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Archive for September, 2009
Day 73: Seeing Triple
Wednesday, September 30th, 2009My goal, going in to this morning’s test set, was 27 seconds and Jeff said if I swam a perfect race I’d definitely hit it. Well, you can say I achieved that goal. Not once. Not twice. Three times. Out of four races. I hit one number three times. Seriously — exactly the same number.
USA Swimming Publishes List Of Allowable Suits
Wednesday, September 30th, 2009USA Swimming got the message from athletes, coaches and officials confused by the new swimsuit guidelines. In an effort to provide more guidance, the sport’s national governing body on Tuesday released a reference list of allowable suits.
Gaines To PVS Swimmers: Do As I Say, Not As I Did
Wednesday, September 30th, 2009The one thing Rowdy Gaines will not do during Saturday’s swim clinic at Georgetown Prep: Teach anyone to swim the way he learned to swim. Almost every technical element of his gold-medal victory in the Olympic 100-meter freestyle at the 1984 Summer Games now makes him cringe.
Day 72: Time to Apply the Lessons
Tuesday, September 29th, 2009For me tomorrow is about the time, but it’s also about the execution, taking the lessons of this past week and applying it to a race. If I apply them right, and I execute perfectly, the time will be the direct result of the practices and the lessons Jeff gave me.
No Answers Yet From Masters, But An Update
Tuesday, September 29th, 2009U.S. Masters Swimming is digesting the the most recent development on the swimsuit front and …. still doesn’t know whether or not it will ban long-length, high-tech swimsuits in masters competition for October meets. But the USMS rules committee chaired by Kathy Casey is determined to reach a decision, or at least a partial one, in the next 10 days or so, Casey said Monday night.
Day 71: The Countdown Begins…
Monday, September 28th, 2009I’ve talked about it on this blog recently. Shoot, I think I did last Friday. But I don’t know if it had truly hit me how close we were until today. We are exactly 19 days until my first race at the Open. The butterflies definitely are going.
Hawaii Men’s Team To Dance Before It Swims
Monday, September 28th, 2009Before they taught their teammates one word, facial expression or body movement associated with the tribal dance known as the Haka, Ilia Reyes and Davis Kane looked each man in the eye and demanded an answer: Would you stand on the pool deck before an NCAA swim meet and put your whole heart and soul into this?
Masters Moves Closer To Same Suit Ban As Elites
Saturday, September 26th, 2009Masters swimming took the first step Saturday toward implementing the same ban on full-length, high-tech suits as at virtually every other level of the sport, but the issue remained far from resolved.
Day 68: Nap Time!!
Friday, September 25th, 2009Today was a good end to a good week. It was the second week back in the normal schedule, the 4:30 a.m. workouts with the full Jeff King-group and there were, as expected, plenty of lessons gleaned from the variety of workouts I experienced for the first time.
Bernardino Tackles Issues Beyond Charlottesville
Friday, September 25th, 2009A season after winning Coach of the Year honors twice — for his men’s and women’s teams — Virginia’s Mark Bernardino seeks continued success in the pool as he takes on a new, national challenge.
Day 67: Driving on an Empty Tank
Thursday, September 24th, 2009After pushing myself through some longer distances yesterday, this morning was the opposite type of workout. We’d be doing five 50s all out sprint, five times. In between each set was a 250 kick. At first, it sounds easy. I mean, that’s only 250 swim in a set. But sprinting a 250 is not easy. At least, not if you’re doing it right.
Masters Swimmers Hope Suit Issue Settled Soon
Thursday, September 24th, 2009The rest of the swimming world — high schoolers, collegians, elites — already has adopted new rules restricting suits. Masters swimmers continue to debate, but U.S. Masters Swimming officials expect to receive some guidance from the world swimming governing body (FINA) by the end of the weekend.
PVS Board Writes To Clarify Rules
Thursday, September 24th, 2009Potomac Valley Swimming’s board of directors tries to alleviate confusion on the new swimsuit rules with a letter to members.
Day 66: A First…or Two
Wednesday, September 23rd, 2009Usually I try to limit the whole “pushing the workout to new heights” thing to about one new height per workout. That makes sense, right? You know, like 3,000 meters in a workout for the first time, etc. Not today. No, no. Today was about just doing the workout, and if I happened to do more than I ever had, well that was just a bonus and an allowance to walk away from the pool with somewhat of a sense of accomplishment.
Success Multiplies Under RMSC’s Kraft
Wednesday, September 23rd, 2009For Rockville-Montgomery Swim Club Coach Dave Kraft, swimming flows as beautifully and logically as a flawless mathematical proof. Last year, he had four nationally ranked swimmers and received a pleasant end-of-season surprise.
