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Swimming
May 3, 2012
Deep Eddy set to open
Grab your goggles, swimmers. You’ll soon be able to swim on both sides of recently-spruced up Deep Eddy Pool.
If all goes as planned, the deep end of the pool, where lap swimmers zip back and forth through the chilly green water, will open on Friday. The shallow end will open Saturday.
It’ll mark the first time the entire pool, at 401 Deep Eddy Ave., has opened since renovations began this winter.
If you look carefully, you’ll notice that workers smoothed and slightly extended the shallow side of the pool, creating a zero-depth, walk-in beach entry. They poured a new bottom on both sides of the pool, added another pump outlet and widened decking all around. A wrought iron fence has replaced the chain link one that once surrounded the pool, and new lifeguard stands have been installed. Minor leaks and cracks were repaired, too.
Quirky features, such as pool sides that aren’t quite vertical but slant outward, and a center wall that divides the shallow side of the pool from the deep side, remain the same.
The $2 million project was funded by bonds approved by Austin voters in 2006.
Hours are 8 a.m. until 8 p.m. weekdays and 10 a.m. until 8 p.m. weekends. Admission is $3 for adults, $2 for children 12 to 17 or $1 for senior and kids age 11 and under. For more information call 472-8546.
Tom Nelson, head of aquatics for the City of Austin’s Parks and Recreation Department.
Here’s a link to an article I wrote about the project in January.
(The above photo by Statesman photographer Ralph Barrera, shows the pool during construction.)
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May 2, 2012
I'm swimming the Cap 2K this Saturday
Look out ducks, fish and water weeds — I’m jumping into Lady Bird Lake this weekend for one of my favorite races of the year, the Money Box Cap 2K.
I’ll be chugging downriver with nearly 200 other swimmers, catching glimpses along one of the most beautiful stretches of the river as I go.
Limestone cliffs? Check. Blue herons? Check. The occasional leaping fish? Check.
The race starts at 10:30 a.m. Saturday just off of Red Bud Isle. It finishes at the Texas Rowing Center across from Austin High School.
Afterward, there’s a picnic lunch at Eiler’s Park, adjacent to Deep Eddy Pool.
The Cap 2K is one of the rare chances we get to swim in Lady Bird Lake. I’d recommend taking advantage of it.
For more information, go here.
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April 20, 2012
Austinites launch swimming website Swimswam.com
Updates to attribute source of numbers on May 1 and adds that tracking numbers are estimates only.
When the Swimswam.com website launched on March 7, its Austin creators figured it would take at least until the Olympic Trials in late June for the website to surge to the front of the pack. It took a month.
By Day 35, the site, loaded with the latest record-setting performances and features about training, nutrition and swimmers, had racked up 720,000 views, according to site founder Mel Stewart. In the first month, it saw more than 200,000 unique views, Stewart said. It swept past SwimNews.com, USASwimming.org and SwimmingWorldMagazine.com, according to estimates by traffic tracking sites Alexa and Compete.com.
“We know the language of the sport,” says Mel Stewart, a three-time Olympic medalist who created the site with his wife Tiffany. “We know the swimmers, the coaches and the swim parents. We’re not speaking French, we’re speaking swimming.”
The couple, along with their 12-year-old son, also a swimmer, moved to Austin from California, where they ran a small production company that made commercials, in 2009. They realized what the swimming world lacked was a hip, current website where the swimming community could go for information about the latest record-setting performances and lifestyle features.
Last October, they pulled together team of contributers that includes Garrett McCaffrey, Braden Keith, Rich Roll and Gary Hall Jr.
“The design is clean and it’s younger. It’s new, it’s 2012. It doesn’t feel like a site from 2000 or 2005,” says Stewart, who’s known in the swimming community as Gold Medal Mel, who has taught thousands of swimming clinics in the last two decades.
Among the most popular features on the site is Garrett McCaffrey’s Swimswam News, a video recap of the latest news, delivered in world record time. “He slams through it and gives you everything you need to know about the sport in 2 minutes,” Stewart says.
Check out McCaffrey’s report here.
Keith has been delivering a mixture of domestic and international news, and Stewart hosts the Gold Medal Minute, high level coverage of top stories in advance of the London Olympics.
It’s balanced out by features on swimmers (did you know that David Duchovny, aka Agent Mulder from television’s “The X-Files” was a swimmer?), places to swim and training.
“We’re inspired by Livestrong. We think that it is a brand that speaks to the world about living healthy and living your best life. We want to be the global brand for swimming. We want the swimming conversation on our site. We’ve built a cornerstone in terms of daily news. We’ll be building out our lifestyle and evergreen content over the next year.”
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April 2, 2012
Ron Tater counts pool laps with an abacus
Meet Ron Tater. He swims laps regularly at Big Stacy Pool on Live Oak Street, off of South Congress Avenue.
I’ve noticed him before. When he arrives at the pool in the morning, he walks to the far end, slips on his swim goggles and sets a small wooden abacus on the edge of the lane.
With each lap in the pool, he slides over one of the wooden beads. He never loses track of how far he’s gone.
I’ve always coveted that abacus. When I hop in the pool and start swimming, I lose all ability to count. Even to three.
Ron’s got his own system of which beads to slide, but when he gets to 21, he’s done.
If you decide to get an abacus to help you count laps, be sure and get a wooden one, he says. It floats.
Recognize Ron? He’s an actor who has had bit roles on television shows including “Walker, Texas Ranger” (he got killed in that one), “Friday Night Lights” and “Prison Break.”
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March 26, 2012
Barton Springs Pool to reopen Tuesday
Barton Springs Pool reopens Tuesday.
The spring-fed pool at Zilker Park closed last Tuesday, after heavy rains flooded it. Waters receded late Wednesday and crews began cleaning the pool on Thursday.
“Staff are finishing their cleaning efforts today,” Tom Nelson, division manager for aquatics at the City of Austin’s Parks and Recreation Department, said Monday.
That’s good news for swimmers, who have been coping with the temporary closure of Deep Eddy Pool, at 401 Deep Eddy Ave. Renovations at that pool are nearly complete. Nelson said officials hope to open the deep end around April 6, barring bad weather. The shallow end should open in early May, he said.
In the meantime, Big Stacy Pool at 800 E. Live Oak St. off of South Congress Avenue, is bustling. I braved the crowds Monday for an hour-long swim. I think all the Barton Springs and Deep Eddy regulars turned up, too.
(Statesman photo by Ralph Barrera.)
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January 12, 2012
Missing: Black, one-piece swimsuit
Anybody find a black, one-piece swimsuit somewhere between Rollingwood Pool and the Austin American-Statesman?
I lost mine.
I ride my bike to swim practice three or four mornings a week. It’s a constant struggle to pack everything into the removable trunk that snaps onto the rack on the back of my commuter bike. It’s especially tough when it’s cold and I’ve got bulky clothes, plus a towel, swim gear, lunch and other assorted necessities stuffed in there.
Yesterday, it didn’t all fit.
I figured I could shove my swimsuit (practically new!) into the cupholder on the end of the trunk. I pulled the drawstring around the cupholder tight and didn’t think about it as I made my way down Rollingwood Drive, onto Barton Springs Road and hooked up with the hike and bike trail just past Zilker Park.
Lo and behold, when I arrived at work, my swimsuit had gone missing.
I’m just glad it happened after, and not before, practice.
If you spot it, let me know.
In the meantime, as a friend says, Leslie will probably show up wearing it.
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December 27, 2011
Polar Bear swims set for Jan. 1
Austin’s got two New Year’s Day swims on tap, one for polar bears and the other for bears who like their water a little warmer.
At Barton Springs Pool in Zilker Park, swimmers with thicker hides will gather from 9 a.m. until 2 p.m. for the 32nd annual Polar Bear Splash. The free event is a pot luck too, so organizers invite you to bring a dish to share. Dominican Joe will have free coffee to warm up swimmers and will be selling commemorative T-shirts.
If you’d rather do your swim in heated water, head to El Salido Pool, 11500 El Salido Parkway, between noon and 1:30 p.m. for a free dip in the toasty, inviting waters. (If you want to go extreme, you can dash through the splash pool, which won’t be heated.)
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November 10, 2011
I'm swimming around Manhattan, again...
Looks like I’ll be going for a dip in the Hudson River next summer!
I got official word Wednesday that Team Texas Two-Step — aka my friend Gretch Sanders and I — made the cut and will be swimming the 2012 Manhattan Island Marathon Swim as a two-person relay.
This is awesome news, but it’s also a little scary.
Sanders and I did the race this summer as a four-person relay with our Austin swimming buddies Leslie Blanke and Katy Dooley. Together, we swam a collective 28 tide-assisted miles up the East River, through the Harlem River and down the Hudson River. Catching a glimpse of Yankee Stadium, the United Nations Building and the bristling buildings of downtown New York City was something I’ll never forget.
Dooley is a pistol. She anchored our relay team and gave us a turbo boost that got us to the finish line in just under 8 hours. We didn’t bump into a single syringe or encounter even one mobster wearing cement boots along the way.
But it wasn’t enough. That’s why Sanders and I are going back. We want more!
I’m pretty sure we’ll get it, too.
The race draws swimmers from all over the world. Many have swum the English Channel or the Catalina Channel.
Sanders and I will be in amazing company. And we’ll be bringing up the rear, I’m sure. But this race, for us, is about the experience.
My husband Chris has volunteered for crew duty, and we’ve already made Vlad Brezina, the kayaker who guided us through the rivers in 2011, promise to escort us in 2012.
Time to start training hard…
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October 7, 2011
Swimming in the rain!
I was swimming across Deep Eddy Pool this morning when I heard a cheer go up.
I popped my head up, asked my coach what was up, and then felt it — rain!
A passing shower, a momentary tappity-tap-tapping of raindrops on water, and we all went nuts. (Note photo above, showing TeamTexas teammate Jamie Mitchell, center, trying to catch a few droplets on his tongue.)
There’s nothing like swimming in the rain, by the way. Whenever it’s raining and I head to the pool, people seem baffled.
“You’re going to swim in this?” they ask.
Well, yes. What do you think might happen — I’ll get wet?
Rain makes for a soothing, comforting workout. A gray sky feels like a thick blanket, and sounds are magnified. It’s glorious.
Let’s hope there’s more chance for rainy day swimming this weekend.
Below, Team Texas coach Keith Bell contemplates the rarely-seen phenomenon of water falling from the sky.
Yes, folks, those are raindrops!
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September 2, 2011
Follow me as I swim 8 miles for Colin's Hope
By the time you read this blog, I’ll be chugging down Lake Austin, on a mission to swim 8 miles from City Park to Walsh Boat Landing.
It’s part of a fund-raiser for Colin’s Hope, a non-profit organization that works to prevent childhood drownings.
The parents of Colin Holst, a 4-year-old boy who drowned four years ago in a crowded swimming pool at an Austin fitness club, created the non-profit. Today would have been Colin’s eighth birthday.
The thought of a tragedy happening in a pool, lake or river is unbearable to me, and that’s why I’m swimming.
Plus, I get to catch glimpses of blue herons and limestone cliffs with every stroke. That, along with the cool water and the hydrilla that will occasionally tickle my toes, makes me giddy.
This will be my longest straight swim ever. I’m worried that my shoulders will get sore and my lower back will get stiff. When that happens, I’ll think of Colin.
I won’t be alone. Colin’s Hope executive director Alissa Magrum, along with Karen Holst, Jaime Slaughter, Marion Cimbala, Rob Cunningham, Carrie Barrett, David Douglas, Mark Foster, Shari Schmok, Josh Stivers and Troy Mechura will be swimming 8 miles alongside me. More than 30 other swimmers will hop in at the Loop 360 Pennybacker Bridge to swim the final 4 miles.
(Team member Pat Henneberry did an 8-miler on Saturday so she could crew for today’s swim, and my amazing friend Katy Dooley is swimming 21 miles across the Catalina Channel today to raise money for the cause, too.)
A special thanks to my support paddler, Vance Naumann. Vance will be posting my GPS location from his iPhone on this blog as we make our way down the river. He’ll also snap a photo every time we pause to refuel.
We’re starting at about 6:45 a.m. With luck, I should be at the finish by a little after 11 a.m.
Check back here to track my progress.
UPDATE: 3:26p.m.: Whew. That was fun!
I’m still trying to decide what was the best part about this morning’s swim.
It’s a tossup - watching the sky go from black to purple to orange as the sun rose? Swimming under the Pennybacker Bridge as the swimmers doing the 4-mile route cheered? Gazing into the green underwater oblivion? Thinking about my friend Katy Dooley, who successfully completed her 21-mile crossing of the Catalina Channel as a fund-raiser for the same non-profit?
Colin’s Hope is what it’s all about. I’m proud to be part of a fund-raiser for an organization that works to prevent childhood drownings.
Our group raised more than $55,000!
