Effective Training Methods
This is from last week's New Yorker magazine.
Did you know...?
Swimming in the Hudson River was commonplace less than a century ago, but for most of the 20th century, the Hudson was considered to be one of the most polluted rivers in the Unites States. Today, most of the Hudson River is once again clean enough for swimming. New York's former Governor George Pataki stated a goal of making the entire length of the Hudson River Estuary, from Troy to New York City, clean enough for swimming by 2009, the 400th anniversary of Henry Hudson's voyage up the river. Upgrading sewage treatment plants, rigorous pollution enforcement, and some toxic site cleanups are helping to achieve that goal. Believe it or not, over the last 20 years, some of the Hudson River fish species are now safe for human consumption. Additionally, swimming is now commonplace in many areas. There are also a host of numerous open-water swimming events throughout the Hudson region, most notable is the annual Great Hudson River Swim which ends at Battery Park on the island of Manhattan.
Sportsmanship - I Love Stories Like This
It's about helping others to achieve their goals and for all to get to their own best level. That to me, is what sports are all about...
Check out this video at CNN.com.
Did you know...?
A parrotfish makes its own sleeping bag to sleep in. It uses mucous (like spit) to make a see-through bag all around it's body to protect it from attack by other creatures in the ocean.
Did you know...?
The fastest men can run about 35 km/h (21 mph). Which means that even the dolphin is faster. Dolphins can reach 60 km/h (37 mph).
Did you know...?
The slowest fish is the Sea Horse, which moves along at about 0.016 km/h (0.01 mph).
Did you know...?
Sharks can swim 70 km/h (44 mph). Even Killer Whales reach those speeds. The fastest shark species, the Mako, can swim at 96 km/h (60 mph). Swordfish reach 64 km/h (40 mph), Marlin 80 km/h (50 mph) and the fastest fish of all, the Sailfish, 109 km/h (68 mph).
Did you know...?
Did you know fish talk to each other? Some of them communicate by making noises in their throats by rasping their teeth, others use their swim bladders to make sounds.
Did you know...?
Did you know that Benjamin Franklin nearly became a swimming coach? He was an accomplished and enthusiastic swimmer, having first taught himself by paddling around as a young boy, and then perfected his strokes by reading an illustrated treatise called “The Art of swimming ... with advice for bathing.”
In his late teens, while working in London, Franklin showed off his swimming skills to friends: “I stript and leapt into the River, and swam from near Chelsea to Blackfryars, performing on the way many Feats of Activity both upon and under Water...” His “Feats” were widely discussed, and a few months later, Sir William Wyndham approached Franklin to ask him to teach his sons to swim. Franklin recalled in his Autobiography that, “From this Incident I thought it likely, that if I were to remain in England and open a Swimming School, I might get a good Deal of Money. And it struck me so strongly, that had the Overture been sooner made me, probably I should not so soon have returned to America.”
Did you know...?
The 2008 olympic games in Beijing, China will begin on 08/08/08, a lucky number combination in Chinese culture, meaning "getting rich, rich, and richer."
Dream
There's something to be said for dreaming and to have the courage to dream big. More important is to be brave enough to go after those dreams. Could you imagine all the skepticism and ridicule this couple had to endure?
Great story. Here's an excerpt:
"I never in my wildest dreams thought that I would do something like that in my life," Cat confesses. "I think you just have to be open-minded and willing to take chances and risks and not be afraid ... You just have to open your mind to other cultures and countries and, you know, like Pat says, 98 percent of the people in this world are good people. On a day-to-day basis you're meeting the average person in the world and they're just like you."
Did you know...?
Taken from from the August 2007 issue of Swimming World Magazine.
The first Masters swim meet "east of the Rockies" was held 35 years ago on April 1, 1972 at the Wilton YMCA in Wilton Connecticut. It attracted 60 Masters swimmers. The host club, Connecticut Masters, was chartered by the AAU with "a couple dozen" members. Today, Connecticut membership has risen to more than 400.
