Performance Swim 1!

posted by Mo Sullivan @ 4:18 PM

Hello, ZUM'ers!

The first round of Performance Swim is completed and it was wonderful! We had a full class of 15 participants, each with different goals and swimming levels. I will admit, I was very nervous at first to coach everyone since it's the first program of it's kind at ZUM, but quickly got over that when I saw how much everyone benefited from the class. For those of you interested in taking the class, round 2 will begin around the holidays (neatly placed between the huge meals) in November and December. With the success the program has had so far, my plan is to hold class for 6 weeks, twice a year (summer and winter) and assign workouts in between for those dedicated to their pool time!

If you're curious about what happened in class, it went a little something like this: Arrive at Ballard Pool at 9:15 AM for a "dry land" workout, comprised of abdominal exercises, shoulder mobility exercises, and spine exercises. At 9:30 AM we all jumped into the water for a brief warm up, followed by swimming drills to iron out everyone's stroke. Toward the end of class we do pull sets (with buoys and paddles) to increase our pull strength, and kick sets. On the last day of class at Ballard Pool we played a big game of water polo, which was an insanely great workout and will certainly be added to PS round 2 on a more regular basis! The final class was held outdoors at Madison Beach where we tackled open water swimming technique and triathlon tips.

My goal with this new program at ZUM is to teach everyone that desires to swim how much fun it is, and how to make it a safe and rewarding workout. I expect the beginners and technique-oriented few will swarm the first few rounds of class, but ultimately I think we should start a TEAM! Maybe we can even reserve 2 hours of pool time and hold beginner swim first and the performance swim in hour two...

What can I say? I love the smell of chlorine in the morning :).

Snaps To You Swimmers!

posted by Front Desk Wonder @ 1:35 PM

I can't get enough of this heat. Perhaps it's because of my Midwestern upbringing and the countless stifling summers I had to endure, where temperatures hover well into the nineties with heavy humidity hanging in the air. It's the type of environment that makes breathing a chore, when no amount of showering will ever make you feel completely clean. It was a seasonal hell I lived for eighteen years. Without air conditioning. Somehow my parents reasoned that because we had a pool in our backyard, we had no need for refreshment indoors. They did not take into account the fact that they consistently opened the pool late (due to some lame excuse like a duck invasion or cottonwood clogging the filters) or that one could not very easily sleep or do homework (I come from a long line of nerds and spent many a summer at academic camps) whilst performing somersaults around a foam noodle. All the whining and perpetually sticky skin sunk in and my parents broke down and finally installed AC. After my sisters and I moved off to college.

Now I'm finding myself thrown into that same scenario: trying to function in an apartment that generates heat from its every square inch, being too hot to accomplish anything except take yet another shower, and sleeping with a fan one inch above my face. I thought a move to the Pacific Northwest would cease such activities but just like I thought I'd never have to scrape ice off another car, Seattle has proven me wrong.

Despite the fact that I feel like I'm back in Ohio, one enormous distinction has made it very clear that I am not: the plethora of natural swimming holes. The closest I ever came to Cleveland-hugging Lake Erie was when my family would go on annual fishing trips and I'd stand three feet from it's murky edge. After reeling in line after walleye-less line, I deemed the brown-green water toxic and unlivable. It was this recollection that made me shudder when last Sunday a friend asked if I wanted to counter the oppressive heat by cooling off at Madison Park Beach. "What, like swim in the lake?" I asked. Her response was something to the effect of, "Duh."

So I went. And my understanding is that many of you did as well, for one final dip with Mo in her Performance Swim Class. What a feat! You took on boat-induced waves, darting fish, nebulous vision and kids in floaties to traverse Lake Washington. Talk about a killer workout!

In a nostalgic urge to recapture my youth, I decided I HAD to go off the floating dock diving board; the short distance to the ladder alone was tiring. Granted, I was wearing a tankini that was probably as old as my last cannonball success, which resulted in a lot of one-armed freestyle: one hand sculling an exaggerated "S" pattern, the other clenching on to my baggy bottoms. Even if I had encompassed the foresight to forgo the ill-fitting suit, it still would have been a challenge. Which is exactly why I'm commending you all right now. Your body may have been sore the next day but I'm sure it will be thanking you in the end. And if that was your first time swimming in open water, I hope it's not also your last. It certainly wasn't mine! I can't wait to get in more beach time. Maybe I'll even dig out my old Speedo... and see if it has any elastic left before diving into the fun headfirst.