I now know I can swim 8 miles. It took about 4 hours and 25 minutes. The first 3 and a half hours felt great. Toward the end, my right shoulder felt like I’d gotten a flat tire and was driving on a rim. Ouch!
I’m happy. Now, let’s eat!
UPDATE: 11:16 a.m. The finish line! 2nd swimmer to finish from the 8 mile start. About 4.5 hours!
Way to go, Pam!
Pam’s location at 11:16 a.m.:
UPDATE: 10:48 a.m. On her way to the finish.
Pam’s location at 10:48 a.m.:
UPDATE: 10:20 a.m. Still going strong.
Pam’s location at 10:21 a.m.:
UPDATE: 9:21 a.m. Pam near the 360 bridge.
Pam’s location at 8:51 a.m.:
UPDATE: 8:51 a.m. Pam stops to stretch her back.
Pam’s location at 8:51 a.m.:
UPDATE: 8:20 a.m. Taking a drink and she’s still smiling.
Pam’s location at 8:20 a.m.:
UPDATE: 7:51 a.m. Time for gel.
Pam’s location at 7:51 a.m.:
UPDATE: 7:18 a.m. 30 minutes in. Go Pam!
Pam’s location at 7:18 a.m.:
UPDATE: 6:48 a.m.
And, they’re off!
Pam’s location at 6:48 a.m.:
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August 31, 2011
Skinny dipping: Is it legal on Lake Austin?
Once a week or so, my husband and I water ski on Lake Austin before work.
Water skiing apparently makes me giddy, and, a couple of times, we’ve peeled off our swimsuits afterward and leaped into the water. I love to skinny dip!
We’re discreet. We take our au natural dips early in the morning and away from lakeside homes, when there aren’t any boats around. We’re not exhibitionists, we just like the way cool water feels on our bare skin.
A couple of weeks ago, after a nice morning ski set, we shed our togs. Into the water we went, whooping with glee.
We hadn’t been in the water 2 minutes when a boat drew up near us. And not just any boat. An Austin police boat stopped about 100 yards away, and just sat in the water.
What are the chances?
We couldn’t tell if the boat captain knew we were nekkid. We waited 10 minutes, but had to get to work. Finally, I crawled onto the back platform of the boat, grabbed a towel and wrapped up. I quickly tossed a towel to my husband, who slithered into the boat.
We dressed, started up the boat and motored home. The cop didn’t follow.
When I got back, I wondered. Is it legal to skinny dip in Lake Austin?
When I contacted Jeff Joseph with the Lake Patrol Unit of the Austin Police Department and asked — hypothetically, of course — he told me this:
“It depends on one’s definition of skinny dipping,” Joseph said. “A very basic way to think of it, is that it is illegal for anyone to be completely naked in a public place. It is legal for anyone to be topless.”
Bummer.
After this week’s early morning ski set, I kept my suit on when I jumped into the lake for a swim. It just wasn’t the same.
Anyone else been caught skinny dipping out there?
(The photo above definitely does NOT show Pam LeBlanc skinny dipping on Lake Austin.)
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August 25, 2011
Katy Dooley prepares to swim Catalina Channel
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Come midnight Thursday, Austin swimmer Katy Dooley will slide into the inky waters of the Pacific Ocean off of Catalina Island. She’ll take a stroke, then another, and swim off into the night.
If all goes well, she’ll still be chugging away as the sun rises. If the currents cooperate, the weather doesn’t whip up, she doesn’t get too cold, the jellyfish don’t sting and a million other things, she’ll wade onto the California coast about 10 hours later. That’s about noon Friday Austin time.
“I’m starting to get the nerves,” Dooley, 44, told me recently. “Not in a bad way. I’ve done everything I could possibly do to prepare. I’m just nervous about things I can’t control.”
If she finishes the 21-mile crossing, she’ll be in rare company. As of last October, just 199 swimmers — among them at least two other Austin swimmers, David Blanke and Lynne Smith — had officially made the crossing. (This year’s swimmers won’t be ratified and added to that list until the end of the year.)
![IMG_2010[1].jpg](http://alt.coxnewsweb.com/shared-blogs/austin/fitcity/upload/2011/08/katy_dooley_prepares_to_swim_c/IMG_2010%5B1%5D.jpg)
Dooley will have a team of six crew members, along with two official swim observers, to help her along the way. They’ll be in a motorized support boat, monitoring her health and keeping her fed and hydrated. A kayaker will be in the water at all times, leading her on the way.
Dooley says she doesn’t have a goal time. “For me, getting across will be a great day,” she says.
She’ll likely be swimming through waters hovering at about 65 degrees when she starts. About two hours from the California shore, temperatures typically drop 4 or 5 degrees. That can be a jolt to the system.
She won’t be wearing a wetsuit. A plain old bathing, suit, cap, goggles and a little grease to prevent chafing are all she’s allowed.
And yes, she’s aware of what lurks under the surface.
“I respect the wildlife greatly,” Dooley says. “I did not watch ‘Shark Week.’ I like to call them the S guys — I don’t even like saying the word.”
Honestly, though, Dooley says she has a better chance of getting flapped by a flying fish or stung by jellyfish than she does of getting some unwanted attention from a shark.
“I hear those are pretty alarming when they whack you,” she says of the flying fish.
Dooley, a former University of Texas swimmer and two-time Ironman Triathlon finisher, has been focusing on this swim since last summer, when she swam the 12-mile Lake Travis Relay solo. (And nosed out the six-woman relay team I swam the race with, by the way.) I got to swim on a four-woman relay with her in June at the 28.5-mile Manhattan Island Marathon Swim. She’s tough!
Dooley maintained a solid base of pool training through the winter, mixed with cold-water open-water swims in Lake Travis and Lake Austin even when water temperatures dropped into the 50s. To help deal with that chill, she purposely gained 20 pounds for insulation.
She logged several 4- and 6-hour swims, including one swim from Walsh Landing near Hula Hut to the Loop 360 Pennybacker Bridge and back at night, in choppy conditions.
It’s all part of her grand plan to swim the English Channel in September 2012.
As for nutrition during the Catalina swim, she’ll be sipping Carbo Pro sports drinks, lapping up packets of Gu and backing it all up with trusty old M&Ms chocolate candies. She plans to eat a little bit every half an hour.
Her crew will count her strokes. If they slow down too much, they’ll give her more calories.
Dooley vows not to pull herself out of the water, but has instructed her crew to yank her if she gets hypothermia or if the currents push her backwards, making a crossing impossible.
“I am super duper excited. I am incredibly excited,” she says. “This swim will be about adapting to the environment. You don’t get to say how it’s going to be. It’s just an exercise in human resilience … It’s just an incredible feeling. You can either be fearful or you can embrace it.”
Dooley’s Catalina swim will be part of the Colin’s Hope Got2Swim fund-raiser, which is happening in Lake Austin on Sept. 2. She hopes she will be finishing her swim in California at about the same time swimmers here wade out of the water at Walsh Landing.
To donate to the fund-raiser, which supports Colin’s Hope’s efforts to prevent childhood drowning, go here.
(The photo above, by Vladimir Brezina, shows Katy Dooley swimming toward the Brooklyn Bridge during the 2011 Manhattan Island Marathon Swim. The other photo, by Pam LeBlanc, shows her relaxing on the boat between relay legs during the same race.)
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August 23, 2011
I'm ready (I think) for 8-mile Colin's Hope swim!
We’re just nine days out from the Colin’s Hope fund-raising swim.
Honestly, I’ve been getting a little twitchy about it, wondering if I really can swim the 8 miles from City Park to Walsh Landing.
Those questions evaporated in the searing heat last Sunday, when our training group hopped in the water about a mile west of the Loop 360 Pennybacker Bridge for a long training swim.
A couple of us swam all the way to City Park and back. I’m not sure the exact distance, but I’d put it at about 6 miles. I swam for about two and a half hours, pausing frequently to drink Cytomax or water and twice for packets of Gu (which are hard to open when you’re wet, I might add.)
I figure the actual swim, scheduled for Friday, Sept. 2, will take a little longer than 4 hours of steady stroking. It’ll be my longest non-stop swim ever. (I swam about 7 miles doing my part of the 28.5-mile Manhattan Island Marathon Swim in June, but that was broken into relay segments with three teammates. It’s a lot different swimming non-stop.)
Sunday’s training swim gave me a boost of confidence. I felt strong and although my lower back got stiff about an hour and a half in, it was never debilitating. I figured out how often I need to drink and eat. And I felt happy, gliding through the greenish-blue water alongside million-dollar houses and limestone cliffs.
I now know I can make it 8 miles.
Another thing I learned? Even if I feel strong in the water, I’ll be exhausted when I finish. A couple of hours after the training swim, I felt like I’d been run over by a truck. Wiped out. And incredibly hungry.
The swim is a fund-raiser for Colin’s Hope, a non-profit organization that works to prevent drowning and raise awareness about water safety. If you want to donate to the cause, go here.
The video above, which I love, was taken by Rob Cunningham, who works at Fox 7 Austin and is also doing the Colin’s Hope Swim. Thanks Rob!
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August 4, 2011
Got2Swim 8 miles for Colin's Hope
I’m not sure what I was thinking last year, when, after swimming 4 miles from the Loop 360 Bridge to Walsh Landing next to Hula Hut, I high-fived Alisa Magrum and promised I’d swim twice that distance this year to raise money for Colin’s Hope.
But I did, and on Sept. 2, I’ll wade into Lake Austin and take the first of many strokes as I swim from City Park to Walsh Landing, near the Hula Hut restaurant.
Colin’s Hope is a non-profit organization created by the parents of a 4-year-old boy who drowned at an Austin health club three years ago. Magrum (that’s her in the photos) now serves as executive director of the non-profit organization, which promotes water safety.
Last Sunday, about 15 swimmers and I met on the farthest reaches of Lake Austin for a training swim to prepare for the Colin’s Hope Got2Swim event. The water’s more refreshing up at that end of the lake than it is closer to town.
We squealed a little as we leapt in, then sloshed upstream for about 45 minutes before turning around.
Most of us got out after an hour and a half, but Magrum turned around and made a second loop.
Whew!
Last year’s 4-mile swim took me just over 2 hours, so I expect this year’s 8-miler to take about 4 hours and 20 minutes.
Magrum’s passionate about the Colin’s Hope cause. With good reason, too.
Central Texas has recorded a slew of drownings this year, including one off of Red Bud Isle and another near the Loop 1/MoPac bridge in Town Lake, and several in Lake Travis.
Texas leads the nation in drownings and near drownings this swim season, according to the U.S Consumer Product Safety Commission Pool Safely Campaign.
As of June 22, 68 children have drowned in Texas, according to the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services.
And here’s an eye-opening stat: Nineteen percent of drowning deaths involving children occur in public pools with certified lifeguards present.
I’ve committed to raising $1,000 for the Colin’s Hope cause. Thanks to everyone who has pitched in so far. It means a lot to me.
To donate, go here.
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July 6, 2011
When the pool's too hot to swim hard...
I didn’t know until recently how unpleasantly hot I could get while swimming.
Pools are cool, right?
Not always, especially when we live in Austin, where we’ve had more than a few 100-degree days under our belts.
I swim with TeamTexas at Northwest Pool. It’s a gorgeous outdoor Olympic-sized swimming pool, but in the summer, it heats up.
It’s been a challenge getting through our hour-long swim practices lately. Water temperatures must be hovering in the mid-80s.
That’s too hot to swim hard.
It’s hard to believe that just two months ago I could barely make it through practice because the water was too cold!
I’ve peeled off my swim cap. I’ve been drinking plenty of water. And still, I feel like an unlucky crawfish at the crawfish boil my husband and I throw each spring.
Thankfully, my swim team also offers practices at Deep Eddy Pool, where temperatures are in the low 70s.
Looks like I might have to rearrange my swim schedule so I can swim in cooler water.
What do you do when the water gets too hot to swim hard?
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June 21, 2011
We swam around Manhattan Island!
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Now THAT was fun!
Last Saturday, I swam around Manhattan Island as part of a four-person relay team.
Between us, we tore around the tip of Battery Park, chugged up the East River past the United Nations Building, slogged through Hell’s Gate, stroked into the Harlem River, waved at Yankee Stadium, blasted into the Hudson River, blew past the Empire State Building and the Chrysler Building and headed home into South Cove, with the Statue of Liberty within view.
The Manhattan Island Marathon Swim is a 28.5-mile race, but the tide pushes and pulls you along the way.
It’s like no other event I’ve ever experienced. Imagine seeing the Brooklyn Bridge from below, or getting a glimpse of that New York City skyline with every breath.
Unbelievable!
People come from all over the world to participate. Many of them do it solo. This year’s race had swimmers from Australia, Portugal, Spain, Ireland, Mexico and Italy. The winner was Erica Rose, a 28-year-old open-water swimming phenom from Ohio, who swam the entire distance by herself and finished in 7 hours, 29 minutes and 46 seconds.