Politics and Swimming Mix Like Oil and (Chlorinated) Water
Dear Dynoswim Community:
I had absolutely no idea that this particular blog would spark so many emotions from the swimming community. Please understand that I only thought this cartoon interesting since we are in an election year and because this cartoon featured Michael Phelps (arguably the greatest swimmer of all time). I would like to add though, that I sincerely appreciate the dialogue and any feedback we get from our readers and users of our website. Please know that Dynoswim is not a political organization. We have absolutely no political affiliations and have no opinion one way or the other on those matters - with a few exceptions: We are pro-democracy, pro-human rights, pro-open discussion, and pro-protect those deemed the weakest in our society.
I would say that the only way we might like a political figure personally (not necessarily politically) is if they have an appreciation for competitive swimming.
I hope this eases the minds of anyone we may have inadvertently offended.
Kind Regards,
Dean O.
Did you know...?
In some volcanic areas such as Iceland, the temperature rises beneath the surface of the earth as high as 680 degrees F (360 degrees C) that engineers can tap the geothermal energy by piping hot water from underground to warm nearby homes, offices and factories. An outdoor swimming pool in the Icelandic capital of Reykjavik is heated so effectively by this method that it remains open and in use all year round.
Sydney’s Rock Pools
Where the pool meets the surf at Bronte Beach.
~By Raymond Bonner
NEARLY every day for 14 years, Denise Leith, a writer and university lecturer, has risen before dawn and headed to the beach at Newport, a pleasant, residential suburb 19 miles north of downtown Sydney, with fruit stands, pharmacies and small shops along the main road, within the sound and smell of the sea. She walks to the south end of the long beach and after donning her cap and goggles plunges into a 50-meter pool.
Did you know...?
In 1924, Sybil Bauer became the first woman to break an existing men's record, when she won the 200m backstroke at the Olympic Games.
Did you know...?
Don Schollander was the first person to break two minutes in the 200m freestyle in 1963 with a 1:58.4.
Did you know...?
The first woman to break the one-minute barrier in the 100y freestyle was Helene Madison of Seattle in 1932.
Did you know...?
Pianist Yanni was formally a member of the Greek National Swimming Team.
Did you know...?
Some hotels in Las Vegas have gambling tables floating in their swimming pools.
Did you know...?
The first recorded swimming competition in the United States took place in 1883 with the New York Athletic Club, who held annual competitions through 1887 when the Amateur Athletic Union began sponsoring the events.
The Problem with Traveling Coaches
Take a look at the attached picture:
The first person to guess what it's written on (meaning the type of "paper" used) will win their very own Dynoswim swim cap.
(By the way, in case you're wondering, this is a practice we did on June 29, 2007 in Palm Coast in preparation for the 2007 Ed Gaw Amelia Island Open-Water Challenge.)
Did you know...?
Buster Crabbe, gold and bronze medallist in the 1932 Olympics, went on after his swimming career to appear in 175 movies. He signed with Paramount for his first film "King of The Jungle" in hopes of becoming a rival to Johnny Weissmuller in the movie industry. Weissmuller was a swimming Olympian who starred in 12 Tarzan pictures.
Did you know...?
At the 1983 Pan American Games in Caracas, Venezuela, the U.S. men's 400 meter medley relay consisted of all four 100-meter stroke world record holders, the only time this has happened in swimming history. (Rick Carey, Steve Lundquist, Matt Gribble, Rowdy Gaines)
Did you know...?
Leigh Ann Fetter was the first woman to break 22 seconds in the 50-yard freestyle with a 21.92 at the 1990 NCAA Championships.
Did you know...?
At the 1972 Olympic Games, Steve Genter suffered a collapsed lung only days before his event. Swimming without the consent of his doctors he went on to finish with a silver in the 200-meter freestyle and a bronze in the 400-meter freestyle.
Did you know...?
On average, sardines live to be 14 years old.
Did you know...?
