Spring Lake!

Hello Lane 6 babes--Well Spring Lake was truly an experience. Quite a drive. Water was about 70 degrees. Weather was hot. Polar Bear and I arrived very early but still there was an a buzz of excitement in the air with everyone queuing up for their numbers and t-shirts. The event was extremely well run and went off with minimal hitches. It had a very collegial and relaxed feeling to it though the competitive spirit was high. Lots of what I have come to know as the "regulars" at the masters events were there. No neoprenies. Well, maybe one was there but the tri's there were in their regular suits and not neoprene.

And as we found out today, Polar Bear took home a 3rd place ribbon in the race!! So hats off to her for an outstanding swim!!

I had thought Spring Lake was named that because it was fed by springs. However, I am now thinking that it was named that because it is most lake like in the Spring time when there is lots of water. It is a very lovely, idyllic sort of small lake that I am sure supports lots of birds and other kinds of wild life. An excellent setting for a picnic and swimming and for those into trail running lots of those around as well.

Lots of grass on the ground to spread out on and lots of grass in the water to swim through. But it was a very fun event despite the challenging botanical features.

There were 3 heats and we were in the third. The race was pretty uneventful. It was a swim down to the right and then around a tightly bunched set of 3 buoys then up the lake to the final 3 buoys and then back to the finish. You see in the picture with polar bear a look to the right where there was the first set of buoys and then the other pic above it shows the finish taken from about the same spot.

It was a water start with each heat staggered by about 5 minutes. And it was unclear to me whether we were supposed to stay inside the yellow buoys to avoid the water grass or stay outside. But we were cautioned that the wise do not stray close the edge of the water because of branches and the like. Fortunately they did not mention water snakes so I was very happy about that. However, it seemed that the path of choice for the faster swimmers was nearer to the edge so I may have erred on that one! Yet, everyone seemed to have some story about where the water grass affixed itself. The faster swimmers seemed to have it stuck in their goggles... (heads down... well done!!) and the slower swimmers such as moi had it in their watch bands--far more preferable in my estimate.

Polar Bear put in quite a good swim and just kept to her pace and swam and her race. Outstanding Polar bear!!

I struck out and felt I had a good pace too and really felt that I didn't have a lot of navigation problems so it was just a great morning for a nice swim! (: It was a very "clean" race in my opinion and sportsmanship was high in everyone's mind.

The drive back over the bridge was incredible with fog wafting in over the gg bridge and all of the sail boats out in the bay and the breakfast in town was very good too. I would definitely recommend this event to people for next year. Well run, fun and a great location. (:

More Parkside Madness

Hello Lane 6 babes!! I heard some barking in Aquatic Park today and it was not Bitey but Tiny Seal!!

"What Tiny Seal is the matter?" I implored.

"Oh Flipper I would rather see a group pic than one of me accomplishing this race. It is a group thing, you see."

"Ah," I replied. "Well would you rather that I post a group shot and take down your run up the beach??"

"Yes, Flipper. That would be great!!"

Unfortunately Flipper does not have the expertise to do that so.... here is a new post with some more pix of Parkside for all to enjoy! (:

Dick Beeler Crazy Cove

History

Crazy Cove swim is a funky Dolphin Club tradition in honor of long time member, Dick Beeler. He was an adorable member of Nooners gang, a group of tough guys and a pretty lady, that swam the cove at noon for decades. Dick once got out of a routine cove swim at Dolphin beach, sat down on a wooden deck chair, said "uh oh!" and dropped dead. Heart attack, they presumed.

Course

The course is kept top secret until 15 minutes before swim. Today's course turned out to be a tribute to tax season. We were split up into teams of 3 and given fake bills. We had to swim a relay course around aquatic park and pass all our money to team leader. Team leader would then swim out to the beach, exchange the bills for pennies from a tax collector ("because that is what IRS does"), and swim back to the club. The team that finished last was declared winner for their smartness in delaying rendevouz with Taxman.

Bubbles' Performance

i successfully located my relay teammate, handed him my hard earned moolah, fought a strong ebb and swam back to the club. Our team placed somewhere in the middle. Nobody noted anyone's individual finish times, people got busy eating donuts.

Lavaman in Kona

Aloha!

Neither Jon nor I have been to Kona, so we didn't know what to expect. We landed a day before the race, with a heat wave of over 90 degrees welcoming us, we rushed to the shop to get our bikes set up, barely made it to the expo to collect our registration packet and attend the race meeting. We had planned to go to the race site to check out the transition and swim area, but it was dark outside by the time the meeting ended. We figured we'll get there early the next day to sort it all out.

Jon had been very nervous all week leading up to the race, as this would be his first open water swim - ever. He had been practicing in the pool by himself, from learning how to put his head in the water to religiously swimming 1500 yards 4x/week for the last 3 months. This would be a key milestone for him.