My team, the Lone Starlettes, made up of Katy Dooley, Leslie Blanke and Gretchen Sanders, all of Austin, finished in just over 7 hours and 59 minutes.
Honestly, I had a few second thoughts when the race organizer asked, during a pre-swim meeting, how many folks in the room had swum the English Channel and about 25 people raised their hands.
In the end, all the worries were unfounded.
The water temperature hovered around 67 degrees, the skies were sunny, we had an excellent support kayaker and a big boat captained by a native New Yorker and his buddy to accompany us.
The only minor glitch? Our lead-off swimmer, Dooley, got held up by the Staten Island Ferry. She had to tread water while the big boat slid past, losing precious minutes she’d gained on our competitors.
That didn’t matter, either.
More than any other race, this one was about the experience. And it’s not often you can say you had to wait on a ferry.
Our kayaker, Vlad Brezina, a neuroscientist, took the photos above. The top one shows Katy Dooley swimming down the Hudson River. The other shows me jumping in for a dip in the Hudson River.
Note: I misidentified the location that those photos were taken. They are corrected above - both in the Hudson River.
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June 16, 2011
Manhattan, here I come!
I’ll be incommunicado for a few days, while I head to New York City for the Manhattan Island Marathon Swim.
Think of me Saturday, as my three Lone Starlettes teammates and I take turns swimming 28 miles around the island.
Surprisingly, I haven’t been nervous. That might change when the plane comes in for a landing and I get an overhead view of the route we’ll be taking.
So far, I’ve been calming myself by thinking of this as a boat tour around Manhattan, with sections where I’ll get to jump in and swim.
The water has warmed to 65 degrees, the threshold I’ve deemed mentally doable. I’ve packed three swimsuits. I’ve gotten my Hep A and tetanus shots, and have a prescription for broad spectrum antibiotics at the ready.
I am ready!
To learn more about the swim, go here.
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May 30, 2011
Getting ready for a dip off Manhattan's waters
In two and a half weeks, I’ll be swimming around Manhattan Island!
It’s not quite as crazy as it sounds. Leslie Blanke, Katy Dooley, Gretch Sanders and I are doing the Manhattan Island Marathon Swim as a four-woman relay.
It’s 28 miles, but the tides will help push us down the Hudson, beneath the Brooklyn Bridge, up the East River and past Yankee Stadium. I’m planning to wave at the Statue of Liberty as we glide by.
I’ve been swimming in Barton Springs to acclimate to the cold water, which is expected to be around 65 degrees. A support boat will putter alongside us, and a kayaker will guide our team. We’ll rotate shifts, and if all goes well should finish the race in about 9 hours.
Monday, we headed to Lake Travis for an hour long swim along the buoy lines at Hippie Hollow park. The water was warm, but the wind whipped the surface into whitecaps, turning our outing into a contest to see who could drink the most lake water.
We were in good company. Besides our relay team, Olympic backstroker Aaron Peirsol, Engine 2 Diet author (and former UT swimmer) Rip Esselstyn, amazing swim coach Jimmy Bynum and a handful of others celebrated the Memorial Day holiday by swimming the buoy line.
If you like swimming in open water, check it out. (And don’t go if you’re offended by nudity. It’s allowed at Hippie Hollow.)
![IMG00460-20110530-1052[1].jpg](http://alt.coxnewsweb.com/shared-blogs/austin/fitcity/upload/2011/05/IMG00460-20110530-1052%5B1%5D.jpg)
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May 2, 2011
Choppy water at this year's Cap2K
Chalk up yesterday’s Cap2K open water swim race as the choppiest on record.
The brisk wind, which I’m pretty sure has been blowing for a month without pause, turned the surface of Lady Bird Lake into a splashy, ruffled ribbon of green.
I joined about 200 swimmers who jumped into the lake at Red Bud Isle, then raced to the Texas Rowing Center near Austin High School.
At first, I thought I was caught behind an extra-splashy swimmer. Then I realized that wasn’t it; the rollicking water didn’t stop when the pack of swimmers loosened up.
Other thoughts?
The water was warmer than last year, when my toes felt numb as I hauled myself out at the finish dock. This year the water felt deliciously chilly when I hopped in, but I warmed up just a few minutes after I started swimming. (Thank goodness the race happened before a front blasted in, dropping temperatures 20 degrees.)
This race is so weirdly Austin. It’s usually against the law to swim in Lady Bird Lake, so I always feel a little rebellious cruising down the river during what race organizer Keith Bell dubs a “downhill course.”
As always, my favorite stretch of the course was about a quarter of a mile after the start, when we churned past tall limestone cliffs on the south shore. If you didn’t know you were only a few miles from downtown Austin, you’d never guess it.
There’s nothing like sprinting beneath the pedestrian bridge beneath MoPac, either, catching a glimpse of the people lined up above cheering swimmers on.
This year’s T-shirt rocked, too: The traditional swimming salamander logo donned a red and white striped old-fashioned swimsuit. Love it!
Results should be posted soon at www.cap2k.com.
Did you race? How did you like it?
(That’s me above, enjoying a post-race Jim Jim’s water ice on the dock below Deep Eddy Pool.)
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April 11, 2011
Cap 2K swim race coming May 1
If you’re like me, you’d rather swim down a river lined with cypress trees, splashing past turtles and blue herons, than plug back and forth across a chlorinated cement pond.
That’s what makes the Money Box Cap2K one of my favorite races of the year.
This year’s race, the ninth annual, is scheduled for May 1. Swimmers will stroke 2,000 meters, from Red Bud Isle to the Texas Rowing Center dock near Austin High School. (Race director Keith Bell likes to point out that it’s a downhill course.)
The race is on my do-not-miss list. I love the brisk water, cruising past those gorgeous limestone cliffs west of Loop 1 (MoPac) and seeing people lining the pedestrian bridge, cheering swimmers on.
Registration is $84, but the price goes up after midnight tonight. Swimmers get a swim cap, T-shirt, mug and picnic at Eiler’s Park, next to Deep Eddy Pool. To sign up, go here.
Check in starts at 8:45 a.m. May 1, with a mandatory briefing is at 9:40 a.m. at Red Bud Park. The race starts at 10:30 just off of Red Bud Isle.
The race raises money for Swimability, which funds swimming lessons for at-risk children.
It’s a great warmup for me. I’m planning to swim the Manhattan Island Marathon Swim as a relay with three other women in June.
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March 2, 2011
Swimming at Rollingwood Pool
My swim team got booted from its longtime home this week.
I’ve been swimming with TeamTexas for 11 years. The team lost its lease at the Dell Jewish Community Campus, and we were left scrambling for pool space, a scarce commodity in Austin.
Do you know what happens when a four- or five-day-a-week swimmer faces the prospect of being grounded, without a coach to holler at her and water to wash away the stress of daily life?
The scales on my skin look dull and dry. The gills on the side of my neck start to close. My mermaid tale starts morphing into human legs. And I start crabbing at my poor sweet husband.
My swim team has found a new home, but it will involve a few temporary moves before we settle into our permanent home. Because some of the interim workout locations aren’t within comfortable biking distance for me, I dropped in on another swim team this morning.
Now and then, I think it’s a good idea to change things up. I loved my workout with the Western Hills Athletic Club masters team at Rollingwood Pool. Practice started at 7 a.m., and we logged about 2.5 miles before it was time to haul myself out of the pool and head to work.
Thanks for the workout, WHAC!
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February 4, 2011
We'll miss Peirsol at London Olympics
I’m a little sad today, reading news of backstroker Aaron Peirsol’s retirement from swimming.
Read John Maher’s article in the Statesman here.
The famously laid-back swimmer/surfer dude, 27, says he can no longer give the 110 percent that it takes to stay on top in the swimming world.
That’s fine. I understand. I’m just bummed we won’t get to watch him at the London Olympics.
Peirsol, a former University of Texas star, still holds world records in 100 and 200 meter backstroke. He’s got five Olympic gold medals and a pair of silvers to his name.
But what impresses me even more is his work with Oceana, a non-profit dedicated to the health of the world’s oceans.
Here’s a link to a blog I wrote after having lunch with Peirsol a few years ago. (That’s me with Peirsol at his favorite lunch spot, Foodhead’s, above.)
And here’s a story I wrote about his involvement with Oceana.
SWIMMER’S SEA CHANGE With each lap, Olympian raises money, awareness to clean up oceans Pamela LeBlanc
A plastic dinner tray from McDonald’s doesn’t belong on the beach. But when Aaron Peirsol found a tray in the sand at Newport Beach, Calif., a few years ago, he picked it up and put it to new use. Plunging into the surf, the world’s fastest backstroker used it as a kickboard, paddling into the ocean waters alongside the city where he grew up. As he swam, he thought about how he had explored the back bays of Newport Beach as a kid, poking at ocean creatures and contemplating the never-ending blue. About how this ocean he once knew as a junior lifeguard was changing. How the first rains each spring now bring runoff and bacterial growth that temporarily close the beach. “That moment sticks with me,” says Peirsol, who moved to Austin in 2002 to swim for the University of Texas. “It’s a beautiful beach, but there’s so much stuff there that shouldn’t be there - cups, Styrofoam, random things.” Peirsol, 24, who collected three gold medals at the 2004 Olympics in Athens and hopes to do the same at the 2008 Olympics in Beijing, wants to do something to help clean up the world’s oceans. He’s now teamed with Oceana, an environmental advocacy group dedicated to protecting and restoring the world’s seas, and with Oceana’s help has created his own nonprofit, Race for the Oceans. It doesn’t matter if you live on the beach or in Austin, he says. “I just think it’s a certain level of respect we all should have for the environment.”
Child of the ocean
Oceans cover more than 70 percent of the Earth’s surface. They provide our food, regulate our climate and generate oxygen. But growing human populations are straining marine ecosystems and depleting coastal resources. Coral reefs and the sea creatures that live there are threatened. Peirsol learned to swim in salt water. He once swam with dolphins in the Bahamas, marveling at how they mimicked his movements, flipping and twisting whenever he did. A beach bum at heart who epitomizes California surfer dude cool, he’s building a house in Costa Rica. He’s drawn to the sea, where his love of swimming was born. About a year ago, Peirsol realized he could use his prominence in the swimming world to push for healthier oceans, and contacted Oceana. The group supports an in-house staff of scientists who trace changes in the seas, studying fishing methods, the rate fish are taken out of the sea and how that impacts the health of the world’s oceans. Oceana opposes bottom trawling and shark fishing, and its Web site includes a printable pocket guide that tells consumers what fish supplies are sustainable and best to eat. As a spokesman for Oceana, Peirsol reaches a different audience - the swimming community, says the agency’s communications director, Juliana Stein. Race for the Oceans was launched by Peirsol earlier this year. Through his Web site, racefortheoceans.com , supporters can pledge money for every mile Peirsol swims leading up to the Beijing Olympics. He swims about 100 miles a month, so a pledge of one-tenth of a cent per mile would cost about $10 per month. Proceeds will benefit Oceana’s scientific research and lobbying efforts. He’s also planning an open-water swim race, with the help of Oceana and another of his sponsors, Toyota’s Engines of Change program. No date has been set, but the 5-kilometer swim probably will take place in Southern California. That race will put Peirsol back in the ocean, where his whole swimming career began.
Student of the pool
Peirsol swam at his first Olympic games when he was just 17, collecting a silver in the 200-meter backstroke in 2000. Four years later, he swept the backstroke events at the Athens Games, winning gold in the 100- and 200-meter races as well as the 400-meter medley relay. He went pro in 2004 and will graduate this December with a degree in government. He still swims for UT swim coach Eddie Reese as a member of the Longhorn Aquatics club team. At the World Championships in Melbourne, Australia, this spring, Peirsol did something no backstroker had ever done - he swam the 100-meter backstroke race in under 53 seconds, setting a new world record. Another remarkable thing happened at the same meet: Peirsol was beaten in his signature event, the 200-meter backstroke, by Ryan Lochte, who also set a record in the process. Lochte likely will be Peirsol’s biggest competition in Beijing, but the Austin swimmer is embracing the challenge. “It’s been a while since I’ve chased someone’s record,” he says. Right now, life is consumed by swimming. Peirsol logs up to four hours a day in the water, and lifts weights, too. At 6 foot, 3 inches, he weighs 200 pounds and eats “as much as I can put down” in five meals a day. “The hard thing for us is keeping weight on,” he says. He does his best, though, rattling off a list of favorite local restaurants that includes Foodheads, Austin Land & Cattle Company, NeWorlDeli, Changos, Juan in a Million and Mi Madre’s. “I just love food.” He calls Austin his home now, and likes its “green-ness” and the active lifestyle that’s so prevalent here. He tries to do what he can to preserve the environment by recycling, avoiding plastic foam products and conserving water. “It’s just the little stuff,” he says. His attitude is rubbing off on his roommate, another former UT swimmer, Drew Edwards. “He’s got this big huge canvas bag,” Edwards says. “Anytime I come back from the store and forget to take it, he gives me a hard time. ‘You should have come back here and gotten this bag …’ “ Just one small thing, but an easy way to respect the environment. pleblanc@statesman.com; 445-3994
Aaron Peirsol Former University of Texas swimmer Peirsol still lives - and trains - in Austin. He’s now preparing for the 2008 Olympics in Beijing. He’s also raising awareness about ocean conservation. * Personal best times: 50-meter backstroke, 25.30 seconds (July 2005) 100-meter backstroke, 52.98 seconds (March 2007) 200-meter backstroke, 1:54.44 seconds (August 2006) * Olympic medals: 2004: Gold 100-meter and 200-meter backstroke and 400-meter medley relay 2000: Silver 200-meter backstroke * To learn more about Oceana, or to print out a consumer guide to sustainable fish supplies, go to oceana.org.