What were the first goggles made of? Divers in the 1300’s made goggles from polished, clear tortoise shell. The first rubber goggles, which had heavy glass lenses, were invented in the 1930’s.
Name that Pool
You've seen it before and you probably even swam here. Maybe it was a USS meet as an age-grouper or an NCAA duel meet back in college. Hey, you might have even swam here for a Masters practice.
You know the pool, just think...
Hint #1 (12/8/07): This pool is located in the Southwestern United States.
Hint #2 (12/10/07): This facility helps train NCAA Division 1 swimmers.
Did you know...?
In the 1984 Olympics, there were no women's World Records set.
Did you know...?
The average human produces 25,000 quarts of spit in a lifetime, enough to fill two swimming pools.
Did you know...?
The Olympic oath reads, "In the name of all competitors, I promise that we shall take part in these Olympic Games, respecting and abiding by the rules that govern them, in the true spirit of sportsmanship, for the glory of sport and the honor of our teams."
Did you know...?
Plunge for Distance was a short-lived Olympic event. Contestants began with a standing dive into a swimming pool where they remained motionless for 60 seconds or until they ran out of breath. The length of their dive was then measured. The event was introduced at the St Louis Games of 1904 and the gold medal went to William Dickey of the United States with a modest plunge of 19.05 metres. Americans filled all five placings. After that the event plunged deep into obscurity and was never held again.
Did you know...?
In the 1904 Olympic Games, the first three places in the plunge-for-distance event went to members of the New York Athletic Club. The gold went to William Dickey with a plunge of 62’6”.
Happy Halloween Dynoswimmers!
Sharks and minnows could be a fun Halloween practice. Or maybe an ocean swim after a shark sighting. Even more scary is anything over 6,000 yards - chills...
Did you know...?
Gold medallist hopeful Felix Farrell swam in the 1960 U.S. Olympic Time Trials only six days after an appendectomy. Not fully recovered, he placed fourth in the 100-meter free. This finish was good enough to put him on the 800-meter and 400-meter freestyle relays in which he recovered sufficiently to anchor the U.S. teams to World Records in both events.
Did you know...?
J. Scott Leary of the Olympic Club in San Francisco, Calif., went 1:00.00 on July 18, 1905 to become the first man to swim one minute in the 100 yard freestyle.
Did you know...?
Sixteen-year old Rick Demont finished first in 1972 400-metre free style swimming event, but was disqualified for taking an asthma drug he didn't know was on the prohibited list.
Did you know...?
Australian swimmer Dawn Fraser startled the Japanese at Tokyo when she climbed the flagpole at the emperor's palace to take the flag as a souvenir! She paid a heavy price for this misdemeanor as she was banned for 10 years. The ban was later reduced to four years.
Did you know...?
Benjamin Franklin invented swim-fins.
Did you know...?
Kangaroos are great swimmers.
Did you know...?
Tuna swim at a steady speed of nine mph and they never stop. That means a 15-year-old tuna may have traveled 1,000,000 miles.
Name that Pool
Name this pool, if you get it, you rule...
Did you know...?
Elephants are capable of swimming twenty miles a day, using their trunks as natural snorkles.
Did you know...?
Esther Williams did not win any Olympic medals for swimming or for diving. The year she was to compete (1940) the Olympics were suspended due to WWII.
Esther Williams teammate is Dynoswim's own, Mary Ann Meekins!
Did you know...?
Diana Nyad, in 1979, was the first person to swim from the Bahamas to Florida.
Did you know...?
The top speed of an abalone on the move is 5 yards per minute.
Did you know...?
Right now as you sit reading this, more than 100,000,000 micro creatures are swimming, feeding, reproducing, and depositing waste inside that area behind your lips.
Did you know...?
The first man to swim the English Channel without a life jacket was Captain Matthew Webb, who died trying to swim the rapids above Niagara Falls.
Did you know...?
Lance Larson, who swam in in lane four, appeared (according to photographs) to touch first at the finish of the 1960 (Rome Olympics) 100-meter freestyle swimming event. Yet John Devitt, in lane three, was awarded the gold medal.
