Happy Thanksgiving and More!

Happy Thanksgiving to everyone! Whether you stayed in town or traveled far from home, we hope it was a great time with family and friends. Now it's time to get back in the water to get rid of those extra calories courtesy of pumpkin pie and all of those other wonderfully delectable, yet oh so bad for you, foods we love to eat this time of year.
Our next practice is tomorrow, December 1, from 5:30-7pm. We will be in the lanes vacated by the East Burke team after their practice (lanes 1-5).
For those who missed out last time, Coach Kidd will be once again hosting a stroke clinic (recommended donation of $20 per person) to improve freestyle. It will be Saturday, December 13, from 10:00-11:00am. Please contact her ahead of time so she knows how many she will need to plan for.

That's all for now! See you all tomorrow!

Weekend Update!

First of all, keeping in mind that our nation celebrated Veteran's Day this past week, thank you to all of you who served or continue to serve our nation. As a nation, we can't say thank you enough, and everyday should be Veteran's Day, not just one day a year.

The RTS will practice on Monday, November 17 at 5:30. Come check out the new lines!

Some have expressed interest in participating in a swim meet without all the needed memberships, USA Swimming or USMS, so Ed has explored the possibility of an "All Swimmers" meet in late March or early April, 2015 @ Valdese, perhaps sharing the meet with Linda Kidd's Xcell club. This would offer the over-50 crowd a practice meet about 1 month prior to the Senior Games meet in Lenoir. PLEASE EMAIL ED with a simple YES or NO to your desire/willingness to participate by swimming or by volunteering to aid with the meet. The more participants we have, the lower the costs of the meet.

If you are interested in joining USMS, 2015 registration is open now. Check out the USMS link on the upper right of the page for more information. There are a lot of good perks that go along with the annual membership, and it is a good value.

Enjoy your Weekend!

LATE UPDATE: Stroke Clinic for Valdese Community

 Sorry for the late notification, but there will be a Stroke Clinic this Saturday (tomorrow!) for folks to work on freestyle. Coach Kidd will be running it.

SWIM CLINIC: SATURDAY, NOV 8, 1000-1100;

COACH LINDA KIDD FOCUS on FREE STYLE 

Suggested donation= $20 (fees support youth Xcell Swim club)

Advanced reservation preferred: kiddswimming@yahoo.com

In other news, check out the new lane lines! Thanks to everyone who helped make them possible! Next up, matching backstroke flags!

Next Practice on October 20

Good afternoon everyone!

Our next practice will be on Monday, October 20 at 5:30pm.

There is now a pace clock running next to lane 10 on the shallow end of the pool. You can use this to help time yourselves as you go through your workout. Remember, your workouts have suggested completion times for each set, and you can use the clock to help you keep track of how you are doing compared to those times.

Speaking of workouts, they are now in a folders case next to the bulletin boards across from the cash register and next to the pool door. Please feel free to use these workouts and return them when you are finished!

Thanks to Doug and Linda for their help with workouts and supporting RTS!

A Friendly Message from Ed to the RTs!

Dear team,

We had a good group for our 1st Oct workout, and those there decided on a name for our group. A number of names were considered, but the consensus settled on:

REFUSE TO SINK, the RTs or RTS however one wishes to say it. I think the name reflects all of us who refuse to give up on exercise and water sports as we age, no matter how old or young we are now.

 

Remember, Linda has some laminated workouts at the pool desk; I'm still working on a folder holder for the wall outside the pool. For those Morganton swimmers, I will soon send you a copy which you can print and take to the other pools, or take with you on trips/vacation. Also, remember that Linda offers a stroke clinic every Friday morning for those interested. I am hoping that she will also soon offer a Sat morning clinic (fees charged for that one).

 

NEXT PRACTICE: OCT 20 @ 530pm.

Attached PDF about gym workouts & injury prevention. Below is Article from USMS online magazine. hope these help all.

 

See you on deck,

Ed

The Three H's of Backstroke

Your hips, hands, and head make or break your backstroke

James Poe | October 3, 2014

In high school, I ran track and field, and my coach once told my team that in running, there were three H’s to remember: hips, hands, and knees (insert chuckle). However, in swimming backstroke, there really are three H’s to remember.

Hips

Have you ever heard your coach mention that you need to use your core when you swim backstroke, or that you have a disconnect? This can be a confusing concept to learn.