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January 11, 2011
A dip in Barton Springs when it's 34 degrees out
Air temperature — 34 degrees.
Water temperature — 71 degrees.
Swimming conditions — perfect.
Two friends and I swam a quick mile at Barton Springs Pool during lunch hour today.
The anticipation was far worse than the actual swim, which was surprisingly pleasant.
Here’s a secret: If the water temperature is 37 degrees warmer than the air temperature, it feels good to glide through the springs. That the sun made an appearance on one of the coldest days of the year didn’t hurt, either.
It’s a little odd swimming past a lifeguard bundled up like Nanook of the North. And yes, our heads steamed when we paused at the end of the pool to regroup after each lap. Even the fish seemed to be laying low today.
It’s getting out of the water that’s tough.
I folded myself up into my new fleece-lined deck jacket (a favorite Christmas gift!) immediately after getting out of the water. That kept my core nice and toasty.
My feet were a problem, though. I should have put my shoes on right away. Instead, I made the dash up the stairs and to the ladies room barefoot. My toes were painfully cold halfway up the steps, and I was still shivering a little bit after I peeled off my wet suit and yanked on dry clothes.
Lesson learned.
Who else swims at Barton Springs in the winter? Thoughts?
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Phelps, other top swimmers to compete in Austin this weekend
Some of the world’s fastest swimmers will streak across the pool at the Joe Jamail Texas Swimming Center at the University of Texas this weekend.
Olympians Michael Phelps, Ryan Lochte, Jason Lezak, Garrett Weber-Gale, Eric Shanteau and Katie Hoff are scheduled to race at the Austin Grand Prix meet Jan. 14-16.
Other members of the U.S. National Team expected to compete are Kate Ziegler, Tyler Clary, Chloe Sutton, David Walters, Peter Vanderkaay, Kathleen Hersey, Ricky Berens, Missy Franklin and Nick Thoman.
Looking to improve your stroke? Go check it out in person. (The last time I attended one of these events, teen-age girls in the stands — OK, me too — were snapping photos of Phelps with their cell phones.)
Admission is $12 for finals or $6 for preliminaries ($5 for students and children). Tickets are available at the door. Prelims begin at 9:30 a.m. and finals start at 5:30 p.m.
It will be first meet of 2011 for many members of the U.S. National Team, including Lochte, who won six gold medals and set two individual world records at the FINA Short Course World Championships in Dubai in December, according to a press release from USA Swimming.
The Austin Grand Prix is the second stop in the seven-meet USA Swimming Grand Prix Series. Swimmers are awarded five points for a gold medal, three points for a silver medal and one point for a bronze medal. The top scoring swimmer at the end of the series wins $20,000.
A leaderboard is posted here.
Race footage from each night of finals will be broadcast by Universal Sports and online here.
(AP Photo of Weber-Gale, who lives in Austin, and Phelps, above, by Paul Chiasson of The Canadian Press)
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December 7, 2010
Swim with a ham on your head
Now you can wear a ham on your head during swim practice.
Or, if ham’s not your style, consider elf ears, holiday lights, reindeer antlers, a snowman or candy stripes.
Who says you can’t dress for the holidays during swim practice?
I found these festive swim caps at www.SwimOutlet.com for $6.95. These are just a few of the limited edition caps, which sell for $6.95 each.
Thoughts?
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November 11, 2010
Manhattan Island Marathon Swim, here we come!
My cold water qualifying swim paid off.
The Lone Starlettes will be swimming in the 2011 Manhattan Island Marathon Swim!
We got word late last week that our four-woman team made the cut for the race, a 28.5-mile jaunt around Manhattan Island next June 11.
Swimmers are coming from as far away as Spain, Israel, Australia and Ireland for the chance to jump in the water at Battery Park and chug around the island.
Can you imagine seeing the Statue of Liberty from the water?
To qualify for the race, we had to swim for 30 minutes in water colder than 62 degrees two weekends ago. It was chilly, but do-able.
I posted the news on my FaceBook page. Someone asked me to pickup takeout at Carmine’s as I swim past.
Any other requests?
Besides me, our team includes Austin swimmers Leslie Blanke and Gretchen Sanders. English Channel veteran Lynne Driscoll Smith, a former Austinite, is our fourth. (And our ringer, of course.) Katy Dooley is our alternate.
Now the real work begins…
(Thanks to Scott Marabito, who saw us swimming and took these photos.)
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November 1, 2010
I survived cold-water swim
UPDATES TO CORRECT SWIM DATE TO JUNE 18.
I didn’t turn into a popsicle Saturday!
In fact, not a single toe froze as Leslie Blanke, Gretchen Sanders and I successfully completed a 30-minute swim at the low water crossing below Mansfield Dam. According to the thermometer Blanke dunked in the water before we took our dip, the water temperature was about 61.5 degrees.
Lucky for us, the sun was shining and it was beautiful as we swam four loops between the bridge below the dam and the power lines that cross the river upstream 100 yards or so. The water is clear, and long green strands of hydrilla undulated beneath us as we glided past.
The worst part? The anticipation. I had a few fitful moments Friday night, wondering exactly how much fun it would be to plunge into water significantly colder than that of Barton Springs, without a wetsuit to keep me cozy.
Turns out it wasn’t nearly as bad as I feared.
Cold prickles, yes, in that first five minutes. After that, the body warmth generated by a steady swim kept me relatively warm. Or at least comfortable enough that I wasn’t miserable.
By the last lap, I felt ready to get out and my toes started to get stiff. But a Thermos of hot chocolate waiting for me on shore took the edge off.
The cold-water swim is a requirement for the Manhattan Island Marathon Swim. Blanke, Sanders and I — along with English Channel swimming veteran Lynne Smith Driscoll, who used to live in Austin — are hoping to gain entry into the prestigious swim, which is scheduled for June 18. Solo swimmers and relay teams (we’re doing it as a relay) swim 28.5 miles around Manhattan Island.
Cross your fingers. We turn in our application later today!
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October 29, 2010
Bracing for cold water
This weekend I’ll be jumping into the icy waters of the low-water crossing below Mansfield Dam.
If all goes well, and I manage to stay in the 62-degree water for 30 minutes, it’ll be one more step completed in the process of applying for the 2011 Manhattan Island Marathon Swim. I’m hoping to do the race as part of a four-person relay. (Read more about the swim here.)
Others on our team? Austin friends Leslie Blanke (who has done this race twice before as part of a relay team) and Gretchen Sanders, and former Austin swimmer (and English Channel crosser) Lynne Smith Driscoll.
I used to embrace cold water. For several years, I swam year-round at Barton Springs, without a wetsuit. I distinctly remember bragging to people about it.
Then, two years ago, I caught a chill. I still swim at Barton Springs, but I don a wetsuit, and whimper a lot more. In the coldest months, I switch to Big Stacy Pool.
The weekend plunge will be, well, refreshing. It’s time to get used to cold water again!
The qualifying swim is just one part of the complex application process, which also includes writing an essay and signing over your first born. (OK, I’m making up that last part, but it’s seriously like applying for college!)
I’m hopeful we’ll get in, though.
If we do, our team will swim a collective 28.5 miles, jumping in at Battery Park and winking at Lady Liberty as we swim around Manhattan. Sounds pretty incredible, doesn’t it?
Wish me luck. Has anybody out there done this race before?
(Above photo by Associated Press.)
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October 25, 2010
Swimmer dies during 10K open-water race
The big buzz this morning at swim practice was U.S. swimmer Fran Crippen, a 26-year-old Olympic hopeful who died during a World Cup 10K open-water swim race near Dubai over the weekend.
Other competitors have said the temperature of the water in the race was too high.
While FINA, the international swimming federation, sets a maximum temperature for water in pool races, there is no limit in open-water races. The swimmer who won the race estimated the temperature at 86 degrees — 4 degrees above what is deemed acceptable in a pool.
I think upper 60s or lower 70s are best for long open-water races.
There are other concerns about the 10K race as well. Read the Christian Science Monitor’s complete article here.
Remember a few years ago, when organizers of the Chicago Marathon ended the race early when temperatures soared?
Should race organizers have called off the swim race because of course conditions? Should Crippen’s coach have pulled him from the water when he said he wasn’t feeling well near the end? Or was it up to Crippen to make the call?
Another thing to consider: If Crippen hadn’t finished the race, he wouldn’t have been allowed to collect prize money awarded for the overall circuit.
What a sad loss.
(The above Associated Press photo by Stephen Carr shows Fran Crippen during the Men’s 10k Open Water Championships and National Team Trials Friday June 4, 2010 at Marine Stadium Long Beach.)
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October 12, 2010
Lake Travis Relay wrapup
Twelve miles of cool, green-blue water — that’s pure heaven for an open-water swimmer, and that’s what Team Perennial Shorts got Saturday at the Lake Travis Relay.
Not a single catfish nipped our toes, not one sea monster reared its ugly head.
Each of the 19 relay teams and seven solo swimmers who started the race was accompanied by a support boat or kayak.
Our first swimmer, speedy Meghan Browne (hardly slowed down at all by the baby in her belly), plunged into the water at Carlos ‘n Charlie’s and gave us a good position in the pack. Browne is a former University of Arizona swimmer and Ironman triathlete.
Besides Browne, our all-woman team was made up of former UT swimmer Tina Schweiger, Manhattan Island Marathon Swim veteran Leslie Blanke, nationally-ranked U.S. Masters Swimmer Karlene Denby, Maura John from TeamTexas and me.
We cheered for each other as we chased other teams, including one with former pro-triathlete (and Engine 2 Diet guru) Rip Esselstyn and 14-time All American swimmer Dale Rogers of Team Fighting Pancakes.
Who knew pancakes could swim so fast? They finished nearly 40 minutes ahead of us, in 4 hours, 9 minutes and 33 seconds. And we still won the women’s division!
Thinking about doing an open-water swim? The six-person relay is a great way to test the waters. You get the support of teammates and frequent rest breaks.
Solo racing is an entirely different challenge. My friend Katie Dooley swam all 12 miles by herself — and still finished the race a few seconds ahead of us.
Amazing!
Looking for another open-water event? The Tex Robertson Highland Lakes Challenge, a five-day swimming stage race in the Highland Lakes, is Oct. 20-24. If five days of racing is too much, you can swim the races individually, too. Or check out the Dam 5K at Lake Travis is Nov. 6.
Go here for more information.
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October 8, 2010
Swimming across Lake Travis
I’ve got another blissfully long swim ahead of me.
On Saturday, I’ll hop into the water for the Lake Travis Relay, one of my favorite local swimming races. (Note to self: Exercise moderation while enjoying self at Austin City Limits Music Festival on Friday night.)
I’m part of a team of six, but some folks will swim the entire 12-mile out-and-back course solo.
I love swimming in the lake. No lane lines, no chlorine, no flip turns, the occasional fish and a whole lot of open water perfect for gliding.
Relay swimmers will each complete a 20-minute leg, then a 15-minute leg, then 10-minute legs until their team has crossed the finish line.
The race starts at 8:30 a.m. Saturday at Carlos ‘n Charlie’s. For more information go here.
We’ve got a few more open-water swim races on the calendar before the lakes get too chilly for racing.
The Highland Lakes Challenge, a five-day swimming stage race in Lake Buchanan, Inks Lake, Lake LBJ, Lake Marble Falls and Lake Travis, is set for Oct. 20-24. The Dam 5K in Lake Travis is scheduled for Nov. 6.
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September 17, 2010
Barton Springs to open Saturday
Barton Springs Pool will re-open at 5 a.m. Saturday following last week’s flooding, according to city officials.
The pool will resume its normal operating hours of 5 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily except Thursday, when it is closed for routine cleaning from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m.
Deep Eddy Pool will return to its normal operating hours of 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Friday and 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Saturday and Sunday.
Most of Bull Creek District Park is open again to the public. The lower section of the park that is south of Bull Creek near Lakewood Drive will remain closed for safety and accessibility reasons.
