Carleton Masters Swimming Newsletter #112 Sunday, March 20th, 2005

To: Carleton Coaches (11 addresses)

Bcc: Those Registered for Fall/Winter 2004/2005 plus "Alumni": High Intensity (10 members), 6:30am Earlybirds (22 addresses), 7:30am Earlybirds (41 addresses), 8:30am Earlybirds (25 addresses), 6pm Whitecaps (94 addresses), Nightcaps (37 addresses), Masters "Alumni" (9 members).

Easter Workout Schedule

All morning workouts are cancelled on Fri Mar 25th due to Good Friday. Note that there is one public swim on Fri Mar 25th: 11:45am-3:30pm. There are workouts as usual on Sat Mar 26th and Mon Mar 28th.

End of Winter Session and Pool Shutdown

The Winter Masters sessions end on Thu Apr 21st (evening groups) / Fri Apr 22nd (morning groups). The pool is closed for annual maintenance from Sat Apr 23rd through Sun May 8th, inclusive. There will be no $3 workouts during this time as there will be no water in the pool ;-) !

Spring/Summer Sessions

The Spring/Summer Masters sessions will start on Mon May 9th. Full details and prices will be announced shortly and registration will start in early April. As soon as the details are available they will be posted on our web site: http://carletonmasters.tripod.com and on the Carleton Athletics web site: http://www.carleton.ca/athletics/. You will be able to register on-line for the programs, but memberships must be purchased through the Athletics office, now on the main floor, next to the Tuck Shop (520-4480 8:30am-4:30pm M-F).

To give you a sneak preview, here is the plan:

6:30am Very Earlybirds: 6:30-7:30am MWF + Sat am (May-August)

7:30am Earlybirds: 7:30-8:30am MWF + Sat am (May-August)

8:30am Earlybirds: 8:30-9:30am MWF + Sat am (May-June only)

6pm Whitecaps: 6:00-7:10pm MTuTh + Sat am (May-August)

8pm Nightcaps will not be offered

Saturday mornings will be 8-9am OR 9-10am in May-June, and 9-10am only in July-August

Child Safety Supervision will be offered at the Whitecap evening swims, and Sat 9-10am in May-June

Early Bird Triathlon at Carleton U

The annual Early Bird Triathlon is hosted by Somersault at Carleton University every May. This year the date is Sat May 21st. Note that Masters will be cancelled that morning due to the triathlon, so if you want to swim, you'll have to do the triathlon! Full details at: http://www.somersault.ca/2may21.html.

Masters Swim Meets General Notes

Just a few notes for those who compete or are interested in competing in Masters swim meets.

- If you want to participate in competitions, you must be registered with MSO (Masters Swimming Ontario). (This must be done in advance and takes a couple of weeks to complete -- contact me for more details.)

- When you enter a competition, always give an estimated time, even for events you haven't raced before.

- Things to bring to a swim meet: warm clothes, sandals, extra towels, water bottle, snacks, pen and paper

- Always warm down (swim easy) after every event, if there is pool space to do so

- Interested in attending the Quebec Provincials in Trois Rivieres? Lina (Whitecaps "A") and Violaine (6:30am Earlybirds) are planning to attend

- Interested in attending the World Masters Games in Edmonton? About 15 swimmers from Technosport are going and have been meeting to make plans. If you are interested in getting involved, contact Pat Niblett niblett@magma.ca

Swimmer Notes

Theatre Outing: Susan M (7:30am Earlybirds) and Lynn (Whitecaps "A") (along with some non-swimmer friends!) are planning to attend GCTC's "The Last Liberal" at 8:30pm on Sat May 7th. This production is directed by GCTC's Managing Director Charles McFarland (also a 7:30am Earlybirds swimmer). Information on the production is available at: http://www.gctc.ca/seasons/04-05/liberal.html, and box office information at: http://www.gctc.ca/boxoffice. If anyone else is interested in joining us, you are most welcome. As it's unlikely we'll all be sitting together, we're also planning to go for dinner before the show, likely to Dar Tajine. Let Lynn know if you are interested.

Baby Laurent: Julie and Jeffrey (x-7:30am Earlybirds) brought baby Laurent to meet the Earlybird swimmers on Fri Mar 11th. Laurent is growing fast and seemed to enjoy the pool (he slept the whole time). Thanks for the visit!

Swimmer in the News: An article on Tarek (Whitecaps "A") appeared recently in the New Brunswick Telegraph Journal focusing on his gold medal performance in 100m freestyle in the Canada Games 20 years ago! See: http://carletonmasters.tripod.com/2005tarek.jpg.