Day 65: The Leader of the Pack
Tuesday, September 22nd, 2009This morning’s practice continued to push me in new ways — the biggest continues to be keeping up with the intervals. I think that this is the biggest challenge because while my body had somewhat started to catch up with the swim workouts strength-wise (at least enough for me to get through them) I haven’t yet caught up in the cardiovascular area yet.
What To Wear? If It Looks Legal, It Is
Tuesday, September 22nd, 2009The message to swimmers and parents trying to figure out the new USA Swimming standards as the fall club season approaches: If a suit looks legal, it probably is. Suits will be only visually inspected at Potomac Valley Swimming meets. There will be no touching of suits, or close scrutiny of materials.
Day 64: Walls Are Important
Monday, September 21st, 2009A new week and a new start. After the disappointment of last Friday I just wanted to get into the pool and get things rolling again. I was the first one out on deck this morning — that was both a part of the fresh start and also keeping in mind Jeff’s words last week to the people that got out to practice right at 4:30, myself included: We should’ve been on deck sooner. He didn’t need to tell me twice.
One Big Happy Family: Marcinkowski’s Masters
Sunday, September 20th, 2009The furious growth in the last five years of the Curl-Burke Masters swimming team under head coach Frank Marcinkowski is regarded with nothing short of awe and reverence by officials at the U.S. Masters Swimming, the sport’s national governing body.
USA Swimming Enacts Technical Suit Ban Oct. 1
Saturday, September 19th, 2009USA Swimming’s House of Delegates voted overwhelmingly in favor of banning full-body, non-textile body suits Oct. 1, three months before the world swimming governing body (FINA) plans to enact its ban.
Day 61: Fighting Disappointment
Friday, September 18th, 2009I honestly felt pretty down on myself in today’s workout. I’m not sure what put me in that mood, whether I was just tired or whether the frustration boiled over. I felt like I had failed because I wasn’t able to do the workout the right way.
Former Fairfax High Coach Ready For Howard
Friday, September 18th, 2009Howard University on Thursday named former Fairfax High Coach Matt Salerno, 28, head coach of its men’s and women’s swimming and diving team. Salerno, who got his first big coaching job at 22, figures his relative youth will not slow him down.
Day 60: Two Months and I’ve Come A Long Way
Thursday, September 17th, 2009After another grueling pre-dawn workout, reporter Paul Tenorio reflects on his two months of swim training and realizes he’s come a long way. He can now actually work out with the rest of the swimmers. (Insert sarcastic clap here).
Rogan Returns To Regain Reputation, Forget Rome
Thursday, September 17th, 2009Austrian world-record holder Markus Rogan, who attended Mount Vernon High, decided to postpone his planned retirement from swimming this summer because he didn’t want to leave the sport shrouded in humiliation.
Day 59: Picking Up the Pace
Wednesday, September 16th, 2009Washington Post reporter Paul Tenorio reflects on being a month away from the October Open, discusses his sore ankle and talks about the challenge of swimming on faster intervals with Coach Jeff King’s training group.
Aquaman 2, Superman 1
Wednesday, September 16th, 2009Michael Phelps’s 2-1 victory over Shaquille O’Neal in a trio of handicapped races that aired Tuesday on the ABC show “Shaq Vs.” brought an animated and gleeful celebration from Phelps. The 14-time Olympic gold-medal winner participated in the prime-time pseudo-competition to promote the sport; for sure, Tuesday’s show was far more about entertainment than competition.
Day 58: Double Digit Loss, Baby!
Tuesday, September 15th, 2009Washington Post reporter Paul Tenorio hits double-digits in his weight loss, 12 pounds, and talks about getting into the pool at 4:30 and feeling a bit overwhelmed by some of the sets the “normal” swimmers cruised through.
Aussie Coaching Legend Arrives, Tours, Opines
Tuesday, September 15th, 2009Australian coaching legend Forbes Carlile arrived in Washington Monday and opined on swimming’s leadership, suits, the Australian program and records as he prepared for a trip to the North Baltimore Aquatic Club, Michael Phelps’s training home.
PVS Bans Suits Oct. 1; Awaits USA Decision
Sunday, September 13th, 2009No matter what happens this week at USA Swimming’s annual convention in Chicago, Potomac Valley Swimming intends to open the season with a ban on full-body, non-textile suits, officials say. The PVS board of directors voted to put the new suit rules into effect Oct. 1, meaning that even if USA Swimming’s membership decides to delay the suit ban until Jan. 1, local swimmers will be prohibited from wearing high-tech suits at local meets.
Day 57: ‘Train’-ing…But Not That Kind
Sunday, September 13th, 2009Reporter Paul Tenorio spent most of Monday on a train back from New Jersey after working the Redskins game on Sunday. He’ll be back in the indoor pool, and back to 4:30 a.m. start times, on Tuesday.
Kukors Plans To Change With The (Slower) Times
Friday, September 11th, 2009Given that Ariana Kukors won her first world title and set a pair of world records this past summer, one might think her long-time coach Sean Hutchison would simply marvel at her technique and not touch a thing. One would be completely wrong.