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September 15, 2010
Barton Springs still closed
Barton Springs remains closed after last week’s flood, but could open this weekend, city officials say.
“Staff were able to accomplish a great deal of cleaning this past weekend, but there is still much to accomplish,” says Tom Nelson, director of aquatics for the city of Austin.
The flood washed in silt and swept away some plants growing in the pool. The water is still turbid, so the bottom of the pool is not visible in the deepest areas, says hydrogeologist David Johns from the city’s Watershed Protection Department.
“(I) saw nothing unusual and certainly nothing to suggest the pool has been `permanently reshaped,’ Johns says.
The flood was a big one, but not the biggest for the Barton Creek watershed. At its peak, water was flowing at somewhere between 8,000 and 9,000 cubic feet per second just upstream of the pool, Johns says.
That’s small potatoes compared to two other recent floods — July 2, 2002, when flow hit 17,200 cfs, and Nov. 17, 2004, when it reached 16,400 cfs.
For the latest on whether Barton Springs is open, call the pool’s hotline at 867-3080.
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September 10, 2010
Barton Springs still closed
Barton Springs Pool remains closed today, and no word yet on any significant problems at the popular swimming hole.
“Barton Springs is still flooding and staff will not be able to assess conditions in the pool until the flooding recedes,” says Tom Nelson, director of aquatics for the city of Austin.
Crews are removing debris that washed into the pool when remnants of Tropical Storm Hermine soaked the area Tuesday and Wednesday.
In the meantime, Deep Eddy Pool, 401 Deep Eddy Drive, opens at 6 a.m. to accommodate lap swimmers. For more information, call Deep Eddy at 472-8546.
For the latest on whether Barton Springs is open, call the pool’s hotline at 867-3080.
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September 8, 2010
Crews assessing Barton Springs flood damage
Updated 11:59 a.m.:
Members of the city’s Watershed Protection Department were at Barton Springs Pool this morning, following flooding that turned the pool into a raging torrent overnight.
Of special concern is the 1,000-foot flood control tunnel that runs under the pool’s north deck at the deep end. Officials announced last year that the floor of the tunnel is pocked with at least two dozen holes that range in size from an inch to more than a foot across.
“It’ll be a while before we know, but I doubt the flood damaged the structure,” said city hydrogeologist David A. Johns. “We should be able to view the outside by Friday, but not the inside for maybe a few weeks.”
The city plans to repair the tunnel, which was installed in the mid-1970s and is 6 feet wide and 10 feet high. It redirects floodwaters around the east-end dam.
The holes drain water from the pool and adjacent salamander habitats. The city has used limestone blocks to stabilize the water level, but a permanent solution is needed.
The city’s plans call for new walls and a new floor inside the tunnel and steel plates encased in concrete on top of it to prevent shifting.
Crews with the city’s watershed protection department are assessing damage at Barton Springs Pool this morning, following flooding that turned the pool into a raging torrent overnight.
Of special concern is the 1,000-foot flood control tunnel that runs under the pool’s north deck at the deep end.
The floor of the tunnel is pocked with at least two dozen holes that range in size from an inch to more than a foot across.
The city has plans to repair the tunnel, which is 6 feet wide and 10 feet high and redirects foodwaters around the east-end dam.
The tunnel was installed in the mid-1970s.
The holes drain water from the pool and adjacent salamander habitats. The city has used limestone blocks to stabilize the water level, but a permanent solution is needed.
The city’s plans call for new walls and a new floor inside the tunnel and steel plates encased in concrete on top of it to prevent shifting.
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September 2, 2010
Got2Swim 4 Miles for Colin's Hope
The stretch of Lake Austin between the Pennybacker Bridge and Walsh Landing boat ramp looks a lot different when seen from the water.
I know; I swam it this morning with 23 other swimmers as a fund-raiser for Colin’s Hope, a non-profit organization that raises awareness about drowning and provides free swim lessons to needy children.
We plunged into the lake at 9 a.m., led by Alissa Magrum, who organized the swim. She had hip surgery in the spring and wanted a goal to motivate her to stay in shape during her recuperation.
Got2Swim 4 Miles for Colin’s Hope turned into much more than that.
Magrum sold airbrushed sponsorships to donors who contributed $500 or more to her cause. She looked awesome, with ads all over her arms and belly! (That’s her above.)
A kayaker paddled alongside each swimmer, helping steer the floating parade as it made its way downstream. (Thanks Vance!) My husband Chris captained our motorboat, too.
I stroked along, peering into the greenish-blue aquarium in front of me. Beautiful!
I stopped three times along the way to drink Gatorade and squeeze some energy gel into my mouth.
After an hour, my back got a little stiff. Other than that, pure happiness.
It surprised me how quickly the Pennybacker Bridge, that big metal arch over the lake at Loop 360, faded into the background. After an hour I was below Mount Bonnell. Half an hour later I had passed the Laguna Gloria cove. At the 2 hour mark I was almost at the finish, 4.1 miles from the bridge.
Great swim, great fun, great cause.
Today would have been Colin Holst’s seventh birthday. He drowned two years ago, and his parents turned that tragedy into a positive thing — the Colin’s Hope non-profit. For more information about the group, or to make a donation, go to www.colinshope.org.
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August 30, 2010
Colin's Hope training swim
I joined the Got2Swim 4 Miles for Colin’s Hope crew on Sunday for their last training swim before Thursday’s real deal.
We started at the Pennybacker Bridge, swam 30 minutes downstream, then turned and swam 30 minutes back to the bridge. Thanks to Maggie Dolch, who provided kayak support for me. (She also provided the attached photos.)
On Thursday, we’ll be swimming from the Pennybacker Bridge all the way to Abel’s on the Lake. It’s 4.1 miles.
Got2Swim 4 Miles for Colin’s Hope is the brainchild of Alissa Magrum, who has managed to turn her quest to stay fit while recovering from hip surgery into a fund-raiser for Colin’s Hope, a non-profit that raises money to provide swim lessons for underprivileged kids and promote water safety awareness.
I loved sloshing into the lake Sunday morning for that training swim. No stripes painted on the bottom of a pool, no walls, no flip turns. Just cool, crisp water, the Pennybacker Bridge overhead and about 40 folks — kayakers and swimmers combined — cruising down one side of the lake. Exhilarating!
The Colin’s Hope swim is one of two swimming events this week that raise money to provide swim lessons for needy kids.
On Sept. 5, the World Championship of Texas 3-on-3 Swimming Tournament takes place starting at 9 a.m. at the Jewish Community Association of Austin pool, 7300 Hart Lane.
Teams of three will square off in the competition, which includes multiple rounds of seven races — freestyle and medley relays, plus individual races in butterfly, backstroke, freestyle, breaststroke and individual medley.
A portion of proceeds from the 3-on-3 event goes to Swimability, a non-profit organization that funds scholarships for swimming lessons for Austin’s underprivileged kids.
For more information go to www.AmericanSwimmingAssociation.com.
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Colin's Hope training swim
I joined the Got2Swim 4 Miles for Colin’s Hope crew on Sunday for their last training swim before Thursday’s real deal.
We started at the Pennybacker Bridge, swam 30 minutes downstream, then turned and swam 30 minutes back to the bridge. Thanks to Maggie Dolch, who provided kayak support for me. (She also provided the attached photos.)
On Thursday, we’ll be swimming from the Pennybacker Bridge all the way to Abel’s on the Lake. It’s 4.1 miles.
Got2Swim 4 Miles for Colin’s Hope is the brainchild of Alissa Magrum, who has managed to turn her quest to stay fit while recovering from hip surgery into a fund-raiser for Colin’s Hope, a non-profit that raises money to provide swim lessons for underprivileged kids and promote water safety awareness.
I loved sloshing into the lake Sunday morning for that training swim. No stripes painted on the bottom of a pool, no walls, no flip turns. Just cool, crisp water, the Pennybacker Bridge overhead and about 40 folks — kayakers and swimmers combined — cruising down one side of the lake. Exhilarating!
The Colin’s Hope swim is one of two swimming events this week that raise money to provide swim lessons for needy kids.
On Sept. 5, the World Championship of Texas 3-on-3 Swimming Tournament takes place starting at 9 a.m. at the Jewish Community Association of Austin pool, 7300 Hart Lane.
Teams of three will square off in the competition, which includes multiple rounds of seven races — freestyle and medley relays, plus individual races in butterfly, backstroke, freestyle, breaststroke and individual medley.
A portion of proceeds from the 3-on-3 event goes to Swimability, a non-profit organization that funds scholarships for swimming lessons for Austin’s underprivileged kids.
For more information go to www.AmericanSwimmingAssociation.com.
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August 15, 2010
3-on-3 Swimming Tournament
My swim coaches don’t really go for traditional meets. They’re forever coming up with wacky, creative events to keep us excited about swimming.
In the last few years, I’ve swum across five lakes in the Highland Lakes Challenge, raced down Lady Bird Lake in the Money Box Cap 2K and stroked with a relay team a collective 12 miles up the Colorado River in the Lake Travis Relay.
On Sept. 5, they’re up to their old tricks, staging the World Championship of Texas 3-on-3 Swimming Tournament.
It’s a three-person team, double-elimination swimming tournament at Jewish Community Association of Austin pool, 7300 Hart Lane. Warmup for this year’s event starts at 8:15 a.m.; races begin at 9 a.m.
Last year, 22 teams entered the competition. Among them were teams made up of pre-teen girls, two parents and a child, high school swimmers, masters swimmers, city lifeguards and former collegiate swimmers. They were fast, slow and everything in between.
The winning team was made up of some of the fastest swimmers in the world — collegiate swimmers Dale Rogers, Matt Lowe, and Jackie Varvek.
“The games go bang-bang, no sitting around,” says organizer Keith Bell, coach of TeamTexas swim teach, of which I am a member. “Teams race head-to-head. No timing. Just racing.”
Every team swam at least two rounds last year, and some raced a lung-bursting seven rounds. Just hauling yourself out of the pool that many times is exhausting.
Each round, every team competes in seven races — freestyle and medley relays, plus individual races in butterfly, backstroke, freestyle, breaststroke and individual medley. Teams score two points for each race they win and one point for each second place finish.
The event is presented by The Money Box.
Entry fee is $40 per swimmer or $120 per team until Aug. 26. The entry fee increases by $15 per team until Aug. 30 and $25 per team after Aug. 30.
A portion of proceeds from the event goes to Swimability, a non-profit organization that funds scholarships for swimming lessons for Austin’s underprivileged kids.
For more information go to www.AmericanSwimmingAssociation.com.
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August 9, 2010
Got2Swim 4 Miles for Colin's Hope
I had a chance to swim — ever so briefly — in Lake Austin with Alissa Magrum and some other folks who will be swimming from the Pennybacker Bridge to the Tom Miller Dam in a few weeks.
Magrum, a runner, had hip surgery earlier this year and is swimming her way through rehab.
Like me, she’s motivated by goals. She decided that swimming 4.1 miles would be a great way to keep swimming.
That goal has evolved into a fund-raiser for Colin’s Hope, a non-profit organization that aims to raise awareness about water safety and drowning prevention. The organization is named for Colin Holst, who drowned at the age of 4 in an Austin swimming pool.
Magrum, the mother of a 5-year-old, decided to raise $10,000 for the organization, and enlisted about 20 others to join her for the swim.
Magrum’s getting creative with her fund-raising. Anyone who donates $500 or more in her name can purchase advertising space on one of her arms. (She’s got some takers, too!)
I’m going to join her for the official Got2Swim, which starts at 9 a.m. Thursday, Sept. 2.
Magrum’s group has been training regularly, going for long swims on Lake Austin, escorted by kayakers and stand-up paddlers. I’ve been traveling so much I haven’t had a chance to join her. But Sunday morning, I was out boating with my husband Chris and some friends. We happened to pass Magrum and her group, so I hopped in and swam with them for 30 minutes.
The water was warm and gorgeous. Our 4-mile swim is going to be spectacular.
To make a donation go to Magrum’s blog.
You can also follow her on Twitter by following @alissaruns26.
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July 7, 2010
Star Ranch hosts group skinny dip
I rediscovered the joys of skinny dipping a couple of weeks ago, when I stripped off my swimsuit and plunged into Lake Austin after an early-morning water ski session.
I promise I was discreet. Oh what a feeling!
For those who prefer their skinny dipping with lots of other like-minded folks, the Star Ranch, a nudist resort 20 miles east of Austin in McDade, will host a group skinny dip at 2 p.m. Saturday, July 10.
Last year, 155 people crowded into the resort’s pool, sans clothing, for the event, part of an attempt by the American Association for Nude Recreation to set a new world record for skinny dipping.
The folks out at Star Ranch love this sort of thing. For the last 13 years, they’ve hosted a Bare Buns Fun Run, encouraging people to sprint across the grounds wearing nary a shred of clothing.
