#51 The Tide in Maine to Ring Out 2013

I did say the blog would live on and this was a memorable swim event for the journey to continue.

The Tide had their annual trip to Maine and I was asked to help chaperone.  The destination was Bowdoin College for a dual meet against Greeley High School and a Pentathlon meet the second day. We traveled by motor coach with 46 high school kids and the silliness inherent with that. Most notable was solo rendition of White Christmas by one of the boys. The a Bowdoin pool and field house are nice and as expected the Tide won the meet handily.

The Pentathlon meet was a new format for myself and the team. In the pentathlon you do a 100 of each stroke and finish with a 200IM and those with the lowest cumulative time wins. The meet was for high school kids, USA Swimming kids and masters. I told Coach Valz what the heck enter me. As it turned out there were only two masters-yours truly and a wicked fast 26 year old also a Weston coach. The heats are by seed time and mixed with boys and girls of all ages. As you can imagine I looked quite funny up there amongst the kids. It was the first time in many many years I had actually raced in these events.

So here are my results:

100fly 1:08.12

100back 1:11.81

100breast 1:13.31

100 free 58.33

200IM 2:35.01 (I thought it was 2:34.84)

A couple of interesting tidbits 

-100 free: I was in the same heat as Sean (15) who is basically a freestyle skier but a diver and an occasional swimmer for the team. He is actually a good swimmer but doesn't like it and doesn't train that much. He is darn good for about a 50. Well,the announcer says over the PA it's a race between father and son "let's see who wins". Not ideal, Sean and I had enough back and forth already and I didn't need the extra pressure. He swam a 57.95 and I was a 58.33. He beat me but age adjusted I think I won. Apparently, the announcer commentated the whole race.

-200 IM: I miseeded myself with a 3:00! My high school kids very nicely pointed out that the average age of the heat was 11 years old-and with me in the heat the average age was 15!!! The kid next to me came only up to my waist-seriously. I won by at least 30 seconds-very embarrassing.

-Sean won 3 of 5 events vs me. I crushed him in the 100 br, and we were a few seconds off in the other events. It was very, very close with respect to the lowest cumulative time but I eked it out the win 706.58 versus 706.65. Very lucky.

We had a fun time going back and forth with it. Very fun to compete with each other. Sean is a tough competitor.

After the meet we went to Sugarloaf, ME for a few days of skiing. I was so bushed the first night I sent the family out to dinner and I went to bed. We had a good time despite the cold and Sean's and my bi-annual visit with the ski patrol (nothing serious).

2013 was an awesome year! Looking forward to all that 2014 has to offer!!! 

I am blessed by family, friends and opportunity!

100x100's with the Tide during Christmas Break.

It's the journey...not the destination.

We've all heard the above truism in the past reminding us to enjoy the moment as we strive for a goal and that sometimes what we learn on the journey could be more valuable than the goal itself.

This certainly holds true in my journey to swim in 50 different pools in one year. It sounded like a fun birthday project to celebrate turning 50 but it was so much more...

Here are the numbers; I swam in 50 different pools, in 4 different countries, in 16 states and swam nearly 110,000 yards in 353 days!!! 

But it was more than just the numbers...

I went to foreign countries (Morrocco, Canada, Turkey) and experienced new and different cultures. I planned and researched travel to find new and unique pools. Who would have ever thought there would be a beautiful 50 meter pool on a small island in the Sea of Marmara or one in the middle of the Bosphorus Strait. I had to beg and plead to get into some pools notably in Turkey and Santa Barbara. I was even given my first senior discount along the way (ugh).

Most importantly, was that family and friends were involved and supported me along the way. I had an awesome trip to Turkey with my nephew Spencer, Dad and Bill joined me for the grand finale, Shannon swam with me (yes, you read that correctly) the kids encouraged and indulged me and my wonderful friends encouraged me, got me into pools and provided new ideas and suggestions. 

And yes, I enjoyed detailing my adventure on my pool spreadsheet and this silly little blog read by small number of family and friends that are bored or are insomniacs.

Since I have had so much fun this last 353 days I see no reason to stop chronicling new pools and swimming adventures both near and far so...the blog will live on!

Yes-it is all about the journey and I am looking forward to where it will take me next!!!

Pool #1

Pool #50

#49 & #50 The Finale...Santa Barbara Bound!

A good friend told me I shouldn't end this 50th Birthday Celebration project with a run of the mill YMCA or community indoor swimming pool but to go out-BIG!

