Masters of South Texas

Upcoming meets and events:

Sept 15-Nov 15: 6000/3000 yd swims. I am setting up 4-5 Friday/Saturday dates now and will post those next week. The swims must be done in a yard pool. These complete the 5 postal challenge swims for 2007. Click here.

Sept 22: Round Rock Pentathlon. You can still deck enter!

Oct 13: First Colony - Sugarland. Click here.

Nov 3: Jesse Coon Invitational - Brazos Click here.

Nov 15-Dec 15: Pentathlon Challenge (any pool) 200 Fly / 400 IM / 1500 Free

Well, I guess everyone knows all about Alcatraz. One last note: While Scott was swimming, about 2 minutes into it, his hand hit something hard in the water. It wasn’t a person, and he knows it was living. His heart was in his throat, and he swam as fast as his arms could take him. It turned out to be a sea lion!

There has been a great turn out for the 2007 10 and 5 K swims. I must have entries to me by next Tuesday, so be sure and put in the mail today or tomorrow if you haven’t done so already. I will need 2 volunteers to help proof the results. Kris has helped me with recording data and Tania has helped put the records together. All proceeds go directly to our team!

Good healing vibes go out to David Gude, who broke 2 small bones in his wrist over the weekend while out riding. They should heal quickly and he will be back in the water in 3-4 weeks.

For those that did not get a chance to pay for any relays at Nationals, it is $3 per relay. You can bring to practice or mail off to me at 302 Happy Trail, SAT, 78231Monthly payment charges went out late this month, don’t be alarmed if you end up with 2 charges on your next monthly statement.Last call for Grand Canyon (Oct 6-7) hikers. I need a definite number by this weekend in order to make travel/hotel arrangements complete. I need your name, any traveling friend’s names, if you need a hotel for any night (this is already done-just want to release any unwanted rooms), and day/time you arrive in Las Vegas. Please also give me a contact (cell) number for use on the trip. I need to hear from you by Saturday. All cars / hotels / arrangements / will be finalized on Sunday.Alcatraz Swimmers should be ready to go, as per your flights / cars / hotels and wetsuits. Let me know if you have any problems with your arrangements. Let’s plan for a team dinner Friday night on the wharf. You will most likely have friends or places to visit the rest of the weekend. I’d like your cell phone numbers so we can hook up or if you get lost in the city.Our annual Stroke Days are coming, so set the dates aside to slow things down a bit and develop good training habits for next year. For those that are new, we will set the entire hour to focus on one stroke. The coaches will break things down to the basics and build the stroke up so that everyone can swim each with proper form. If you do not care to join us on that particular day, there will always be a swim set to follow instead.August22- Free24- Fly27- Back29- Breast31- 800 timed swim plus TurnsSeptember3- Labor of Love (8:30 JCC only)4- Davis Pool re-opens5-Free7- Back10- Breast12- Fly14 - Starts/Breakouts/Turns15- Alcatraz Swim23- JCC Closed24- JCC ClosedOn August 27, 12:30 a.m., the Moon and Mars will appear to be the same size. This is a once in a lifetime event, because none of us be alive to see it again.For anyone still considering swimming the 5 or 10 K swims, you have until September 15. Don’t wait until the last day; anything could come up to deter your plans!Catch ya’ in the water,SusanWeekly Inspiration: Every man has three characters: that which he shows, that which he has, and that which he thinks he has.Weekly Family Tip: The secret of a successful marriage is to treat all disasters as incidents and none of the incidents as disasters.

No more Blossom workouts until Sept 4.

Lake swim at Boerne Lake on Saturday, Sean goes off at 6:30 and I will be up at 8:00 a.m.

Water polo at the 1604 pool at 8:30 a.m. on Sunday.  Had 3 new ladies out there last week!

Congratulations to Kushan (UTSA group) who, just last weekend, became a US citizen!

Our prayers go out to Lee Zinn who lost her father recently and is tending to family affairs.

Titta will undergo surgery (hopefully the last time) on her ankle next Wed.  That will leave us without a coach on deck until Elaine and myself return from Nationals on the following Tuesday.  I will be sending out copies of the workouts to several people for all workout locations

Did anyone check out Dara Torres in her 100 Free at US Nationals!?!  Forty years old, a 15 month baby and swims the 100 Free LCM in 54 seconds!  Gotta love it!  Trains extremely hard and follows the Zone Diet.

National Notes:

For those watching at home, you should be able to pull up results each day within this site as well.