When they are not running around or hopping into pools in the buff, the residents are dining at their own Nekkid Lunch Cafe, playing darts, tennis, sand volleyball, shuffleboard or horse shoes, cooking in the community kitchen or hiking the 112-acre property’s wooded trails. The resort also hosts holiday potlucks, costume parties, chili cookoffs and bakeoffs.
Star Ranch was founded in 1958 as “The Sahnoans at Tara Park” nudist camp. The club incorporated in 1972 and adopted the name “The Sahnoans at Star Ranch.” Sahnoan is a Native American word meaning “healthy one.”
Today it has RV and motor home sites, rental cabins and plenty of space to pitch a tent.
The gate fee will be reduced from the usual $25 to just $5 per person for the July 10 skinny dip. Background checks will be done on everyone who enters the property. Anyone who wants to be in the pool for a group photo will have to sign a release.
“Security will be tight,” says Star Ranch representative David Phillips. “If someone gets up to the pool or is seen around the grounds looking like a Hippie Hollow ogler, he’ll be shown the gate.”
For more information on Star Ranch, go to http://www.starranch.net/index.htm.
The photo above by the Associated Press shows skinny dippers at the Whispering Pines Nudist Resort and Campground in Ocean Isle Beach, N.C., taking part in the American Association for Nude Recreation World Record Skinny Dip.
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May 26, 2010
What's your favorite swimming hole?
Central Texas is loaded with swimming holes, and the arbitrary and subjective list we offer in this week’s Austin360 tab is by no means comprehensive.
So here’s what we’re going to do: Use the comments section here to tell us about your favorite place to cool off and we’ll keep a running list at austin360.com/recreation.
Obviously, these spots need to be publicly accessible. If you own your own private piece of river, we’re happy for you. Keep it to yourself. We’ll update the list and re-run it throughout the summer (as long as there is water!).
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May 3, 2010
Cap2K Open Water Swam wrap up
I’m fully thawed from yesterday’s Money Box Cap 2K Open Water swim race, a brisk blast down Lady Bird Lake from Red Bud Isle to the dock at the Texas Rowing Center.
It’s such an Austin cool race. About 200 people swam this year, getting a fish-eye view of the Colorado River from the dam below Lake Austin to the dock on the east side of MoPac.
Hank Jones took the pictures above of me and Susan Rank, executive director of The Trail Foundation, before and after the race.
Here are some of my favorite things from the race:
- 1. That water, which felt like snowpack melt from the Rocky Mountains. We all whimper, yes, but it’s like a badge of honor to stick it out. Race co-organizer Keith Bell said the water temperature was reported at 64 degrees just off Red Bud Isle, where we hopped in. It was a little warmer farther out. My left foot was still a little numb at the finish.
- 2. Not everyone swam the 400 yards to the start line. Some caught a ride on a pontoon boat. I loved watching the swimmers, standing shoulder to shoulder onto the boat, jump like lemmings into the river.
- 3. Kayak support was great. Lifeguards and kayakers lined the route, watching for swimmers who needed help. Thank you! (This means you, Sarah McCabe!)
- 4. Those exuberant high schoolers. They’re just so dang fast. And enthusiastic. I think I rode their wake the first 100 yards out. Then they disappeared.
- 5. A small group of Navy Seals in training participated in this year’s race. Maybe the race should be required.
- 6. I love the first half of the swim, which goes along high limestone cliffs. You don’t feel like you’re in the city limits at all. Just the blue-green water, the gray-green of the foliage, and the ivory-colored sheer cliff walls. Thank you Mother Nature!
- 7. Seeing Austin’s swimming community come out in force. I saw friends from teams (and non-teams) all over the city. We’ve got one big thing in common — we love to swim!
- 8. It’s awesome stroking under the pedestrian bridge beneath MoPac. Yes, we can actually hear the folks lining the bridge cheer us on.
- 9. The finish line. Always a beautiful sight to behold!
- 10. The post-race picnic, complete with my personal favorite — black raspberry flavored Jim Jim’s Water Ice.
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April 28, 2010
Cap2K swim race is Sunday
Four more days until I plop into Lady Bird Lake for my favorite swim of the year — the Money Box Cap 2K Open Water Race.
The 2,000-meter race starts at 10:30 a.m. Sunday at Red Bud Isle and finishes at the Texas Rowing Center. As race organizer Keith Bell likes to say, “It’s all downhill.”
I’ve raced the Cap2K five or six times and love it. (I’ve got three backpacks from winning my age group in past years!)
The stretch of river west of MoPac is gorgeous, with limestone cliffs and, if we’re lucky, blue herons flapping overhead. But the best part is swimming beneath the pedestrian bridge under MoPac, where spectators yell and cheer as you glide below them.
The water will be brisk — it’s usually in the upper 60s. But honestly, as soon as the race begins, you won’t even think about it you’ll be so focused on swimming.
Entry fee at this late date is $110. For more information go to www.cap2k.com.
I hope to see you there!
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February 3, 2010
Swimming in the rain
The skies were pouring this morning as I headed to the pool for swim practice.
As I pulled on my goggles and headed out the locker room door, someone looked at me incredulously.
“You’re not going to swim in this, are you?”
Huh? Like what, I might get wet out there?
Cracks me up.
Swimming in the rain is glorious!
I train three or four times a week with Team Texas Swim Team at Dell Jewish Community Center. I’ve been swimming with the group for nine years now, and love it. (That’s one of our coaches, Sandy Neilson-Bell, above.)
Part of the fun is swimming in the outdoor pool in all conditions.
The only thing that’s better than swimming in pouring rain is swimming in sleet, which I’ve also experienced. It melts just as it hits the water.
Bitter cold is pretty cool, too. During the cold snap a few weeks ago, my flippers froze to my kickboard on the edge of the pool. My pool slides were iced over by the time practice was over, too.
Winter mornings sometimes bring fog and steam, too, which hovers over the water in a wispy puffs as the sun rises.
What kind of weather is best for your workouts?
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September 15, 2009
Disc jockey swims 4.1 miles in Lake Austin
Who out there listens to Mix 94.7?
If you do, you know that the disc jockeys from the “JB and Sandy Show” have been busy lately tackling physical challenges. One ran 10 miles, another rode 100 miles on a bike, a third did a gut-wrenching gym workout. And this morning, JB Hager swam 4.1 miles from the Pennybacker Bridge to Abel’s on the Lake near the Tom Miller Dam.
I water ski on Lake Austin nearly every Tuesday morning, and as my husband Chris and I headed up the river to get in some slalom turns, we spotted JB and his crew. JB had just started his challenge. At that point he was cruising downstream like a freight train, ducks and catfish leaping out of the way. (You can slide me a $5 for that one later, bud!)
Worried that the wake we were setting off might throw him off-course, we stopped for a quick hello and promised to catch up with him on our way in.
An hour later, we spotted JB again, near Mount Bonnell, the half-way point in his odyssey. Dude was still trucking along scaring the wildlife out of the way.
We slowed our boat so I could leap into the water and chase him for a few minutes. I don’t think he even noticed me alongside of him until he paused to slurp down a packet of Gu and sip some water (other than what was in the lake.)
I was impressed. Two miles in and he barely whined. His shoulder was giving him trouble, as shoulders will do when you crank on them for extended periods of time. We chatted a minute, said hi to his support kayaker Tim and waved at the rest of the radio show crew. (They were kicked back on a follow boat, eating French toast and sipping mimosas while JB continued to burn calories.)
Attached are some photos of JB the first time we saw him and later, when I jumped in to share a few minutes of fun with him.
JB successfully completed his swim, just as I knew he would. Way to go JB!
His time? A respectable 2 hours and 35 minutes. “I had the wind at my back,” he said.
JB and Sandy had special motivation to undertake their challenges. “Part of it was Sandy and I knew we were going to be starting TV in October, and this was a little kick in pants to take better care of ourselves,” JB said.
Good enough.
So what can we take from this? If JB can do it, if Sandy can do it, if Alex can do it, if Sarah can do it … you can too!
Get out there and challenge yourself to something you didn’t think you could do. It’ll do you — and your attitude — a world of good.
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September 4, 2009
More bad news for Austin swimmers
More bad news for Deep Eddy swimmers — the shallow half of the pool will remain closed because of very low levels in the two wells that feed the pool. And if the drought continues, officials may close the deep end, too.
“Right now there’s enough water to fill the deep end, but not both ends,” says Tom Nelson, the city’s aquatics director.
Even worse, city officials announced at the end of July that Barton Springs has serious structural damage and will probably need to close for six months for repairs to an underground tunnel that runs parallel to the pool on its north side. No date yet on when that closure could take place.
What does all this mean for Austin swimmers?
More congestion at area pools that remain open — like Big Stacy Pool. And another reason to get comfortable with circle swimming — allowing multiple swimmers to share a lane by swimming counter clockwise in a single lane.
Austin pool-goers celebrated the re-opening of the renovated bath house at Deep Eddy just two years ago. Ever since, the city has kept the deep end of the pool open year-round for lap swimming. The shallow end traditionally closes in October.
But on Aug. 28 of this year, the city closed the shallow end of the pool after a pump broke. That pump has been fixed, but water levels are still low.
City of Austin officials announced the Deep Eddy news this morning. They plan to test soil near the pool to see if they can dig deeper wells or if they must find another water supply.
“We’re hoping for some rain,” Nelson says.
In the meantime, we’ve got to share our limited resources, and we’ve got to be polite and friendly.
Pool space is about to get even more limited. Let’s do what we can to let everyone have time in the water.
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September 3, 2009
Half of Deep Eddy Pool still closed
UPDATE 4:23 p.m. THURSDAY
The shallow end of Deep Eddy Pool is still closed.
UPDATE 2:07 p.m. MONDAY from City of Austin:
“Currently, the down stream pump is the only pump that is operating. We will have a new pump motor for the upstream pump hopefully some time today. However, we will need to pull the pump on Wednesday as well. The earliest that the shallow end will be open is on Thursday Sept. 3. “
UPDATE 4:02 p.m. FRIDAY from City of Austin:
Media Advisory
One of the two Deep Eddy Pool pumps will not be restored until Monday, August 31, 2009 and fully functioning possibly until Tuesday, September 1, 2009. However, the deep end of the pool will be opened as of tomorrow, Saturday, August 29 thru Monday, August 31st given there are no problems with the other pump that is working and able maintain this section of the pool.
Earlier:
In case you hadn’t already heard, Deep Eddy Pool is closed due to storm damage, and it sounds as though the recreational side may be closed longer than first expected.
This from Leon Barish, president of Friends of Deep Eddy:
“Lightning caused both pumps to go out. When power was restored, neither pump was working properly. Aquatics hopes to have the downstream pump running so the lap pool can be open for the weekend. The upstream pump will have to be rebuilt which means the timing for re-opening the recreational side is uncertain. We will keep you posted. Thanks for your patience.”
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August 26, 2009
Barton Springs isn't so cool
So, what’s the temperature at Barton Springs these days?
It’s sure not 68 degrees. If it was, I wouldn’t look quite so comfortable in the photo above, taken yesterday when I was interviewing a hydrogeologist about variations in temperatures at the spring-fed pool.
Turns out the water coming out of the main spring at the pool has been hovering closer to 71 degrees.
In fact, that 68 degree number may just have been randomly selected in the 1970s because it sounded refreshing.
Are you a regular Barton Springs swimmer? How does the pool feel to you?
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August 18, 2009
Break-in at Deep Eddy closes pool
Deep Eddy Pool, 401 Deep Eddy Dr., is closed this morning due to a break-in.
Someone shattered a window and broke into a safe in the manager’s office at the spring-fed pool, according to Tom Nelson, head of aquatics at the City of Austin Parks and Recreation Department. Nelson was unsure how much cash was taken, but said it was more than $150.
Police were at the scene this morning, checking for fingerprints.
The pool should reopen by noon, Nelson said.
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July 24, 2009
Full-length tech swimsuits banned!
Big news on the swimming front: The International Swimming Federation has voted to ban full-length technical swimsuits.
Under a new resolution, only suits that cover waist-to-knee for men and shoulder-to-knee for women will be allowed, starting next year.
To be legal, swimsuits must be made of textile materials, according to an article in The Australian on Friday. (Read the entire article here.) No more NASA-inspired, performance-enhancing materials that provide buoyancy — and an advantage only to swimmers who can afford them.
The tech suits debuted in 1998; by the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney, most elite swimmers were wearing them. We’ve been debating ever since how much advantage tech suits provide to swimmers.
Records dropped, but no one knew how much of that was due to the swimmer and how much was due to the suit.
They’ve also created hassles for swimmers who struggle to put them on, using tricks like putting plastic bags on their feet to slip into the suits, which can cost $700 or more.
The news thrilled my TeamTexas swim coach, Keith Bell. (He likes to joke that swimmers should race naked, to really be fair.)
“All I can say is, ‘it’s about time,’” he wrote on his blog. “In the near future we’ll be back to a sport without equipment, one in which performance is the result of the performer: swimming, not assisted swimming.”