Race Day

Started pretty uneventful - we ate, rode our bikes to the transition area, set up our areas, bodymarked and saw the beach where the open water start was going to be.

Swim

The water temperature was in the high 70s, very comfortable, so wetsuits were not allowed. Jon wore his and was told he would not be eligible for any awards. The swim course was kinda funky - 2 out and backs loops. The wave starts were as follows: Pros/Relays, Men, Women - 5 min apart. At 7am, the water was calm. However, it was a different story after the swim had started. Because of the funky loops, I had a couple times knocked my head/got punched by swimmers coming from the other direction. Other than that, the ocean was beautiful. I saw coral, fish and even a giant turtle from under me. Beats swimming in the pool anytime.

** See the swimmer with the "216" pinned on her back? That's me. And Jon was next to me with the wetsuit.



Bike

Getting out of the swim, I saw Jon in transition. YAY, he finished! He finished the mile swim in 40 min and myself in approx 35-38 min (the race folks lost my chip so I don't have an official time). Hopping on my bike and out to the Queen K highway, I was excited to be ridding on the famous Ironman course. By then, the wind had already kicked up, facing constant headwinds made riding all the more challenging. Throughout the course there was heat, lava rocks and more heat. Jon and I finished the 25 mile bike 3 min apart - he in 1:17hr and I 1:20hr.



Run

Now comes the hard part - the heat got up to over 90s and it was unbearable. There were hardly any shade and the sun mercilessly beats down on us. Yeah, it was that bad. Part of the course past through the Hilton resort so we ran by tourists on their beach chairs sipping Mai Tais. It was brutal. We also had to run on lava rocks and lime rocks. Very interesting. The finish, in all Hawaii style, was on the beach. Jon finished the run in a blazing 46 min and myself in 60 min.

Total Time: Jon - 3:06hr, Star - 3:10hr.

All in all, we had a awesome time! The people, the volunteers put on an excellent and well organized event. What more can we ask for?

For more information, go to: http://www.lavamantriathlon.com/

Ariel's Birthday Bash

Calling all Lane 6 Swimmers!! It was a sterling night to celebrate the birthday of our very own Ariel! Indeed thanks to the gracious hosting and culinary talents of the ever amazing Rockfish in celebration of the birthday of that rocking swimmer and number one mermaid, Ariel it was an enormously memorable evening of fun for everyone and delightful merriment. An excellent time was had by all---lots of joyful chatting and incredible amounts of exceptional food and drink. The evening began with the noshing of Indian delicacies prepared by Bubbles and assorted finger foods, each savored by the hungry Lane 6 fishies. We sampled the South Indian fare with great pleasure and could easily have made a meal of the noshing!! But then the real fun began with one of a kind dishes created and prepared by the Rockfish-- from vegetarian, chicken, home grown and magnificent veggies, the very necessary brown rice and of course unique sauces to homemade chocolate cake. What an evening for food!! Was Rockfish really a chef??? My reaction was pure text...OMG!
And finishing things off in addition to that sinful Rockfish chocolate cake were delightful South Indian desserts from Bubbles. So different from what our western tastes expected and so delicious!
And lest I forget the drink--magnificent wines from our very own Napa valley and the heart of the California wine centers graced the table thanks to our triathleting and swimming friends!! Delicious varietals were sampled and enjoyed by this happy dolphin!! Many thanks to those who swim, bike and run!
But what makes every fine evening unique is the company. And for this birthday bash we had swimmers from all parts of the pool from near to far, from slow to fast. It was a truly eclectic mix and not a finer one to be found.
What's that you say?? Were there non Lane 6 types splashing about at the birthday shindig? Hmmm. Indeed!! It was a famous combination of triathletes, fleet of feet runners and those fast and talented in and on the water. A finer group we could not imagine! Lots of fine conversation and stories were traded and enjoyed until the late hours!!
Of course needless to say the heart of the occasion was the birthday of the talented Ariel who incidentally is set to advance to the State Senior Games and go for the gold there. Nice going Ariel!! And lots of good luck at your next competition!! We look forward to another excellent year of swimming from you!
So Lane 6 Babes (and Boys!), there you have it. And for those of you who missed it, you really missed a great evening. Enjoy the pix and the memories and stay tuned for our next grand adventure right here at the Lane 6 blog!!