Psych Sheets, Heat/Lane assignments, and estimated Timelines are now all posted on the USMS website.
Click here: 2007 USMS Long Course Nationals Heat/Pscyh Sheets

Click here: http://www.usms.org/comp/lcnats07/timeline.pdf

Last call for a room at the Residence Inn.  $90 gets you a 1 king bedroom, with additional queen pull out.  If no one takes it, it will be released.  I have one guy still looking for a roommate.  There is breakfast included each day with your room and dinner on Thursday night.  The hotel is along the route for the courtesy bus, so I hope that we can make the short walk to the nearby hotel and ride back and forth each day.

If you plan on buying new goggles, start wearing them this week to make needed adjustments to fit.  I will bring with me team caps and shirts to the meet.  There is a snag with our team competition suits, our team rep. no longer works at NIKE.  I hope to have things resolved by Friday.  In the meantime, please send me style requested and size needed.  You may choose from hip or knee length and long leg, with or without the body, depending on male and female options.

No more fins at practice, so just leave them in the car.  No more weights after Sunday.  Cut back on dryland training.  Drink lots of water for the week leading up to the meet.  Try a massage a few days out.  Eat and sleep well from Wednesday into the weekend.

If you are entered in events 200 or longer, you must do a positive check-in ahead of time.  Using the following link, please check-in by Wednesday. Click here: 2007 USMS Long Course Nationals Event Check-In

We need another canopy cover.  Even if you are not joining us, if you let us borrow one, I can take it with me.  I plan on leaving SA on Thursday at 9:30 a.m.  (I do have a stop in Houston, plus we can eat lunch, so will probably get to the hotel around 2:00-2:30).  I can take anyone who wishes a ride with me.  I will return on Monday afternoon, but there will be lots of rides back on Sunday, if you wish to get back sooner.

Relays should be done this weekend.  I will send out the team line-ups.  If you wish to offer up changes, that is no problem.  Just email me with your requests.  I will be entering teams on Thursday, so please contact me before then.

If you can’t train with us and would like some taper workout ideas, just let me know.

Catch ya’ in the water,
Susan

Weekly Inspiration: The great pleasure in life is doing what people say you cannot do.

Weekly Family Tip: To follow up from last week’s notes, it would also be best to tell your parents that the police came by, instead of them finding out for themselves……..

USA Swimming will air a free webcast of the finals each night from the ConocoPhillips USA Swimming National Championships, July 31-Aug. 4, in Indianapolis. Finals begin each night at 6 p.m. ET. Tune in at usaswimming.org.

Last day for the Blossom Masters, for either the morning or noon group, will be Thursday, August 2.

Lake swim set for next Saturday, Aug 4, we’re leaving the Boerne Lake boat ramp at 8:00 a.m.

All the LCM pools in SA are either being drained as we speak, or will not convert the pool back over to long course again this summer. There are a few of you who still had hoped to get your 5 K swim in. The Dallas Masters group is hosting 5 and 10 K swims over 2 days. Check this out for an option to swim to complete your 2007 postal challenge. Click here: http://www.damswim.com/docs/2007_2k5k10k_entry.pdf

Women’s water polo will be starting up again. It is open to any ladies, of any age/ability, to join us on Sunday mornings. The next 4 weeks will be at the 1604 pool, just East of Bandera. Practice is from 8:30-10:30 a.m. We plan to have 2 groups in the water: a developmental group and a more advanced group. Come on out and give it a try!

Incarnate Word evening workouts will continue through the month of August, until Thursday the 30th.

I assume that everyone is now set with rides and hotels for Nationals. I do have a request for one guy to crash on someone’s sofa for a night. His family will not be coming out the entire time. Ronda is looking for a ride back on Sunday. Please bring a chair to sit on and a small cooler for drinks/snacks. We will grab a section of the pool that has shade, plus some pop up canopies but it is very hot and humid, so some people may opt to hide in the shade of the indoor warm-up pool.

There are 3 relays set for Sunday at the end of the individual events. If you have to start off and get on the road and will not be able to stay, let me know. I will be putting close to 36 relays together for the meet, so need to plan ahead of time. It will be hard to sub for swimmers at the last minute because LCM relays are done by adding up each teammate’s age. (Ex: a 45 yr old cannot sub for a 63 yr old.)