Read Bell’s entire post here.
Next question: Should FINA now void records set in the tech suits?
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Olympic swimmer Shaun Jordan on Deep Eddy
Two-time Olympic gold medalist Shaun Jordan, who swam for the University of Texas from 1988 to 1991, called this morning to chime in on the Deep Eddy lane-sharing controversy.
(If you missed it, scroll down to the entries below on the reluctance of some swimmers to circle swim at one of Austin’s public pools.)
“Not sharing a lane is like letting one guy tee off every 15 minutes at a golf course, or playing one-on-one basketball at the YMCA. It’s like not wanting to pass anybody on the running trail,” Jordan says. “We have limited resources and unlimited wants and if you can’t handle sharing a lane … it’s ridiculous.”
Jordan, who won gold medals in the four-by-100 freestyle relay in the 1988 and 1992 Olympics, says even though he’s a faster swimmer than most, he can easily circle swim with much slower swimmers.
“Never, ever have I had a problem with anyone who was not unconscious,” he says. “I can swim with an 80-year-old woman and another person between her and me in ability and never have a problem. It forces me to mix up my workout and I’m capable of being invisible in a lane.”
Jordan, who swims at Deep Eddy Pool four times a week, also notes that it’s a pleasure to swim with triathlete Andrea Fisher, who initially brought the lane-swimming issue to my attention. “She’s not at all disruptive,” he says.
By the way, Jordan, who was captain of the UT Swimming and Diving team when it won four consecutive national championships, now works as director of marketing and Austin branch manager at Abraham Trading Company.
His 18-month old son thinks the water at Deep Eddy is too cold.
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July 23, 2009
More on Deep Eddy lane sharing
Wow. Deep Eddy swimmers are a passionate bunch, aren’t they?
First, please keep it civil on the blog.
We’re swimmers! We all love the Zen experience of swimming. To get angry about sharing, waiting, or using the pool is counter to every reason that we swim.
My point is that circle swimming allows more people to get in the water. Some folks are unable to wait 30 or 45 minutes for a lane. Circling allows more people to get in the water and use our city’s wonderful resource.
Second, I’ll reiterate that it’s fine to swim slow in a circle swimming lane. It’s up to the faster swimmer to pass without kicking or swamping the slower swimmer. You can still hang at the end of a lane if you want (please hang on the right side to allow the faster swimmer to push off the wall on the other side.)
I think the system of designating a few lanes as self-regulating, meaning folks can have a lane to themselves if they want, and others as circle swimming lanes, will ease the problem. Several folks have made a good suggestion: Labeling circle-swim lanes according to pace. That way faster swimmers can circle in their own lane, making circle swimming less intimidating to slower swimmers.
We all pay for Deep Eddy through our taxes. Slow swimmers and fast swimmers, zen swimmers and competitive swimmers, we all have a right to use the pool. Overcrowding is an issue, and while we’d all like our own lane, that’s not possible during peak hours. The good news is with a little practice most people — even slow swimmers — can learn to circle swim.
We have to share. We have to be polite about it.
We have to make it work.
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July 22, 2009
Where can we swim when Barton Springs closes?
Ack! I just can’t stand it! More bad news for Austin swimmers.
First, swimmers at Deep Eddy don’t want to share lanes in the pool. Now news that the city needs to shut down Barton Springs for six to eight months to make repairs to the bypass tunnel that runs under the sidewalk on the north side of the pool.
That means Deep Eddy — and other city pools — will get even more crowded. It also means that we all need to learn how to comfortably circle swim.
I’ve fielded phone calls the last few days from swimmers who prefer to swim alone in a lane. I do, too! You just can’t get the same zen feeling of swimming if you’re worrying about six people in the water next to you.
That said, swimming alone isn’t always an option. (Heck, I’d like to drive up MoPac without any other cars on the road, too, but that’s not an option either.)
And when people are waiting on a wall for their turn, I’m happy to share. I always tell slower swimmers to maintain their usual pace and not worry about me. I will swim around them. I also ask if they want me to tap them on the foot when I approach. Sometimes they want to know I’m there; many times they do not.
I try to be polite. I try not to intimidate. I try to be invisible so we can all enjoy the serenity that comes with swimming.
We all pay taxes, so the pool belongs to all of us. When people are waiting to swim, we need to accept the fact that this isn’t a private pool, that we have to try to get along and share the resource.
I also understand that for medical reasons some people cannot share a lane.
The pool recently designated four lanes as circle swimming lanes and left three lanes to self-regulate, meaning that people can swim alone or split those lanes with just one other person. Let’s hope this new system works.
No word on when the Barton Springs repairs will take place; the drought is complicating the issue. We can’t let the endangered Barton Springs salamander dry out when they drain the pool to make the repairs.
So where can open-water swimmers get their fix when Barton Springs closes? One reader already suggested Lake Pflugerville. I haven’t been there to check it out. Have you?
There’s always Lake Travis. The buoy line along the swimming area at Hippie Hollow is a popular destination for swimmers who like long swathes of water. (Remember, it’s a clothing optional beach. Some folks don’t like that.) Bob Wentz and Mansfield Dam parks are other options. But the water in Lake Travis is very warm right now.
Lake Austin is a cooler option, but only for skilled swimmers. To do it safely, you need a kayaker or support boat to accompany you, and you need to make yourself as visible as possible. (Think brightly colored swim cap.) Stay near the shore, out of the way of boaters. Do not go alone!
I’ve gotten in some good swimming at Blanco State Park, but that’s an hour away. Same for the San Marcos River. Here in Austin the pickings are slimmer.
Members of Pure Austin Gym at 4210 W. Braker Lane in North Austin have a wonderful option — Quarry Lake. But only gym members can swim at the small lake, so if you don’t belong to the club, you’re out of luck.
What other options do we have? Help me compile a list!
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July 17, 2009
Why can't Deep Eddy swimmers share a lane?
What’s up with Austin swimmers who refuse to share the lane?
It’s hotter than Hades out, and Deep Eddy is one of the city’s only cold-water swimming pools. But head there to get in a workout, and chances are you’ll be queued up at the north end of the pool with a dozen other folks for a good 30 minutes before you can get in the water.
I just fielded a call from professional triathlete Andrea Fisher, who was frustrated by the refusal of some swimmers to share lanes earlier this week. About 20 people were sitting on the wall, waiting for a chance to swim. But only two swimmers were sharing each lane. She asked if they could circle swim, and got the “look of death” from those waiting on the wall.
“I can’t believe how out of control it’s gotten,” Fisher told me. “I’ve watched people ask to get in and they say no.”
Fisher has traveled all over the world and never encountered the problem outside of Austin. “Canada circles. Australia circles. New Zealand circles,” she says. “Look at a kids’ swim team. I’ve swam with six or eight people in a lane all my life … Why can’t we just sing Kumbaya and all get along?”
The problem is not that there isn’t enough room in that pool. It’s that many swimmers just plain want a lane to themselves. (I understand that certain swimmers have medical reasons for not sharing a lane. But that’s the exception.)
The lanes at Deep Eddy are wide and the pool is 33.3 yards long. Five or six swimmers can easily swim in a lane simultaneously. All it takes is a little coordination.
Nervous? Don’t be. The faster swimmer is responsible for passing the slower swimmer. Most experienced swimmers have no problem with this. If you’re slow, just stick to the right side of the lane and swim at your usual pace. Faster swimmers can gently tap the foot of person they are about to pass. Just be sure when you get in the water that everyone in the lane is aware that you’re all circling.
I think it’s rude not to circle. Not all of us can spare half an hour to wait to get our workout in. And the pool is owned by all of us!
Until recently, the Deep Eddy encouraged swimmers to circle swim, but didn’t enforce it. The policy — as suggested by the Friends of Deep Eddy — has always been to allow swimmers to regulate themselves. Lanes are available on a first come, first served basis.
“Lifeguards primary focus on the water, not dictating if people circle swim,” says Tom Nelson, aquatics director for the city of Austin. “The decision was made to not create a situation where people have to circle swim, but for everyone down there to work it out.”
That changed a bit this week because of increased attendance at the pool, Nelson said. Half the lanes are designated as “circle swim” lanes. The other half are “self-regulated” lanes, with swimmers encouraged to share.
Apparently, though, the word hasn’t gotten out.
“There’s a lot of people wanting to use a small area. It’s not like the trail that can accommodate everyone. It can be frustrating, and we’re not going to please everyone. Hopefully with this we can see how it works out. We’re open to suggestions.”
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July 6, 2009
Help set skinny dipping record!
With the weather so hot, who needs clothing?
And if you’re going to peel off those extra layers, you might as well head to the Star Ranch, Bastrop County’s favorite nudist park to join a nation-wide effort to set a Guinness World Record for the largest number of people simultaneously skinny dipping.
The big event happens at 2 p.m. Saturday at Star Ranch, 166 Eely Road in McDade. Besides the skinny dipping, music, water volleyball and door prizes for children are planned. Admission is $5 per person.
In conformance with Guinness rules, participants must be completely nude in order to be counted. Guinness doesn’t currently have a record for simultaneous skinny dip, so any number of participants will set a record. Nudist ranches around the country are participating.
“First-time skinny-dippers are welcome and shyness can be accommodated,” says a press release from Star Ranch, a family-oriented nudist park that opened in 1957. It is a member of the American Association for Nude Recreation.
“Skinny-dipping, a wholesome tradition as old as mankind and frequently honored in art and movies, celebrates the natural joy of plunging into water without hindrance of clothing,” the release says.
Star Ranch is situated on 110 wooded acres and has a clubhouse, two swimming pools and tennis courts. A few months back, I wrote about a nude footrace held there each year. Staffers emphasize that it’s a wholesome place, and there’s no room for funny business.
For more information about Star Ranch go to www.starranch.net or call 512-273-2257. For more information about other clubs participating in the record attempt, go to www.aanr.com or call 1-800-TRY-NUDE.
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May 27, 2009
The Great Travis Trek
While you were lounging around drinking beer and eating queso last weekend (OK, so maybe it was just me), a team of six swimmers led by Austin swim coach and sports psychologist Keith Bell were churning up the miles of Lake Travis.
Bell, along with Robert Alford, Lynne Smith, Chuck Wiley, Dave Barra and Chris Derks, swam a six-person relay from a point near the north end of Lake Travis to the south. They swam to raise money for Swimability, which funds scholarships that pay for City of Austin swimming lessons for underprivileged children, and to promote open water swimming and clean water. To donate go to www.greattravistrek.com.
Because of the drought, the team couldn’t get their boat safely all the way to the top of the lake. They swam what was swimmable — 54 miles from a point below Starke Dam to Mansfield Dam — in 18 hours and 35 minutes. They swam through the night, in one-hour rotations.
Bell coaches Team Texas, the swim team I train with. This morning, he shared tales of the over-night adventure. At one point, the swimmers had to get out of the water and wait 3 hours while thunderstorms passed. They were able to nap on a large support boat that accompanied them, and were guided along the way by kayakers and spot lights.
Together, team members hold numerous world and masters national swimming records. Smith and Derks also swam across the English Channel.
Bell hinted that the event could become an annual race.
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February 26, 2009
Long fingernails = fast swimming
Here’s an interesting technique for swimming faster: Grow out your fingernails.
The suggestion comes from Ande Rasmussen, a former high school classmate I had lunch with recently.
Rasmussen, who is smokin’ fast in the pool, grows his nails out for six or eight weeks before a big swim meet.
The theory is that longer nails provide more surface area to push water. In races where hundredths of a second separate the winner from the rest of the pack, he argues, it can be huge.
“They’re like miniature paddles,” he says. “I think it makes a difference.”
He didn’t come up with the idea himself, but decided to try it when a friend started talking about it. He points out that Inge de Bruijn had long nails at the 2000 Olympics. (That’s her in the photo.)
He should know, too. Rasmussen set the world record (27.20 seconds) in his age group for the 50-meter backstroke last December at the U.S. Masters Swimming Short Course National Championships. He also holds the U.S.M.S. American record in the 50-meter freestyle (24.18) and the 100-meter individual medley (1:00.32), and he swam on two relays that broke world records.
To read what he has to say about swimming with longer nails, click here.
So far, Rasmussen hasn’t resorted to fake nails.
“I guess I’m not that crazy and desperate yet,” he says.
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December 22, 2008
Swimming when it's freezing outside
The thermostat at my house read 28 degrees when I woke up this morning. A perfect day for a swim!
Ack … did I just say that? Evidently the brain washing is working…
I’ve developed some techniques for days like today, when you might think you’d rather be snuggled underneath the covers with a warm spouse and a fuzzy kitty than churning through the water as the sun comes up.
Step one: Make your mind a blank slate. Get out of bed when the alarm goes off. Don’t lie there one extra moment; it only gets harder. Get up, get out, eat breakfast and put on your swimsuit before your brain is fully functional. By that time you may as well go to the pool because the hardest part is over.