Did you know...?
At the second modern Olympic Games contested in Paris in 1900, the most unusual event to be held was underwater swimming. It was decided prior to the competition that two points would be awarded for each meter swum underwater. In addition, one point was added to the scoring of each individual for every second he stayed below the surface. Much to the delight of the locals, Frenchman Charles de Venderville won the event swimming 60 meters and staying submerged for 1min 8.4sec. Denmark's Peder Lykkeberg stayed underwater for a longer period, one and a half minutes, but only managed to travel 28.5 meters. This was the first and only time underwater swimming was held at the Olympic Games.
Did you know...?
Gertrude Ederle was still a teenager when she became the first woman to swim the English Channel on August 6, 1926. Not only did she swim the channel, but she broke the speed record held by a man.
Did you know?
Henry Sullivan, in 1923, was the first American to swim the English Channel.
Share Your Thoughts...
Check out this photo, then share your thoughts...
Did you know...?
Captain Matthew Webb of England was the first to swim the English Channel using the breaststroke.
Did you know...?
Tracy Caulkins is the only swimmer ever, man or woman, to own American records in every stroke.
Top 7 Strangest Search Terms
Following are the top 7 strangest search terms people searched for on various public search engines that resulted in a visit to dynoswim.com:
7. Used Speedos
6. Ice Hole Swimming
5. Floating Pool Lady
4. Camouflage Myself
3. Tarzan Portrayor
2. Butterfly that Flies Fast
And the top strangest search term people searched for on various public search engines that resulted in a visit to dynoswim.com is:
1. Thumbprint Artist
Did you know...?
Johnny Weissmuller, the first to swim 100 meters in less than a minute, was a hero in real life too? He saved the lives of 11 people when an excursion boat capsized on lake Michigan. He also played the role of a hero in "reel life" - 'Tarzan the Ape Man' in the movie series based on Edgar Rice-Burrough's novel.
Name That Pool
This is a continuation of last week's "Name That Pool". It's the same pool, different view. If you've ever swam here, you know the facility. Just be the first to give us the proper name of the pool and it's location and we'll mail you a swim cap. Think! I know for a fact that quite a few members of the Dynoswim community have swum at this facility.
Did you know...?
In the 1948 Olympics, the U.S. won every event in the swimming competition.
Ever wonder where our U.S. Cyber-Dynoswimmers hail from?
Don't forget to refer back to our map from this time last year.
Name That Pool
Whoever is first to name the pool and its location wins a Dynoswim swim cap!
Did you know...?
Americans Nancy Hogshead and Carrie Steinseifer registered the first official tie in Olympic history in the 100-meter freestyle at the 1984 Olympics. They each recorded a time of 55.92.
Swimming Dino Enters the History Books
Twelve footprints found in the bed of an ancient lake in northern Spain have thrown up the first compelling evidence that some land dinosaurs could swim, researchers reported Thursday.
Did you know...?
The Japanese won all the men's titles except the 400-meter freestyle in the 1932 Los Angeles Olympics. Buster Crabbe won the 400-meter free.
Describe What You See
Look closely, there's something in there that's really strange. Can you guess what it is?
True, True
A Little Humor to Complement Your Training
Frazz 03/05/07
Frazz 03/06/07
Frazz 03/07/07
Frazz 03/08/07
Frazz 03/09/07
Poll: What's Your Favorite Race?
Tell us what your favorite race is and if there's any particular reason why...
Comment on your favorite race by clicking here.
Name the Swimmers / Name the Event
Love that smile...
Name that Pool
Here we go again... Try this one out. Maybe you can guess it before we give you hints?
Can Women Really Tolerate Cold Water Better than Men?
