New Swimming Contacts and New SCM World Records!

I went back to University of Denver for another practice. I ran into the Head Coach Brian as I was getting in. I congratulated him on his Sunbelt Conference victory and we talked about the effects of Altitude training for a moment. It was nice to make another swimming connection. I got in while a team was just finishing up. Shortly after my warmup quite a few Recreational swimmers started trickling in and filling the lanes. I had a few swimmers join me in my lane while I was in the middle of my main set. A few of them quickly left. Only one remained. I finished my set and realized that one of the guards had placed a "Recreational Swimming SLOW" sign at the end of my lane... I turned to the gentleman I was swimming with and said "I think they're trying to give me a hint!" He smiled and replied... "I don't think that's the case, I can vouch for your speed." We both laughed and it sparked a nice conversation about Masters swimming and the Olympic Trials. His name is Ben, a Masters swimmer from the Denver area. He started out with "So you must be a professional swimmer". Although it was flattering, not quite accurate, I explained that I worked full time and trained as much as I could. It was a brief exchange between sets, it was nice to meet a fellow Masters athlete. We discussed the effects of altitude, and some past meet experiences. He had some form questions on how to catch as much water as possible with disturbing the water around you the least. He also told me about a few other pools in the area that might be closer to downtown.

I did my pulling benchmark test with no equipment long course. My 100's werea 1:35, 1:32, and 1:30 all out... at this point I told myself that I was going to find a way to drop 5 seconds on the next one. I pushed off and remembered what I had learned from so many sources over the years about pulling with my entire arm. I modified my armstroke to utilize more surface area and therefore pull more water. It took more energy but I did exactly what I wanted to, I touched at a 1:25 with no kicking. This is my fastest long course pulling time so far! I love setting little goals, it keeps me on task with my training.

It's been an exciting few days for Short Course Meters Swimming! I usually only follow the backstroke events. The FINA World Championships are in Berlin Germany this week. Peter Marshall (USA) and Randal Bal (USA) have both been swimming incredibly fast. Peter Marshall broke both the 50 and 100 SCM Back World Records! He dropped the 50 meter world record from a 23.24 to a 23.05 and the 100 meter back record from a 49.94 to a 49.63! Randal Bal came back just today to break Peter Marshall's 50 Back world record of 23.05 to a 22.87! Peter Marshall finished second with a VERY close 22.90. I'm so glad Randal Bal came away from this meet with a 1st place and a World Record, he's been in the swimming game quite a while and has frequently been touched out in large meets like the FINA championships and Olympic Trials. He's a great athlete and has proved his incredible speed once again. Congrats Bal!