Oddly, this part is getting easier and easier. No comment please.
Two, put sweat pants and a sweat shirt on over your swim suit. And socks. Add slide-type sandals and you’ll be at the top of the pre-dawn, winter swimmer fashion polls.
Three, get in the car before you look at yourself in the mirror. Drive to the pool. Shed all that garb except for the sandals, wrap a towel around your body, and walk rapidly out the door to the pool. Plop towel, etc., on pool chair and dash directly to the water. Ignore Old Man Winter’s tickling fingers.
Jump in the water! Swim! Cheer yourself up by reminding yourself that this pool is heated, unlike Barton Springs, where you’ll be swimming later in the week.
This water feels like a warm, snuggly blanket. Sort of. Just like the one you left at home. Only wetter. And not as snuggly because your husband and kitty aren’t here.
OK, who are we kidding. It’s not at all warm and furry. It’s a swimming pool!
Today, I had to brush ice off my kickboard when I grabbed it off the side of the pool for a quick set. Can you believe that? Later, I had to flick ice off my pull buoy. Crazy! There is something just plain wrong about chipping away frozen stuff while swimming. I don’t care if someone did swim across Antarctica. I am not that person. I live in Texas.
Soon, though, the best will come. The worst, too. Actually, the worst part and best part of one of these workouts is wrapped up in one moment — the end of practice.
Happy to have an hour-long swim under your belt, you now have to heave yourself out of the water and walk (no running at the pool, kids!) back to the bathhouse. Have you ever been stripped naked, sprayed with a garden hose and forced to stand in the backyard when it’s 30 degrees outside and the wind is blowing?
That’s what it feels like.
Do it fast and remember there’s a hot shower at the other end of the walk.
Ahhhhhh. I love to swim!
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December 2, 2008
Lunch with swimmer Aaron Peirsol
I had lunch with Olympic swimmer Aaron Peirsol on Monday (at Foodheads on 34th Street, his favorite Austin sandwich shop).
Technically, we were there to talk about his tips for staying fit and motivated in the new year. But we covered lots of ground, from his post-Beijing facial hair to his current break from the swimming pool, to his recent Race for the Oceans fund-raiser and the house he is building in Costa Rica.
Peirsol, who snagged a gold medal in the 100 backstroke and a silver in the 200 backstroke, munched a chicken sandwich while I fired away with questions.
First, that beard. Yes, it’s big. And hairy. And definitely creates drag in the pool. But that doesn’t matter, since Peirsol hasn’t done any serious swimming since Beijing, other than play water polo once a week. Besides, it fits with his laid-back California persona. And it’s kinda cute.
Peirsol expects to start training again in February, but hasn’t thought as far down the road as the 2012 Olympics.
Instead, he’s just enjoying the break, doing a little fly fishing in Montana, playing some tennis (no, he’s not any good, he says), running short distances a few times a week, lifting weights on his back deck and cooking in his remodeled kitchen.
“After the Olympics, we all realized how tired we were,” says Peirsol, 25. “I’m just letting my body recuperate.”
He’s not worried about getting back up to speed after the rest. After the 2004 Olympics he took a similar break. Three months later, he set a world record. Of course, he’s getting older. And while 25 might sound young, Peirsol says he feels different now than he did at his first Olympic games. (Beijing was his third.) “I definitely feel like I’m not 17 anymore,” the 6-foot, 2-inch 200-pound swimmer says.
He did hop back in the ocean on Nov. 8 for his Race for the Oceans open-water swim in Fort Myers, Fla. That event raised about $30,000 for Oceana, a non-profit dedicated to ocean health and preservation. He hopes to make the swim an annual event.
And he’s heading to Costa Rica, where he is building a home, for the holidays.
What’s it like to be Aaron Peirsol?
“I wake up early, go to bed early and live life during the day,” he says. He likes to listen to live music and drink the occasional beer. “And I cook as much as I can. As an athlete, I realize how bad eating out is. By no means am I a health nut, but I am healthy.”
He even debated going vegetarian — but decided he can’t give up meat as long as he’s living in Austin.
It’s the barbecue.
Photos: Aaron Peirsol at work and at play
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November 5, 2008
Barton Springs in the winter
It’s November, temperatures are in the 80s, and I swam in Barton Springs Pool yesterday.
I’m starting my third winter of swimming at the spring-fed oasis in the middle of town, where the water hovers around 68 degrees year-round. We slipped into the chilly waters, loosened up as we glided past the diving pit, and hit a rhythm by the time we reached the other end. In all, we made six round trips up and down the length of the pool.
Back when my swimming buddy Brian Vance and I started this weekly venture, I wasn’t sure I could do it. I thought I’d turn into a popsicle.
I don’t do well with cold. My limbs get stiff. I start shivering. I get goosebumps as big as Kansas.
But Brian was training for a 5K open-water swim on the coast of California, and we wanted to do distance work outside of our regular swim team practices.
As it turns out, the pool doesn’t feel all that bad in December and January.
I think it’s because in the summer, the difference between the air temperature and water temperature can be 30 or 35 degrees. That makes for a shock when you plunge into the water. In the winter, when the air temperature is 40 or 50 degrees, the water is warmer than the air. It’s not until you haul yourself out of the pool that you feel cold.
And you do feel cold. That’s why I make a mad dash for the bath house, shuck off my wet suit, and change into sweat pants and a sweat shirt pronto.
The sun factor makes a difference, too. Brian and I have discussed it often. Clouds make the water seem dark and ominous. It’s harder to watch the fish lurking in the deep end. It feels like winter, even if the water’s not technically all that cold.
But when the sun’s beaming, it warms the soul — and thus the body. (At least that’s what I tell myself, over and over, as we soar through the water, over undulating aquatic plants and schools of silvery minnows.)
There are advantages to swimming in the winter: Sometimes the springs steams like a cauldron of soup. Stroking down it, you feel like you’re swimming in a mystical, magical pond.
It’s less crowded, too. Instead of throngs of people, you encounter a handful of die-hards slicing through its water. It’s quiet. Peaceful. Serene.
You see different things, too. Last winter, we watched ducks (cormorants?) dive deep into the pool in search of food.
It’s also free. The pool doesn’t charge admission from November until March. (Other times of the year, it’s $3 for adults, $2 for juniors and $1 for children 11 and under.) This is a bargain worth celebrating!
Barton Springs Pool is located at 2101 Barton Springs Road, in Zilker Park. For more information, call 476-9044 or go to http://www.ci.austin.tx.us/parks/bartonsprings.htm.
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August 19, 2008
Winning Olympic medals in swimming is easy?
I nearly choked on my Wheaties when I read an article by Philip Hersh, who discounts Michael Phelps’ haul of eight gold medals, proclaiming that winning medals in swimming is easy.
“Could everyone please stop hyperventilating about Michael Phelps,” Hersh writes, going on to say that the swimmer is far from the greatest Olympic athlete of all time. (To read the article, which appeared in the Los Angeles Times, go here: http://cw11.trb.com/wpix-phelps0813,0,3349629.story)
Phelps may not be the greatest athlete ever, but if you’ve tried to swim across your neighborhood pool lately, Hersh’s tirade will make you want to pop him with one of Phelps’ size 14 swim fins.
“It is easy to win multiple medals in swimming,” Hersh writes. “The sport is far more forgiving on the body than track or gymnastics.”
I figured my swim coach would have an opinion, so I called him up.
“If you’re going to compare apples to oranges, you ought to at least have some understanding of what an orange is,” says Keith Bell, coach of TeamTexas swim team. I’ve trained for eight years under Bell, a four-time collegiate All-American swimmer who has set 31 world and 88 U.S. Masters national records and won a slew of Masters championships. He’s married to my other coach, Sandy Neilson-Bell, who snagged three gold medals swimming in the 1972 Munich Olympics.
Hersh asserts that it’s easy to medal in swimming because athletes can recover more easily than, for example, in track. That may be true, but what Hersh forgets is that swimmers aren’t competing against track athletes. They’re competing against other swimmers, who all train in the water, and who arguably have among the most intense training regimens of any athlete.
Most elite swimmers spend about five hours a day, six days a week, churning through the water. Some spend up to eight hours in the pool. They also do dry land work with weights.
“You certainly don’t take as much pounding, but he’s forgetting that Phelps is not competing against people running track, he’s competing against other swimmers,” Bell says. “Swimmers train harder than any other athletes in world because they can, because they don’t take as much pounding.”
“Come on,” Bell says. “If I was as ignorant about track as he seems to be about swimming, I might say ‘What are you talking about you can’t recover from 9-second race? The shortest race in swimming is going to take twice that.’ Let’s compare 9 seconds in track to 4 minutes in the 400 individual medley.”
Bell agrees that the new suit technology makes swimming world records relatively — but not completely — meaningless. But, as he points out, all the Olympic swimmers in Beijing swam in the same pool and had access to the same suit technology, and Phelps still managed to beat them.
Hersh’s article is filled with gems. He says the risk of a false start is minimal in a swimming relay, compared to a track relay.
Where’d he get that idea? In swimming, swimmers are perched on a starting block above the water, waiting for the next swimmer to hit the wall. No baton slapped in your hand to know it’s your turn to go. “You have to time it perfectly, you have to be out above the water with your feet still on the blocks, and you have to judge whether (the next swimmer’s) going to kick into the wall. It’s an extremely difficult thing,” Bell says.
Hersh says if Olympic track had an 800-meter relay, Lewis probably would have won at least two more gold medals. You could say the same about Phelps. What if Olympic swimming had a 50-meter race? Phelps could have added to his medal collection.
And here’s my favorite bit from Hersh’s article: “Three of swimming’s four strokes — everything but the breaststroke — might as well be the same. Otherwise, how could backstroker Matt Grevers say he barely trained that stroke before winning an Olympic silver medal in the 100? Nearly every good freestyler can be a good butterflyer, and vice-versa.”
That’s like saying pole vaulting and long jumping might as well be the same. It’s laughable.
Consider Austin’s own Aaron Peirsol, who specializes in backstroke and won a gold in the 100 meters. “He is very good athlete and he can swim other strokes really well,” Bell says. “He’s a good butterflyer and freestyler, too, but he can’t make finals in the Olympics in any of those.”
Phelps haul of eight medals is astonishing. Hopefully we’ll get to see him add to that collection in London in 2012. Is that what it will take to make a believer out of Hersh?
Mr. Hersh, let the hyperventilating continue.
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June 24, 2008
Swimming with Hodding
Hodding Carter is in Austin, promoting his new book, “Off the Deep End,” which describes his quest to qualify for the Olympic Trials at the ripe old age of 45.
He’ll be signing books at 7 p.m. tonight at Book People, 603 N. Lamar Blvd.
Hodding’s a hoot, and the 200-page book captures the giddy, fun-loving side of his personality right there with the obsessive, swim-freak side of it. (I’m a swim freak too, so I get to say that.)
My friend Brian and I picked him up from his hotel this morning, where he was wrapping up a slew of radio interviews, and shuttled him directly to our favorite urban oasis.
He whimpered a little about the cold, then hopped right in and blazed back and forth across the pool.
Hodding’s stroke is amazing. He keeps his elbows high, not only on the recovery part of his stroke, but underneath the water. It’s like he’s a high-speed egg beater whisking his way through the water.
Mostly I looked at his feet, since he was ahead of me.
I can’t wait to hear him talk at Book People tonight. I hope to see you there!
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June 9, 2008
What's next?
Did you see that Avery Visser trotted across the finish line of yesterday’s Danskin Women’s Triathlon in an amazing 1 hour, 10 minutes and 28 seconds? I talked to Avery, 15, and her mom, who swims on the same swim team that I do, after the race.
Avery is amazingly humble. Mom Barb Visser is proud - and happy to report that Avery is thriving at school and involved in her church youth group.
In all, about 2,600 women completed the race. Eight of the top 10 finishers were from Austin, including Shellie Oroshiba, who won the 35-39 age bracket with a time of 1 hour 18 minutes and 8 seconds; Margo Baxter, who won the 30-34 age bracket with a time of 1 hour 20 minutes and 59 seconds; and Jennifer Altman, who won the 19 and under age bracket with a time of 1 hour 21 minutes and 31 seconds.
My relay team, Team J, came in second in the relay division! How did you do?
Here I am just before the swim:
Can’t get enough?
Consider swimming or donating to the Dawn to Dusk Relay Sunday, June 15 at the Jewish Community Center, 7300 Hart Lane.
The relay is a nonstop all-day swimming relay to honor Kurt Goeser, who has amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or Lou Gehrig’s Disease. Between 11 a.m. and 1 p.m., there will be food, live music and fitness and swimming tips from experts including three-time Olympic gold medalist Sandy Neilson-Bell.
For more information, call Lacey at 735-8216 or Neilson-Bell at 327-1280 or go to www.dawntoduskrelay.com.
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