I never had a chance to finish with the older age group’s National Senior Games swim report. Kay Boone 100 Free-2nd, 50 Free-2nd, 100 Back-3rd, 500 Free-1st, Sara Seivert 100 Free-11th, 50 Free 11th, 100 Back-7th, 50 Breast-10th, Georgia Goggin 200 Breast-3rd, 100 Free-4th, 50 Free-3rd, 50 Breast-3rd, Betty Kight 100 IM-2nd, 200 Breast-2nd, 50 Fly-3rd, 50 Breast-2nd, Gynt Clifford 100 IM-1st (SG Record), 100 Free-1st (SG Record), 50 Fly-1st, 50 Free-1st, Dee Sauer 100 IM-6th, 200 Back-6th, 50 Fly-5th, Shelly Whitlock 100 IM-13th, 50 Fly-6th, 50 Free-12th, 50 Breast-4th, Chuck Baldwin 100 IM-2nd, 50 Fly-1st, 50 Free-2nd, 50 Breast-1st, Frank Kolbaba 100 IM-15th, 100 Free-18th, 50 Free-20th, 500 Free-14th, Graham Johnston 100 IM-1st, 100 Free-1st, 500 Free-1st (SG Record), Jerry Marchbanks 100 IM-3rd, 50 Fly-4th, 50 Breast-1st.

Catch ya’ in the water,
Susan

Weekly Inspiration: Change your thoughts, and you change your world.

Weekly Family Tip: If you don’t want your parents to know what you did in the house while they were gone for a weekend, you might want to put the mop away and take out the trash .

2007 SCY Top Ten Lists are now posted, but not finalized.
If you feel that there is an error, let me know and I will try to run it down.

Laura Kownslar (26) 500 Free, 50 Back, 50 Breast, 100 Breast, 50 Fly, 100 IM
Taryn Walker (31) 200 Free
Elaine Fincham (51) 1000 Free, 1650 Free
Ronda Nisman (52) 400 IM
Jan Miller (56) 50 Back, 100 Back, 50 Fly
Jane Birkhead (66) 50 Free, 100 Free, 200 Free, 500 Free, 1650 Free, 50 Fly, 100 IM
Kay Boone (66) 50 Free, 100 Free, 50 Back
Betty Kight (65) 50 Breast, 100 Breast, 100 IM
Georgia Goggin (77) 50 Free, 100 Free, 50 Breast, 100 Breast, 200 Breast
Chase Ingraham (24) 50 Breast, 100 Breast
Carl Owens (55) 50 Free
Dan Thompson (60) 50 Back, 50 Fly, 100 IM
Jerry Marchbanks (71) 100 Breast, 100 Fly, 200 Fly, 200 IM, 400 IM
Graham Johnston (76) 50/100/200/500/1000/1650 Free, 200 Back, 200 Breast, 100 Fly, 100/200/400 IM

Relay Swimmers.

200 Free (W 65+) Boone, Kight, Whitlock, Birkhead
200 Medley (W 65+) Boone, Whitlock, Birkhead, Goggin
200 Free (Mx 55+) Birkhead, Miller, Thompson, Nisman
200 Free (Mx 65+) Marchbanks, Kight, Whitlock, Johnston

To see the complete (although tentative) list Click here: USMS Top Ten

World Top Ten lists for 2006 have been posted.  Click on the links below to check out a few of our teammates in both individual races and relays.  Listed are SCM and LCM.  (SCY is only tracked at the National level.)

Click here: http://www.fina.org/masters/pdf/tabs_SC_06.pdf

Click here: http://www.fina.org/masters/pdf/tabs_LC_06.pdf

I attended the LCM Senior Circuit Championships the previous weekend at UT.  Great racing!  Two standout swims amongst the possible future Olympians that were in attendance.  Men’s 50 Back, winner with a 24 second swim, beating the heat by about 1.5 seconds.  He dolphined on his back, underwater the entire length of the pool.  Oops!  He also was DQ’d for it.  Can’t do that……….  Brendon Hanson swam the 100 Back (yeah that’s right the Back!) and swam 59.98.  That makes him the first guy to go sub minute in all four strokes in a LCM pool!  (More top swimming happens at Palo Alto College this Wed-Sat.)

Great job by all our 5 K and 10 K swimmers thus far.  Swims can be conducted until Sept 15, but it will be very difficult to find LCM water after July 31.  Let me know if you still wish to do this challenge swim.  Off the team we have had 20 people swim the 5 K and 21 swim the 10 K.

National entries are now closed.  Next week, I will be compiling names for rooms and car pools.  Let me know if you need either one of those and I will hook you up with other swimmers.  I am looking for 2 more canopy covers to provide shade.  Let me know if you can bring one along.  Everyone should plan on a deck chair of some kind.  There is limited stadium type seating.  I plan for everyone to be on at least 2 relays each.  I will try to plan to get you on teams that will be swimming on days that you are competing, in case someone may have plans to head home early.  Let me know if you would prefer not to be listed on a relay on any particular day.