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When your arms and your legs are moving independently of each other, there is a disconnect. You can get across the pool this way, but you lose a lot of efficiency. What your coach would like to see is you using your core to help you pull and kick, because when you get everything working together, you’ll find a much stronger pull and other pieces fall into place.

“How do I achieve this?” you ask. Hips! An easy way to think about this is to focus on the timing of your hip rotation. If your shoulders rotate before your hips do, you will have a disconnect. But when you focus on rotating your hips first, you’ll find your shoulders don’t actually follow, but they move at the same time. Just remember the words of the wise Shakira, “Your Hips Don’t Lie.” Lead with the hips, and your arms and legs will be working together! (Rotating your hips does not mean moving them side-to-side, which is a common misconception. Keep your torso tall. Read Step 3 “Head” to avoid swinging your hips like a snake in the water.)

Hands

It’s amazing how many people just move their hands through the water without thinking about how or why they’re doing it. Swimming is simply defined as anchoring your hand in the water, and pulling yourself past it (similar to pulling on the lane line, but nobody does that, right?). If the palms of your hands aren’t facing your feet, chances are you’re not anchoring your hand well, and are sacrificing how far you can pull yourself through the water.

When you enter your hand above your head to catch the water (the beginning of your arm pull) you need to think, “Is my palm facing the lane rope or my feet?” If your palm is facing the lane rope, you will be directing water towards the lane rope, which won’t get you very far. If you point your palm towards your feet, you have taken your first step to an efficient pull.

The next step is pulling. A lot of people get the first step down but as they pull, their hand doesn’t change, and they end up losing the water they caught because now their fingers are pointing toward their feet. They have made their wrist too rigid.

To avoid this, stand in front of a mirror and brag about “your three nephews.” Your first nephew is the tallest “He is this tall” (arm extended above head and palm facing floor). Your second nephew is only this tall (arm level with shoulder, elbow pointing backward, palm facing floor). And your third nephew is this tall (arm extended straight down at side, palm facing floor). This is a good example of how you can have a strong wrist, while adapting to where you are in your stroke.

Head

The third step is the hardest for new swimmers. A good head position will lead to a good body position. A bad head position, such as swimming with your chin tucked, can cause your hips to drop and throw off your whole body position. (If you can see your feet, you’re tucking your chin.) Swim backstroke lying flat on your back with head and neck extended—this is known as “swimming tall.”

Did you ever stand back to back with a sibling or friend and see who was taller? Can you remember how you stretched your body and neck to get every last inch? (This is after one of you was called out for standing on your tippy toes.) That’s how you need to feel when you swim backstroke. A flat bodyline will reduce drag and help you with Step 1, hip rotation.

Once you’re able to put all three of these steps together, you’ll be swimming backstroke more efficiently and you’ll take some of the stress off your shoulders.

About the Author—James Poe

Dustin Poe is the head Masters coach for First Colony Masters Swimming, in Sugar Land, Texas. He's been coaching USAS with First Colony Swim Team for three years, and this is his first year coaching Masters. He currently serves on the USMS Coaches Committee

The Bubble, Masters Meet Opportunity

Good Morning!

Today is the LAST DAY to swim uncovered! It looks like the rain may hold off, but even if overcast, this could be a great day to enjoy the sky while swimming. If you miss it, don't forget that Valdese members can swim over at Morganton this week while the Bubble goes up.

On another note, there is a Short Course Masters meet on October 25-26.There is a flat $30 fee, and, should the meet be canceled, $20 will be refunded. Entries are open now, and are due by October 19. Entries are online only, so please go to the following link to enter: https://www.clubassistant.com/club/meet_information.cfm?c=234&smid=5893. Event order and session information can be found on there, as well.

Good swimming!

Seven Wonders of the Swimming Pool World

For a holiday read, I thought I'd include this link from SwimSwam.com.

http://swimswam.com/the-7-wonders-of-the-swimming-pool-world/

Enjoy!

A Holiday Message from Ed Regarding Timing/ Team Names

Hello team, and hope your holiday weekend is going well and with fun. As we begin to practice more regularly, you may notice that many practice sessions list target times by which to  complete a set. How does one check the time without a clock or watch? If we had a regularly coach supervising our practices, he/she would be using a stop watch to start our sets, but since many of us practice alone, how do we do it? Frequently, during the "Bubble months", there are  deck clocks provided by the high schools and XCell which can be aligned for viewing as one swims. During the summer open air swimming, the clocks aren't on deck, so we swimmers are on our own. I have chosen to use a swimmer's watch for my workouts and would recommend that as an option (http://swimovateusa.com/). Others choose to use a chronometer and keep up with the splits that way. Any way, deck clock, stop watch, chronometer, or swim watch, consider how you wish to improve your skills and have fun at the same time by using a timing device.