Thoughts on racing

Every once in awhile a serious thought does cross through the porpoise mind and one did indeed occur today. Recently I have done some pool meets. I suppose it is classified as racing though at my speed relative to the competition it may really only be considered "taking part" since I did not give much competition to the others on the blocks. But I showed up and once on the blocks the others didn't have a clue as to how fast I was so they probably got a little nervous just because I was there.
My experience in "competing" in the water has really only been mostly in the open water events and there for me, finishing is always a victory. Every time I enter the water in an open water competition I look to the heavens and say a little prayer... "Please just let me finish. Please do not make me have to be pulled out of here by a boat." And then of course there is the secondary prayer of "Please do not make me last." But last actually is quite fine as long as I finish. Open water is a "horse of a different color" and sometimes last is a magnificent accomplishment!
I do not believe I have ever finished first in a race in the water. I don't believe I can remember when I have, truly. It is easy to say, "Well, I was just born slow," but I have never been able to accept that. I believe that everyone can improve their performance with hard work and determination. You might not finish first but you will finish in less time than the last time you took to the water.
And that brings up the serious thought that passed through my mind today. What exactly is the point of a meet anyway? Is it to take home a trophy and if you don't, is it a tragedy? No, I think it goes back to the whole basis for sport and competition. It is important to show up and do your best. You might finish last but was it the very best you could give and was it the very best time that you could have clocked given all of the circumstances? That is the point in my mind.
Recently I did my first 400 meter competitive swim. I was a minute and a half behind the winner and really I could see that I was a lap and a half behind the woman in the lane next to me. All this did was make me try to swim faster.
When I saw her red square appear as I was just heading for my lap 17 I thought, "Oh no, this is really bad, expletive deleted..." So I tried to step it up a notch. I came in dead last but I was absolutely thrilled because I had swum what for me was an outstanding race and I had really put everything together in a way that I did not think was possible. In fact, I remember thinking, "I do hope I don't kill myself with this swim....."

But back to the point. Doing your very best effort is what this meet stuff is about. That race was a personal best and it was a hard race that I put everything I had into. I rose to the occasion and I met the challenge. That for me was a victory.
I used to be a pretty good runner and I will never be in the same league swimming that I was running. But even now I know when I step up on a treadmill I can never be the runner that I once was. Time and injury have seen to that. But swimmin and swimming in a meet allows me to channel my competitive energy positively. It "gives me game." We all have game. It is the heart of sport. It is what makes us go out and compete and strive to win even when we know we don't have a chance in a million.

I go to meets to "keep my game." I go for the adrenalin. I go for the day in the sun. I go because my best competition is myself. And every once in awhile I get a ribbon. And every once in awhile I know when I have put everything I had into something and I have gone faster than I had imagined. And that is what swimming in meets is all about. So, babes, as they say in Nikeland... Just do it. (:

Hello Babes--Well, that shamrock was really lucky for the babes and for our fab coach. Today we came away with lots of HEAVY METAL! Ariel had an incredible day with silvers and a bronze. Flipper had a great day with bronze. Our fab coach came away with a pile of gold. Everyone had lots of great memories.

The day was a breezy one and the only really warm spots were already taken by early risers. Hence we had to sit either behind the blocks and pretend we were up next for swimming (a little problematic for the babes when there were several heats of a men's race.... but the babes were so cute that no one said a word.) Our hang out was at the far end near the practice pool beside the hot tub which was not open to us. However, we found that area to be sunny and warm and pretty well protected.

The day began for the babes with the 100 yd sprint where Ariel made a quick entry from deckside and kept up her pace throughout. She was edged out by our new friend from Petaluma who had not raced in 40 years but who had been practicing practicing practicing since January! But Ariel established a dramatically lower personal best!! Woo hoo Ariel!

Next up was the 200 where we again made fast entries and held to our pace. Unlike the prior event at Rinconada we tried not to let the adrenalin take us away and we found good success there. Here Ariel again took home metal and hit another personal best!! What was this babe eating?

Third up was the 50 yard sprint where Ariel really had an incredible swim and another new personal best! What did this mermaid eat for breakfast??? We need to know and to bottle it for distribution to the other babes. (We do understand that she is relying on a new visualization training discipline which allows her to tap into cosmic pool energy and put it to good use!!) Way to go Ariel!!! Pretty soon you will be swimming with Hauling Haillie and Energy girl Erica!!!

Last up was the 400 or was that the 500?? Does anyone know? 400? 500?? Does it make a big difference to the babes?? Not really. For this one we thank our absolutely fab coach for counting laps for the perky Flipper who had no idea that she had to get her own timer. Thank you Rick!!

Undaunted by the uncertainty as to distance Flipper took the blocks. She had to really be motivated to get up there since she had finally found a nice warm spot in the sun and would have been quite contented to hang there and watch others swim. But this was the longest event of the day and she was curious about what her time might be and since she was there... and she had paid... and they had called the event, she climbed up on the block once more. (:

She set a good pace and kept at it to do a personal best in this event and was thankful to be able to finish in fine form.

Our incredible coach really set the example today. He entered every race and won his age group and his heat in each one!! Great job Rick!

So it was a great day for all and really a fun one from start to finish!! See everyone in the water!!