Check out the psych sheets at  Click here: 2007 USMS Long Course Nationals Pscyh Sheets  Also note, that we are tied for the 2nd largest team entered at Nationals.  Woodlands has 3 times as many swimmers, but of course, we have the best!  Matt Hooper has brought with him, back to Texas from Florida, 44 swimmers!  I’ve never heard of Southern Masters, perhaps a combined group of swimmers, are bringing 34.  Wouldn’t it be great for everyone to step up their game and we could finish in the top three at Nationals!!!!!!!

I’m back from a quick break and will be in the water or on deck on Wednesday……….

Catch ya’ in the water,
Susan

Weekly Inspiration: There is nothing in all creation so like God as stillness.

Weekly Health Tip: Central obesity, meaning a paunch, gut, or pot belly, is a serious warning of unhealthy blood chemistry and cardiac trouble ahead.

Senior Games Report:  Shelly Whitlock won the pole vault!  Georgia Goggin finished 10th in the long jump.

If you are planning on attending the SMU meet on July 21, can you give me a heads up that you’re going?  Several people are either looking for rides or just want to know a few friendly faces when they get up there.  Entries are due July 18th.

Nationals (at The Woodlands) has extended their entry due date through this Friday!   Don’t miss out.  The team is staying at the Woodlands Residence Inn One at 281-292-3252.  Rooms are set aside for Masters of South Texas for only $99 per nite or $90 per nite for AAAA card holders.  These are One Bedroom suites with full kitchens.

5 K swimmers are going this Friday and Saturday at the Blossom pool.  Both swim days start at 8:00 a.m.  We have plenty of lanes, so you can still get in on it.  Please let me know that you are coming or bring your own timer.  I will have the watches, clip boards and paperwork.  HELP! I still need 2 more timers each day.  Any volunteers from the team?  How about some volunteer service hours for any high school kids?  We will be done between 1:30-2:00 hours.

I will not be at the lake because of the 5 K swimmers, but please go ahead and hook up without me at 8:00 at the boat ramp.

Blossom is now avaliable to us at noon each day.  Public swim has closed and lessons are over.  I encourage anyone going off to Nationals, or training for open water, to join us any day.  There will be days that we need to go back to the Davis pool, as construction continues in and around the Walker pool.  Please be flexibale and look for us in either pool.  You may only use the Davis pool locker rooms.

For those that will be going on our Grand Canyon trip the first weekend of Ocotober.  You should be walking stadiums 2 x week for 30 minutes, plus adding in some other days of just general walks or runs.  If any one is interested in joining us walk Rim to Rim that weekend, we have enough hotel rooms set aside, but I will need committed numbers by August 1.  As of now, Buz (plus 5), Chris (plus 2), Susan (plus 1), Don, Lynn, Geoff, Israel, Tania (plus 1), Zetta and Shirley are all considering it.  Let me know to put you on the tentative list to keep you updated on training news and trip information details.

The team was featured last week on KABB News.  If this link doesn’t work.  Go to their website(kabb.com) - click on “sports” - video on demand - scroll to Masters of South Texas.   Click here: KABB News Video on Demand

Catch ya’ in the water,
Susan

Weekly Inspiration: Why can’t life’s problems hit us when we’re seventeen and know everything?

Weekly Health Tip: When ordering at a restaurant, skip the rice or potato side dish and double up on the veggies instead.

Get a sneak peak of the all-new AOL.com.

Nationals online entries can still be taken until July 6th. After that date, there is a late fee applied. Since the meet will be held in Houston, I am encouraging everyone to enter. You may swim up to 3 events without qualifying. It will be a great opportunity to experience a meet at this level.
Click here: 2007 USMS Long Course Nationals

Senior Games Report: Linda Callaway competed in 20K & 40K Cycling, as well as competed in Triathlon. She had the fastest swim time (400M in LCM pool) in her age group coming out of the swim portion. Our 50 + ladies were nothing less than consistent. Kat Boyer swam 6 events, finishing 4th in 4 of them and top ten in all 6. Colleen Holloway swam 5 events and finished 5th in 4 of them, and 6th in the other. Jan Miller placed 1st in 4 of her 6 events, plus a 2nd and 3rd. She also set 4 new National Senior Games Records along the way. Great job ladies!

I will be up at Boerne Lake this Saturday. Anyone is welcome to joinn us. Weaker swimmers may use fins. We leave the boat ramp at 8:00 a.m. Sean and David are swimming at 6:30 a.m. and you may join them if you wish.