January '07 Outside Magazine
A number of cultural practices seem to support this belief: In the villages of Japan's Hegura Island, female freedivers have plunged into the frigid Pacific to collect pearls for some 1,500 years; women on south Korea's Cheju Island do the same to gather shellfish; and every spring in Ft Lauderdale, young American women are subjected to chilled H20 during a ritual called a "wet T shirt contest." Theoretically, women have two physiological advantages: a tendency toward a higher percentage of body fat and a greater vasoconstrictor response (the narrowing of blood vessels to retain core heat). But those go only so far. A 2000 study at the Defence and Civil Institute of Environmental Medicine, in Toronto, found that the sexes react the same in cold water if you control for factors like body proportions and fat, and scientists at England's University of Bath concluded that women were actually less tolerant of the pain of plunging their arms into ice water. According to Gordon Giesbrecht, a lauded hypothermia researcher at the University of Manitoba, tolerating cold water is ultimately more a mental challenge than a physical one. "The major difference between individuals is psychological," he says. "Gender doesn't make much difference."
Name that Pool
This one's a little more difficult than the last. Take your best guess...
Name that Pool
It's not the pool you think it is.
Floating Pool Arrives in NYC
So on November 14, the "Floating Pool Lady" finally got to watch the "Floating Pool" arrive in New York.
The floating pool lady is Ann L. Buttenwieser, a former Parks Department official who had a brainstorm 25 years ago: Why not put a swimming pool on a barge and moor it somewhere along the city’s 578 miles of waterfront?
Wondering Who these U.S. Dynoswimmers Are?
Well, here's a little map to give you an idea where they're from:
Palm Coast Dynoswimmers: Smile!
Why...?
Because you swam 5,500 meters today.
Fun Facts
And as of April 10, 2006, the top visitors to Dynoswim hail from (in order):
- United States
- Canada
- United Kingdom
- Australia
- Finland
- Italy
- South Africa
- Spain
- China
- France
Woohoo! So, what's it like training in the different corners of the globe? Let us know and we'll share it with the rest of the Dynoswim community. Just use the contact us link.
Age Grading - Performance vs. Age
By David Nordstrom
Two recent articles, Swimming World’s “Holding Back the Years” by Phillip Whitten, March 2005; and USMS SWIMMER’s “Records Topple at USMS Short Course Nationals in Fort Lauderdale”, July – August 2005, prompted me to attempt to further quantify performances vs. age. The running community has an age-grading scheme that allows runners in any age group to “adjust” their times to another age group. So if you are a 70 year old, you can use a formula to find out what your current time would be as a 25 year old with the age adjustment. In some road races, awards are given to best equivalent times ( a 70 year old with a 25 min 5K beats the 25 year old with a 22 min 5K). As far as I know, we swimmers don’t have an age grading system. This is an attempt to develop one.
Swimming in Maple Syrup
Mmm, good.
Fun Facts
Did you know that the Dynoswim cyber community now represents 18 U.S. States and 7 countries! We have registered members from as far away as South Africa and Europe to Alaska. Our most popular registrants outside the U.S.A. hail from Canada. In the U.S. the top three states represented in order are Florida, New York, and California.
Welcome!
Please continue to provide us with all the wonderful news and events taking place in your neck of the woods. Just click on Contact Us and send those details over for all Dynoswimmers to read. We'll add your contributions to the Dynoswim homepage.
A Breaststroker's Perspective
Please click on the following link, originally published as an editorial in SWIM MAGAZINE / Fall 2003, this article has been reprinted and posted in numerous places. Found again here after visiting one of our friendly Canadian Masters team sites: http://www.swimordie.ca/Breaststroke%20is%20King.htm
Fun Facts
Did you know that if you went to every practice at Frieda Zamba last week, swam every yard of every set, and went to both open water swims, you would have swum 23,100 yards! Here's the breakdown for the week beginning June 19, 2005:
Sunday: Open Water - 3,000;
Monday: Frieda Zamba - 4,300;
Tuesday: Frieda Zamba - 4,400;
Wednesday: Open Water - 2,700;
Friday: Frieda Zamba - 4,300;
Saturday: Frieda Zamba - 4,400!