Carleton Swim Suits: Some polyester TYR Carleton suits are still available. Men's suits are $24.50 and women's are $47. They will be sold on a first-come-first-served basis, so let me know if you are interested, along with your suit size. Here's what's left: women's: 28, 30, 34, 36; men's 30, 32, 34, 38.

Nose Clips for Sale: Cost $5. Contact Lynn if you are interested.

Apartment for Rent in Sandy Hill: Quiet triplex, large, 1 bedroom, den, bright, hardwood floors, parking. 3
blocks from the University of Ottawa and the transitway. Available May 1st $885 plus hydro. Contact Tarek Raafat (Whitecaps "A" / Varsity Coach): e-mail: tarek.raafat@rogers.com; phone: 298-2603.

Winter Session Information

The workout themes are posted on the web site (http://carletonmasters.tripod.com), as are some workout abbreviations that may be useful for new swimmers. If you have any questions about the program, please ask your coach or me.

Congratulations to the Earlybirds and Whitecaps "A" swimmers who survived the 800IM on Mon Mar 7th!!

Coming soon are the end of term time trials. First on either Tue Apr 5th or Wed Apr 6th you will have the opportunity to do a 1500m freestyle (or an 800m freestyle for those who are over 2:00/100m). Your time is recorded so that we can compare your times from one term to the next. Then from Apr 7th through Apr 20th you have the opportunity to be timed in shorter (50m to 400m) events of your choice (as many or as few as you like). Ask your coach for details.

Then on the last day of the Winter session (Apr 21st or 22nd), your coach will plan an "even-more-fun-than-usual" workout -- suggestions are welcome!

Here are the attendance statistics for the first 11 weeks of the term (first 3.5wks for 6:30am Very Earlybirds). Note that attendance is not taken on Saturday morning. Congratulations to the 9 swimmers with perfect weekday attendance to date!

6:30am Earlybirds (Feb 23-Mar 18th; 11 workouts; range 10-17; avg. 13.4)

Missed 1: Leslie H, Sean
Missed 2: Andy J, Larry, Mits
Missed 3: Debbie G, James Y, Susanne R

7:30am Earlybirds (Jan 3-Mar 18th; 33 workouts; range 9-22; avg. 16.4)

Perfect: Tom S
Missed 4: Leona

8:30am Earlybirds (Jan 3-Mar 18th; 33 workouts; range 9-16; avg. 12.8)

Perfect: Alan H, Margaret K

Missed 2: Penny

Missed 4: Susan N-Y

6pm Whitecaps "A" (Jan 3-Mar 17th; 33 workouts; range 18-36; avg. 25.5)
Perfect: Cam, Don W, Joanne D

Missed 2: Pete L (last time I said that Pete had missed 3 workouts -- my apologies!)
Missed 4: Pat B

6pm Whitecaps "B" (Jan 3-Mar 17th; 33 workouts; range 9-25; avg. 18.8)
Missed 1: Ursula
Missed 4: Francois P, Marg E

8pm Nightcaps (Jan 6-Mar 17th [excludes Jan 4th]; 21 workouts; range 9-20; avg. 13.0)
Perfect: Anna P, Brad W, Tony P
Missed 1: Joanie C
Missed 3: Elizabeth P, Jessica K (apologies to Elizabeth for omitting her name last time!)

Masters Swimming Competitions

You must register annually with Masters Swimming Ontario (MSO) if you want to compete in Masters Swimming competitions. Contact Lynn for full details (cost is $26 for registration up to Dec 31/05).

Here's a summary of upcoming local, nearby and championship meets. Details on Ontario competitions can be found at: http://www.mastersswimmingontario.ca/competition/schedule01.htm. For Quebec competitions see http://www.fnq.qc.ca/calendrier.html (Masters meets are shaded yellow).

Fri Apr 1 - Sun Apr 3rd Masters Provincial Championships, Sault-Ste-Marie. Full details at: http://www.ulern.on.ca/soopolarmaster/.

Sat Apr 9th Technosport Sprint Meet, U of Ottawa. Warm up: 7:45am. Meet runs 8:30-10:30am followed by free breakfast. Events: relay, 400fs, 200IM, 100fl, 50bk, 200fs, 50br, 50fs, 100br, 100fs, 50fl, 100bk, relay. Cost $25 (unlimited events). You can pay on the day. Register on-line at http://ca.geocities.com/technosport@rogers.com/series/series.htm by Wed Mar 30th.

Fri Apr 15 - Sun Apr 17th Quebec Masters Provincial Championships, Trois-Rivieres. Full details at: http://www.megophias.com.