5 and 10 K swims will be offered July 13 and 14. I need your name to reserve a lane for you and to line up timers. If these dates don’t work for you, let me know which weekday will and I will try to locate a pool for you.

Blossom Pool - Friday, July 13 10:00 a.m. Start
Ingraham - 5
Mayhew - 5
Francis - 5
Roberts - 10 (timer 2nd 1/2 - Ingraham)
Gershenhorn - 5
Rulon - 5
Gude - 5

Blossom Pool - Saturday, July 14 8:00 a.m. Start
Dowling - 5
Mayhew - 5
Anderson - 5
Guirl - 5
Garcia - 5

Dallas (SMU) is hosting a LCM meet on July 20-21.
Click here: http://www.damswim.com/docs/2007_summermeet_entry.pdf

The Davis pool will be open for workouts until August 3 this year. But Walker pool will be closed beginning July 16.

For those that even considering going to Worlds next year, you should apply for your passport now. Worlds are in April and it is taking sometimes up to 6 months to get you passport sent to you. Don’t get caught up with the new year applications.

Lake Swims have now begun on Saturdays 8:00 a.m. from the BoerneLake boat ramp.  The road may still be closed, so allow an extra 10 minutesto walk from the gate to the lake. We bid good-bye to Patricia Cuero who moves off to Seattle,Washington.  The 6:00 a.m.’ers will miss her!  Tim Gillispie heads offto Kansas.  Best of luck to him! Congratulations to our ladies water polo team, who placed 4th at theMasters Polo Nationals in California.  They beat the USMS teamthat had gotten the better of them at last year’s Worlds competition.  Wayto Go, Gator Gals!  We had a blast with 5 of our Mom’s coming out to cheerfor their little girls… Great responses on the last Nutrition Note email!  I’ve beenasked lots of questions about what HEB is offering.  Please call1-800-299-7226 for more details and prices of the lab tests offered. More health notes.  The JCC is offering a freeorthopedic doctor’s discussion on knee problems on June 27th. You can call 695-6959 for a free evaluation of your eyes fora study conducted by South Texas Eye Institute.  Be sure to pick up a Fitness Punch card at the JCC.  You areencouraged to attend a variety of fitness classes offered, but I can still punchyour card for swimming.  If you get 30 punches, you earn a free beachtowel! Entries for LCM Nationals at the Woodlands, Aug 10-13, can be foundhere:  Click here: 2007 USMSLong Course Nationals Entry due date is June 22.  Theteam is staying at the Residence Inn. Team discounted rooms can be pickedup.  Please call 1-800-331-3131 and ask for MOST team rooms. Our get well wishes go out to Janie Birkhead for a quick heal on her collarbone of which she injured while walking a dog.  She won’t be able toget back in the water, until just before LCM Nationals.  We hope that shewill still join us at the meet anyway. We have already had 7 people mail us their 10 K swim forms. One swimmer is from Australia!  Ronda and Roberta have finishedtheir swims with personal bests, and Shelly Probber swam the 5 K.  Wewill have 6 people on Friday and 14 on Saturday, swimming away on their 5 K and10 K swims. Time to start preparing for our October Rim To Rim Grand Canyon hike. Buz will be presenting our training program at his home on Tuesday, June 26 at7:00 p.m.  (Directions to come later, but as a head’s up he lives offBitters, in between 281 and Blossom Aquatic Center.)  It is veryimportant to train for this event.  It may hurt a bit, but it will benothing compared to the hurt that you will embrace, if you have nottrained. Jim and Susan Gershenhorn are having aBBQ on June 30 and wanted to invite the Master’s team. The BBQ is on June30 (Sat) at 5pm.  Their house is 631 E. Guenther St.  They’ll beserving hamburgers and hot dogs and Margaritas.  Please bring a side dishor dessert.  All family members welcome.  Please RSVP at (h) 534-9917or (cell) 325-4934 or e-mail at susangersh@aol.com  Good luck to all our National Senior Games participants as they head out toLouisville this weekend. Wednesday, July 4, Blossom will be closed, but we will have the 8:30 a.m.workout at the JCC for our Firecracker Workout.  No 6:00 a.m.workout. Catch ya’ in the water,SusanWeekly Inspiration: Winners have simply formed the habit of doing things losers don’tlike to do.Weekly HealthTip: Do not leave bottles of water in yourcar. The heat causes toxins from the plastic to leak into the water and theyhave found these toxins in breast tissue, which in some cases, has led to breastcancer.See what’s free at AOL.com.  

Schedule changes, 10K training advice, and more (more…)