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Well, I can no longer swim on a college team--not that I did or wanted to anyway. But, it's still cool to say that I've "turned pro". Last night I accepted a sponsorship offer from You Scared? Industries, a clothing company with some badass stuff (especially their hoodie). I don't plan on accepting or applying for any sponsorship deals with companies I don't believe in, so when I say that their philosophy and products are great, I actually mean it. Also, it means that you won't see me being sponsored by Monster or RedBull or any of those Fuck the Police clothing brands, because I don't agree with the things they say or do.
Basically, my deal with You Scared? is a great stepping stone into the pro world of sports. Not only am I happy to be a part of their team because I love the company, but the boost they have given me will hopefully allow me to garner sponsorships from other companies. There are a few that I am eagerly awaiting responses from, such as Verve! Energy Drink and Rockwell Watches. I want to represent Verve! not because they are an energy drink, but because their mission is to produce an energy drink that is healthy for your body rather than destructive. Athletes need to take care of themselves, and they get that. Rockwell just makes slick watches that seem like they should be worn by Ian Thorpe or Michael Phelps, and I'd love to promote that kind of elegance.
Now, I just need to figure out a way to get the You Scared? logo on my swim cap...
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Well, it's more than just the butterfly, but the alliteration sounded good. Tonight at practice, I dramatically lowered my time for the 50y free (from about 35-38s to 27-29s). But, more importantly, I actually managed to do a bit of fly. We did a 200 drill where we essentially just did the butterfly pull without worrying about the over-the-water recovery or the dolphin kicks. After that, I felt comfortable with the underwater motion, so I added in the arm recovery. That worked, so I let my legs sort of dolphin kick whenever they wanted. It resulted in a 1-beat kick, but that's better than nothing! It looks like my body may be capable of the fly after all.
Meanwhile, I'm fairly certain I am going to do well at Aquapalooza. We had a mini-meet time trial earlier this week, and I swam the 50 breast in just under 30 seconds. After a three-week taper (yes, I've decided to taper) and swimming fresh, I've got some high expectations for my times at the meet. I'm not going to share them in the interest of not jinxing myself, but I'm confident and excited about them. I'll let you know what they were once the meet is over.
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Well, it's about that time. Aquapalooza is coming up in a little more than three weeks. Studies show that two to three weeks is optimal taper time to perform at the highest potential; however, I am having trouble deciding if Aquapalooza is a meet that warrants tapering. Most of the swimmers on my team only taper for big meets--and I mean a true taper, not just taking it easy a few days before the meet. I think that is true of most successful competitive swimmers. Aquapalooza is a big meet for me, not only because it is my first, but because the times I achieve there will qualify me or keep me out of a big meet in December. If my times are not low enough, I have a second chance in November, which further complicates things.
Essentially, it breaks down like this. If I taper for Aquapalooza, that means I cannot taper for for the November meet should I need to go, or I will only have a week of full intensity training before December--that is unacceptable. If I don't taper for Aquapalooza, I still can't taper for the November meet, because I would be in the same situation. The decision rests on whether or not I want to taper once before December, or continue a fairly high intensity schedule until mid-November.
We did mock races last night at practice, where we started off the blocks and did a 50y at a fast speed. It was the end of practice, and I was tired; however, I pulled in a 28s or 29s 50y breaststroke. I thought that was pretty good considering the situation. If I taper properly, that time should go down appreciably. The question is, is that time good enough to qualify me for the meet in December? For the USMS Colonies Zone Championships, it most likely is. There aren't any time standards posted yet (and I'm not sure if there will be); but, I think the standards will be higher than my times. There is a US-S meet on the same weekend that I would love to attend: the 2008 Short Course National Championships. For the 100y breaststroke, the standard is 57.59s. I would have to be able to hold my current fast-paced 50y throughout the whole 100 in order to be under that. Without a full practice, I could probably get under 57.59s, but do I really want to risk it? If I don't make it at Aquapalooza, I have one more shot before the deadline to register; however, I won't be able to taper for that last chance meet, so I want to do everything I can to make sure I can hit the mark at Aquapalooza.
To taper or not to taper? My times are good, but they need to be better. After three weeks of additional hard training, they will probably go down, but will I be able to perform at the meet? With a proper taper and focusing on technique, DPS, and maintaining good form, I believe I can do even better.
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The Philadelphia Fins are Philadelphia's gay and lesbian masters swim team. I am absolutely horrendous at estimating numbers, but I'd have to say that there are probably around 40 swimmers at every practice. I haven't met all of them yet, but I have met a good majority. They are all good people with wonderful attitudes. Take my word for it that I'm not just spitting the party line so I don't offend anyone; I doubt anyone from the team is reading this. I just wanted to praise the people there before getting a little bit into my training so far, and I promise to try not to do that too much (I know too much flowery language can make you want to vomit).
Before joining the team, I could barely swim a lap without running out of air. Swimming with a team full of great swimmers is strong motivation to train outside of practice. For me, this involves three days a week in the weight room and lots of analyzing great swimmers' techniques. The practices are held at a 25-yard pool with six lanes. The lanes increase in skill level and speed, land six being the beginner lane. I started out in lane six, and I barely made it through the warm-up in my first practice last week. Nonetheless, I felt great sitting on the edge of the pool huffing and puffing.