 

And, should anyone else propose it for consideration, if each member of the team made a $10-$15 contribution towards a deck clock, we could purchase a clock for team or individual use during practice.

 

Some name nominees: Manatees (all shapes & sizes); BUMS (Burke Masters Swimmers); FROGs (Forever Relying On Grace); Stingrays.

Keep them coming. Plan to choose by October practice.

 

Hope to see you on the deck on Monday!

 

Ed

Another Meet Opportunity: 41st Annual Sunbelt Meet

The 41st Annual Sunbelt Meet will be held in Charlotte from January 31-February 1, 2015. More information for this meet is forthcoming, but go ahead and put it on your calendar!

REMINDER: Practice Dates

Good morning!

NEXT SWIM PRACTICE MONDAY, SEPT.1 @ 5:30 PM. We know some of you may be out of town enjoying one last summer vacation, but if you happen to be in town, come on down to the pool.

 

NO PRACTICE SEPTEMBER 15: pool closed for raising the bubble.

 

Future practice dates:

OCTOBER 6&20

NOVEMBER 3&17

DECEMBER 1&15

 

Enjoy the Holiday!

Master's Meet Opportunity!

Good afternoon!

Anyone who has registered through USMS has the chance to participate in the 9th Annual Steve Barden Memorial Meet in Asheville on September 6. Check out more information on the meet here: https://www.clubassistant.com/club/meet_information.cfm?c=1561&smid=5762.

The deadline for entries in Wednesday, September 3 at 11:59pm. Warm-ups are at 8am with a meet start at 9am.
 

Some TIps for Getting (Back) in the Water

Good morning everyone!

Check out this post on SwimSwam for 5 tips on getting in, or in some cases back in, the water after time off.

Have a great day!

UPDATED: Inaugural Practice a Success!

Our first group practice held last night went well considering it was our first. The pool staff is getting used to the idea that there will be 2 teams practicing on the 1st & 3rd Monday nights: our team and Linda Kidd's XCell US Swim team. For future reference, we will practice in the 4 lanes closest to the building (1-4) while Linda's team practices in the outside lanes (7-10). That leaves the 2 center lanes (5-6) open for any lap swimmers not affiliated with either team. Our team will start @ 530 while Linda's starts @600. Given that  we have about 18 folks on our roster now, we must share lanes. This means we must either circle swim if we are more than two swimmers to a lane, or, in the event there are only two swimmers, divide the lane in half.

Our first Saturday clinic went very well. Linda Kidd taught us some workout jargon. She hopes to have workouts available at the pool desk after her daughter's wedding in late August. If you missed this clinic, ask a teammate at some point or at a practice to help explain any questions you may have.

One very important caveat that Linda stressed was that swimming form was more important than speed and distance. For less experienced swimmers, she recommended working on 10 laps (250 yards) until one can complete that without exhaustion. Focus on stroke form to reduce the likelihood of injury. Remember, one lap is 25 yards.

We are excited to say that we will have some space on the bulletin board across from the women's locker room. Look for postings about our team there in the coming days and weeks!

Our next practice is scheduled for Labor Day evening. If you are in town, please come on down and join us!

The Bubble will go up the week of September 15, which means our 3rd Monday practice will be cancelled as the pool is closed. During the closed week (hopefully shorter), Valdese pool members may use the Morganton pool(s) without cost.

We need to make a decision about a team name by October. Any recommendations are welcome. Several have already come in, and they will be posted on the blog shortly.

See you at the pool!

Practice Schedule

Good afternoon!

After looking over the feedback given regarding practice times, we have set a time of 5:30-7pm on the first and third Mondays of the month for our practice times.

That means our first group practice is TONIGHT at 5:30pm! See you all there.

IMPORTANT- Change of Date

Good afternoon everyone!

The next meeting of the adult swim team will be this coming Saturday, August 16 at 10am on the pool deck.

Coach Kidd had to reschedule her first clinic with us due to personal reasons. We apologize for the short notice. Please contact Ed to so we have a good count for how many to expect this Saturday morning.