Day 53: Bidding Farewell to Mantua
Thursday, September 10th, 2009Reporter Paul Tenorio swims his final day at Mantua, races a bunch of 100s and prepares to head indoors and back to the dreaded 4:30 a.m. start times.
Swimming Growth In District Region Slows
Thursday, September 10th, 2009In 2009, Potomac Valley Swimming experienced the region’s smallest uptick in membership in the last four years, and the increase paled significantly when compared to growth around the nation, falling well behind the 11.2 percent rate of expansion shown by USA Swimming overall.
Day 52: Another Step Forward
Wednesday, September 9th, 2009Reporter Paul Tenorio swam his longest set ever in practice this morning, but it was the final portion of that, a 600 freestyle, that had him feeling pretty good when it was all said and done.
Hansen Eyes Olympics, But Won’t Swim In ’10
Wednesday, September 9th, 2009Two-time Olympian Brendan Hansen, 28, decided to extend his swimming sabbatical indefinitely after a brief return to his longtime training home at the University of Texas Saturday. He said he would continue to ponder a run for the 2012 Summer Games, but would not swim competitively next summer.
Day 51: It’s Getting Colder…
Tuesday, September 8th, 2009Reporter Paul Tenorio is starting to freeze every morning when he jumps into the pool, and after a three-day layoff it took a while to warm up in the outdoor pool. He also talks about running into a former soccer teammate, and he continues his chart — again without body fat percentage.
Hardy Is Vindicated, But Fight Continues
Monday, September 7th, 2009Last month at the U.S. Open, Jessica Hardy burst into tears soon after learning she had set a world record in the 100-meter breaststroke. In her first significant meet since being barred from the 2008 Summer Games because of a positive drug test, Hardy seemed to sense that she had just stated to the world, more eloquently and effectively than she had in the previous 13 months, that she was not a cheater.
U.S. Swimmers To Sit Out Inaugural Youth Olympics
Friday, September 4th, 2009USA Swimming is devoting unprecedented resources to its youth national team, but you won’t see a single U.S. swimmer in Singapore next August for the inaugural Youth Olympic Games, a grand, global event designed to mimic the real Olympic Games for boys between ages 16-18 and girls 15-17.
Day 47: ‘Kick Him’ ‘Til He’s Down…
Friday, September 4th, 2009Reporter Paul Tenorio did his first boxes in the pool today, but most importantly he also went through another extended leg workout. A whole mile-plus of it, to be specific. That three-day weekend will be nice.
Day 46: Kicking and Breathing
Thursday, September 3rd, 2009After a day all about his arms, reporter Paul Tenorio gets a workout all about legs. Tons of kicking and exercises focused on his breathing at the workout this morning, and of course some breaststroke thrown in to make him miserable.
Youth Team To World Cups; Phelps To Mentor
Thursday, September 3rd, 2009It’s a very, very good time to be a talented high school swimmer in the United States. Not only will 46 of the nation’s best teenage swimmers get flown to a pair of elite-level European world cup meets this fall, but fourteen-time Olympic gold medal winner Michael Phelps will be the team’s mentor and his coach, Bob Bowman, will lead the coaching staff.
Day 45: Technique Matters Most
Wednesday, September 2nd, 2009Reporter Paul Tenorio completes his first 3,000-meter set but says the most important lesson to take away from Wednesday’s swim was the need to focus on technique more than anything else.
Phelps’s Golden Summer Brings Boys Into The Pool
Wednesday, September 2nd, 2009Michael Phelps’s dramatic performance at the Beijing Summer Games, where he won a record eight gold medals, surely drove USA Swimming’s record 11.2 percent increase in membership in 2009. The most encouraging news, the organization reported Wednesday, was that male membership was up 14.4 percent, helping shrink what had been a troubling gap between the sexes in the sport.
FINA Second-Guesses Men’s Suit Restrictions
Tuesday, September 1st, 2009Just weeks after adopting new rules designed to end the controversy over high-tech, full-body suits, the world swimming governing body (FINA) is having second thoughts and considering tinkering with its swimwear regulations as early as January, several U.S and international officials said.
Day 44: Reach For The Wall, Duh.
Tuesday, September 1st, 2009Reporter Paul Tenorio laments the 53-degree weather this morning, picks up the distance of his swims and critiques video of himself swimming. He also talks about what’s in store for tomorrow’s workout.
Producing The Next Great Swimming … Kid
Tuesday, September 1st, 2009After spending the last 30 years producing Olympic hopefuls, Curl-Burke Head Coach Rick Curl now wants to teach little children to swim using an Australian swim school concept never before tried in the United States. And Arlington’s three-time Olympic medal-winner Tom Dolan intends to run the venture. The only thing missing? A site.
