you and much appreciation to Dave Cameron ( ” King Dave” ) as none of this would of been possible without his guidance and leadership. And to the rest of the team, Jai Evan’s ( ” TI JAI ” ) TI UK, Todd Erickson ( ” Hot Toddy” ) TI Texas, Rachel Van Scoy ( ” Dory “) TI Colorado , and Stuart McDougal ( aka ” Speedo Stu “) TI Los Angeles , thank you for making this trip a blast and a memorable one at that

Cheers and Happy Swimming,

Coach Mandy

*** If you have a chance, I highly reccomend reading my teamates blogs located on the TI website as well as facebook about their journey so far ***

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