Sat May 7th Technosport Sprint Meet, U of Ottawa (Long Course = 50m pool). Warm up: 7:45am. Meet runs 8:30-10:30am followed by free breakfast. Events: relay, 50fl, 100fs, 200IM, 100bk, 50fs, 100br, 50bk, 100fl, 50br, 200fs, relay. Cost $25 (unlimited events). You can pay on the day. Register on-line at http://ca.geocities.com/technosport@rogers.com/series/series.htm by Wed Apr 27th.

Fri May 20 - Mon May 23rd Masters National Championships, Etobicoke. Full details at: http://www.cmsc2005.ca/.

Sat May 28th Technosport Distance Meet, U of Ottawa (Long Course = 50m pool). Warm up: 7:45am. Meet runs 8:30-10:30am followed by free breakfast. Events: relay, 800fs OR 1500fs, relay. Cost $25. You can pay on the day. Register on-line at http://ca.geocities.com/technosport@rogers.com/series/series.htm by Wed May 18th.

July 22 - 31st World Masters Games, Edmonton. Full details at: http://www.2005worldmasters.com/.

Oct 10 - 15th Latin Caribbean Championships (open to all North American Swimmers), Sao Paola, Brazil. Full details at: http://www.latycar.org.

Race Results: (Please send in your results!!)

Sat Feb 26th: Winter Adventure Challenge

The "Endurance Junkies 2" finished 4th in this challenging Winter Adventure Race (time 6hr52min). Anita P (7:30am Earlybirds) was a member of this team -- congrats, Anita!

Sun May 6th: Run Bay to Bay 12k St Petersburg, Florida

Louise R (Whitecaps "B") participated in this race where she finished 5th in her age group in 1:02.53. Well done, Louise! Louise's race report written for TriRudy is included here:

In preparation for the historic Round the Bay 30k in Hamilton in two weeks, last Sunday I ran the Bay to Bay 12k in St. Petersburg, Florida.
   The slogan for the St. Pete race was “It’s Back! It’s Bigger! It’s Better!” The pamphlet promised the race would be “better than you remember!” That had me wondering how bad it must have been in the years since it began in 1973 and ended seven years ago.
   The race was a point to point along First Avenue South from Boca Ciega Bay to Tampa Bay.
Kristin Goff and I were in Florida anyway for our annual ‘triathlon training’, as unlike Rudy’s Carolina boot camp as Bay to Bay is to Round the Bay. But we’d been biking, swimming and running almost every day, so I thought, “hey, international shirts!” and got us signed up, Kristin for the 5k, me for the 12k.
Race headquarters was the resort-like St. Petersburg YMCA. We didn’t have high expectations when we went to kit pickup and my registration had disappeared, the touted and advertised sports expo consisted of three exhibitors - vegetable juice, sunglasses and skin cream - and no one knew if there would be water stations on the route.
However, race day dawned a sunny 60 degrees Fahrenheit and the crowd warming up in the park was as impressively intimidating as I’m accustomed to, with more in-shape older runners than I’d ever seen. There were at least 20 in my women 55-59 age category alone. Awards were given to the top five in each age category up to 80 plus.
No gatorade, but there were water stations along the way, traffic was stopped at all the intersections, and a bar on the route had a sign advertising one free beer to anyone bringing in a race number after 11 a.m.
   The finish line for both races was a beautifully scenic arc of balloons at the end of the long pier, with the al fresco post-race party a four-storey elevator ride up to the top of the pier restaurant and outdoor viewing area that easily accommodated the 1500 competitors.
   There was a live calypso band playing while we lined up on the roof overlooking the water for beans and rice, French bread, a mountain of grapes, oranges, apples and bananas, and way too many kinds of cookies, brownies, danish and donuts. Not a bagel in sight.
Pelicans clustered around as we hurried back to the car to drive straight to the airport and our flight home.
   Not a bad race after all! I hope some of that sunshine carries over to ‘Round the Bay’...

Sat Mar 12th: Technosport Arthur Inglis Memorial Swim Meet

We had the largest turnout of Carleton swimmers in recent memory at this meet -- 15! A big thank you to those who participated: Violaine and Mits (6:30am Earlybirds), Francois A (7:30am Earlybirds), Margaret K, Isla, Esther and Sebastien (8:30am Earlybirds), Jocelyn L, Aaron, Steve Morris, Jose and Lynn (Whitecaps "A"), Bozena and Bill (Whitecaps "B"), and Brad (Nightcaps). Coach Danny also participated, swimming for Technosport. Results are not yet available. They should be posted soon at: http://ca.geocities.com/technosport@rogers.com/results/results.htm. Unofficially, club records were set by at least four swimmers: Isla, Jose, Francois A, and Lynn, and everyone swam very well. A summary will be included next time. Congratulations, all!