If you are unable to attend, we can work with you on reading workouts at a later practice, clinic, or a teammate can help you out when you see them at the pool. We hope to have a roster together Saturday.

In the event you missed the swims at this past weekend's long course nationals as the U.S. team prepares for Pan-Pacs, check out an article by Scott Fowler of the Charlotte Observer about a young lady from Charlotte participating as a member of the U.S. Pan-Pac team.

Have a great day, and see you all Saturday.

Important Message from Ed

Attention swimmers,

We are off and running with lots of talk about our team and excitement about getting started. If you have not registered your preference for a swim practice time, please do so ASAP:

Monday evening 0530-0700

Saturday morning 0830-1000 or later.

We may end up alternating times, just depending on how many want to practice.

 

NOTE: our next meeting will be Saturday morning, August 23 @ 1000 on the pool deck. Linda Kidd will meet with us to educate us on "How to read a workout sheet." She stated to me that each coach typically has her own jargon, and therefore, she wanted to teach us hers. She has graciously offered to keep us in workout sheets as we start our team. Also, NOTE, she will begin a series of monthly clinics on Saturday mornings in September. Each clinic will focus on an aspect of swimming (e.g., stroke, turn, etc.) & cost a $10 donation (minimum) to the US Swim team (youth) coached by Linda. The clinics are open to all ages.

 

Finally, I encourage you to continue to recruit members for our team. Several of you have already done so, and I am excited about our growth in size. I will attempt to send a team roster out over the weekend. Please advise me if you do NOT wish your contact information listed.

 

Be sure to check the blog regularly for workout information and other tidbits.

Good swimming!

Ed

North Carolina Master's Article on Race Pace Training and a Workout

If you are looking at improving the quality of your workouts, check out this link: http://www.ncmasters.org/nl/jul14-article2.pdf. There have been a lot of successful swimmers using intense and Ultra-Short Race Pace Training, the most widely known of which is age-group swimmer Michael Andrew. If you are interested in more of the research into USRPT, check out http://coachsci.sdsu.edu/swim/bullets/47GUIDE.pdf or anything by Dr. Brent Rushall.

In the meantime, check out the NC Master's Workout of the Month provided by Mary Sansbury. The "Bears in a Bed" is something I do a good bit with the high school swimmers. The 100s are a little long for USRPT according to Rushall, but it still is a good workout to try. If 3000 is a little long, you could cut back to 50s and 75s still sprinting various parts of the distance while increasing the repetition before the active recovery.

Workout of the Month

The 200 pulls are active recovery. "Bears in a bed" is a fun way to get the heart rate up. Mary's swimmers named this set. Sometimes when there are several swimmers in the lanes, they will swim underneath each other. WARM UP - two times: 150 swim 150 drill/kick by 25. Drill set: BEARS IN A BED With fins, hold on to the wall and kick as if you are trying to push the wall (make the pool longer). Do this for 10 seconds. Release the wall, submerge and push off right into a 25 yard sprint. As soon as the first person (or two people) leave, the next start and to the same. The first sprinters push off from the opposite wall under the sprinter(s) coming in and swim back easy. Main Set: 3 x 100 - 1st 25 fast 1 x 200 pull 3 x 100 - 2nd 25 fast 1 x 200 pull 3 x 100 - 3rd 25 fast 1 x 200 pull 3 x 100 - 4th 25 fast 1 x 200 pull Total yards: 3000

Help Us Choose a Name and Practice Times

Currently we are looking for a name for the group. In the past, the Master's group was known as the BUMS (Burke-Unifour Master's Swimming). If you would like to re-adopt that moniker or have suggestions for a new name, please contact Ed.

We are trying to find a time to have our bi-monthly group practices. The Aquatics Director at Valdese has suggested either Monday night from 5:30-7pm, or Saturday from 8:30-10am. Please let us know what is best for you, and whether you prefer to meet the first and third or second and fourth weeks.

Welcome to the Team!

Good morning, and welcome to the Burke Adult Swimming blog. We are a group of adults who embrace swimming as a fun way to stay fit, enjoy the company of others, and occasionally compete with other adults. No prior swimming experience is necessary, and swimmers ages 18 and up are welcome to participate.

We practice independently with two group practices a month at Valdese. A more specific schedule is forthcoming.

Members of the Valdese Rec., Morganton Rec., or Lenoir Rec. are welcome to participate. Contact the Valdese Rec for more information.