Tonight was my first practice in lane five. On Tuesday, a new friend of mine who swims in lane five suggested I meander over there at the end of practice. We were doing sets of 50, 25 underwater, 30 seconds of vertical kick, and 25 easy swim. I went over and pumped out the sets. So, I decided to stay in lane five for today's practice. I had never swum a 400 anything before, but that was the first part of our warmup. I managed to finish it while maintaining good technique and without getting too winded. We then did a 300 IM (without the fly, since none of us in lane five can actually swim it well enough to do an entire 100), which I also finished well. At this point, I figured I was probably suited more for distance swims than sprints, since whenever I try to sprint, I would barely finish a 25, but my time would be more like an appropriate time for a 100; on the other hand, I've discovered that I can hold a fairly decent pace with good technique over a pretty good distance.
Strangely enough, I'm also good at breaststroke. I had a swimming breakthrough today that involved the breaststroke, and I'm pretty proud of it. I've noticed that a lot of the olympic breaststrokers swim the stroke differently. I've also read that there are upwards of 50 ways to swim it. Over the last few weeks, I have been experimented with different forms of the wave style and flat style. I've been using the wave style mostly, coming pretty far out of the water and diving down and forward. Unfortunately, my times have not been where I was hoping they'd be. Apparently, I am more suited to swim like the great Leisel Jones. The articles I have read about her talked about her odd, water-plow style. Well, I was trying to get through a breaststroke drill tonight, and I wound up converting to a style very similar to hers (a fact of which I was not aware until after practice). I didn't time myself, but I noticed that I was catching up to the swimmers ahead of me that were halfway across the pool, and my distance per stroke was much greater.
I'm planning on attending Aquapalooza on October 11. Up until tonight, I couldn't decide which events to register for; however, I think I am going to do the 50 and 100 breast. Eventually, I will be able to do the distance freestyle events (800, 1500), but until then (and even then, really), I think I'm going to stick to the breaststroke events. I'm going to mail in my registration form tomorrow and hope it gets there by the 24th. Don't screw me USPS!
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I decided to start a swimming blog at the suggestion of a very insightful swimmer who posts under the alias Ande on the USMS forums. It was one of his many excellent Swim Faster Faster tips; his suggestion was to keep a journal of workouts, goals, expectation, etc. I thought that was an excellent idea, so here we are. This first post is sort of an introduction to who I am and why I started swimming, where I want to go in swimming, and what's going on right now. So, let's just jump right into it.
My name is Michael Goldstein, and I just started swimming a few weeks ago. I grew up participating in sports, primarily hockey. When I entered high school, I started wrestling, which led to submission grappling. I excelled there, winning or placing highly in several championships. I injured myself trying a flashy move in an important tournament (stupid, I know!), and couldn't compete for a little while. I got back into it, but meandered towards Judo with the hope of competing at the Olympic Trials for the 2012 summer games. That, in a way, is what led me to swimming.
Watching the Beijing Olympics really inspired me to dream big and go for broke (another SFF tip by the way). I watched Brenden Hansen do his leg in the Medley Relay, and something just struck me. I started watching videos of him swimming in past events. Watching him made me want to get in the pool. Initially, I started swimming because I thought it would be great conditioning for Judo; unfortunately for my Judo career, stepping into the pool would be the beginning of its end.
When I get into something, I really get into it. I tend to take things to the extreme, blocking out everything else and giving 150% in whatever the current interest may be. I have always been that way, which my mother and sister will be happy to confirm. That part of my personality must be from previous generations, because neither of my parents have been that way for as long as I can remember. In high school, I was really interested in music. I bought a ton of equipment, found some other musicians, and was convinced I'd make it big. That lasted about two years, until I stumbled into grappling. That obsession lasted a bit longer, but eventually it became a sidebar while I discovered something else. You get the idea.
Needless to say, my foray into swimming began with a trip to Dick's Sporting Goods. I bought a speedo training suit, racing goggles, a swim cap, and a combination lock for the locker room. That day, I went to the pool to test everything out and have my first workout. A few minutes before stepping into the water, I realized that I probably should have looked at a few videos or articles of how to swim. I had always loved the water, from jetskis, powerboats, and waterskiing to kayaks, the beach, and lounging by the pool. Unfortunately, I never really cared much for the actual practice of swimming. Everytime I tried to do laps, I would get exhausted and frustrated. It just wasn't fun.
I stepped into the water, and dove right under. I didn't know it at the time, but my natural instinct was to do the regular breaststroke underwater pull, dolphin kick, streamline and all. That isn't anything too profound, and may have been a result of watching all those Brendan Hansen videos, but it felt good that it was so natural. I swam a few laps of breaststroke, and kicked into the finish with a smile on my face.
It has only been a couple of weeks since that day, but my technique has improved dramatically. I just joined a masters swim team in Philadelphia, the Philadelphia Fins Aquatics Club. It's a wonderful team, with great coaches and teammates. Joining this team was definitely a great step towards becoming the swimmer I want to be, and I'm looking forward to the rest of the journey.
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again. It has been a WHILE. Stupid job.
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