Ask the Coach

Dear Coach: Can you review how to do open (non-flip) turns in each of the strokes? A Beginner

Dear A Beginner: Sure! For an open turn you must touch the wall with both hands together for fly and breast and just one hand for free and back. First, make sure that you touch with the minimum number of hands required (i.e. it will slow you down to touch the wall with both hands in freestyle). Secondly, after touching the wall, ensure that you are sideways to the wall rather than facing the wall as much as possible as that requires less movement. Thirdly, one arm always stays underwater and one always goes above the water on an open turn. In free and back the arm that touches the wall goes over. In breast and fly the arm that leaves the wall last is the one that goes over. You always turn away from the hand that goes over the water. Ask your coach to watch your turn if you want specific tips!

Dear Coach: What are the rules for the backstroke turn? Improving Backstroker

Dear I. Backstroker: If you are doing a flip turn, you are allowed one stroke on your stomach coming into the wall but you must do a continuous movement into the turn after that stroke (i.e. no gliding or kicking). After your feet touch the wall, you push off the wall on your back. If you are doing an open turn, you must touch the wall (with any part of your body, but preferably one hand) while on your back (i.e. your upper shoulder can't go to or past 90 degrees before you touch the wall. When you leave the wall you must also be on your back (again rolled less than 90 degrees). In between touching and leaving the wall, you can do whatever you like (i.e. it's ok to turn onto your stomach). That said, it is faster to spin around, staying on your back. Note that if you are turning from back to breast in an IM, you must touch the wall on your back (flip turn not allowed).

Dear Coach: How can I make my 50m freestyle faster? A Sprinter

Dear A Sprinter: In a sprint, power and efficiency are very important. To improve your 50m freestyle, you need a good fast start with a quick efficient transition to swimming, and you need a fast turn (assuming a 25m pool!), again with a good transition back to swimming. You should breath very little in the 50m free race, and should especially avoid breathing right after the start, right before/after the turn, and right before the finish. Of course, you need to practice all these things in workout first!

Private and Semi-Private Masters Swim Lessons

All the lesson slots for March/April are currently taken. Lesson slots for May/June will be announced soon. If you wish to be added to the list of those to be informed of any cancellations and/or the new schedule, do let me know.

Prices for private lessons for Carleton Members are $36.75 for 1 hour, $68.25 for 2, $94.50 for 3, $117.60 for 4 and $138.60 for 5 hours, all plus GST. Private lessons are also available to non-Members at a higher cost ($52.50, $89.25, $120.75, $149.10 and $170.10, all plus GST, for 1-5 hours, respectively).

For those who want to take semi-private lessons (2-3 students), the cost per student for Carleton Members is $22.05 for 1 hour, $40.95 for 2, $56.70 for 3, $70.56 for 4, and $83.16 for 5 hours, all plus GST. Semi-private lessons for non-Members cost (per person) $31.50 for 1 hour, $53.55 for 2, $72.45 for 3, $89.46 for 4, and $102.06 for 5 hours, all plus GST.

Contact Lynn for availability and bookings.

Reminders

Newsletter: An e-newsletter (like this one) is sent out about every two weeks. If you have new lane-mates, please mention to them that they should give their e-mail address to their coach if they'd like to receive it.

Suggestions for Workouts or Interested in Making up a Workout or a Set?: If you have suggestions for the workouts (something you like that we never do, or something you dislike that we do too much!), or if you'd like to try making up a workout or a set in a workout, just talk to your coach.

Interested in Copies of the Workouts?: Are you interested in getting copies of Lynn's workouts ahead of time? Let me know. I usually e-mail out two week’s worth of workouts on alternate Sundays. (Note that these are only the workouts that Lynn coaches. If Lynn is not your coach, the workouts will be different from the workouts your coach gives you!)

Weekly Social Events: All swimmers are invited to join us for:

Thursday Dinner (after Whitecaps workout): Meet by the Tuck Shop around 7:45pm

Thursday Drinks (after Nightcaps workout): Meet by the Tuck Shop around 9:30pm

Saturday Brunch (after 9-10am workout): Meet by the Tuck Shop around 10:30am

Triathletes: Check out Rudy Hollywood’s website: http://www.trirudy.com and subscribe to the daily tri-news e-mail.

General Information: Program information, old newsletters and the Carleton Masters records can be viewed at: http://carletonmasters.tripod.com.

Your input to this newsletter is most welcome, especially for the Swimmer Notes, Race Results and Ask the Coach sections! To be added to or removed from the receiver list, just let me know (lynnmarshall@sympatico.ca).

Happy lengths!

Lynn

lynnmarshall@sympatico.ca (or for quicker response: lynnmar@sce.carleton.ca)

Club website: http://carletonmasters.tripod.com