I took his advice and decided to cap this adventure off in Santa Barbara at two of my most favorite pools. To make it extra special Dad and Bill made the journey from Portland and Denver to be part of this journey. We did it right by staying at the Four Seasons Biltmore making it a combination "boys trip" and Christmas party. 

The first pool (#49) to tackle was a community pool, Los Banos Del Mar located by the Santa Barbara Harbor. It's a great outdoor long course pool built 50 years ago (kinda ironic) where you can see the sunrise over the mountains and boat basin. I have swam at this pool a few times in the past and was able to swim yet again with the Santa Barbara Masters morning crowd. It was a good workout and I recognized a handful of guys from past visits. Such a great feeling to swim outdoors!

After breakfast at the Cajun Kitchen it was time for a little culture at the Santa Barbara Mission. We took a self guided and learned of the important role the Franciscan friars had in the early history of California. We then knocked around State Street checking out old haunts. Late afternoon found us enjoying the luxury and holiday atmosphere of the Four Seasons in Montecito. To fuel up for the final pool the next morning we went to Los Arroyos for Mexican food and margaritas. 

The grand finale and 50th pool was the historic private Coral Casino Beach & Cabana Club that sits on Butterfly Beach in Montectio. While I've had the opportunity to swim here in the past, every time I go I am blown away by this awesome outdoor 50 meter pool that's literally steps from the Pacific. Bill joined me for this swim and dad was there as the photographer and videographer to memorialize the occasion. 

We capped our easy going workout off with a 50 fly (37 sec) followed by a jacuzzi overlooking the Pacific Ocean. Always thinking and one step ahead of the game, Bill thought the event wouldn't be complete without a dip in the chilly ocean. Speedo-clad we jumped in the ocean with the hoots and hollering of a bunch of surfer girls (in wetsuits) paddling past us out to the break. 

Two awesome outdoor pools in beautiful Santa Barbara in two days with Dad and Bill I can't think of any better way to put a bow on this 50th Birthday project!

Looking forward to the next trip and many more swims in Santa Barbara!

Mission accomplished and ONWARD!

#48 Thanksgiving Weekend Swim

We had a great Thanksgiving weekend Holiday. There was a lot of food and catching up with kids. Ryan, came home from USC and Jessica took the train up from NYU. We enjoyed listening to stories about early college life. We also got to visit with Tommy, Alden, and Katie. Everyone was having completely different experiences and they all seemed to be loving it.

I was clearly lacking from an exercising perspective. The weather was too cold to go outside or I was just plain lazy and didn't workout.

Today however was the exception as I knew I needed to kick it in to gear as we start the week. #48 was at the Boston Sports Club in Waltham where I got to swim with Shannon. It was the third time we have had the chance to swim together on this journey. We even split a lane! She is getting better every time we swim with each other.

It's one of the nicer health club pools. The water was a bit warm and it's a 25 meter pool. I swam 2000 meters.

This time of year I am reminded of the many things I have to be thankful for; my family, my friends, my health and a loving patient wife and kids.  I am also thankful that the next (and last )two pools will be outdoor pools in...stayed tuned. They will be good ones!

#47 Stars & Stripes and Friendship @ the Y

It was awesome and fitting that the Westport Family YMCA worked its way into the closing days of this journey.

This is the pool where roughly 13 years ago my passion for swimming and some would say swim fashion was rekindled. When we moved from Chicago to Westport I joined the Y and donned the classic Mark Spitz speedo for my first workout. The pic below is the modern version of the suit from Budgy Smuggler. A classic!

Little did I know that when I started swimming at the Y I would meet some guys (Andy, Mike, Mark, Paul, Clay, etc) that would become great friends and have such an impact on the way I start my mornings. Because of them I started actively swim as regular exercise in the pool, in the open water (Long Island Sound), to biking and to running. Eventually, it morphed into combining all three into triathlons of all distances. While triathlon doesn't play the role it once (replaced by swimming) did I learned from them; the importance of exercise, having fun, acting like boys, and most importantly building great guy friendships.

While it had been a good number of years since I had been at the Y it hadn't changed on the outside let alone on the inside. It seemed all the "regulars" from many years past were still showing up in the morning.

Not all the guys were there for our morning swim but Andy and I had a great swim in the very warm Y pool water. Good memories!

There were a lot of great things about living in Westport for five years but clearly one highlight was the friendships that were created at the Westport Family YMCA.  Pool #47 is a special pool.

#46 One Is Silver The Other Is Gold

Pool #46 at the Mercer Island Country Club was a small by product of an awesome few days with my college friends in Seattle.

After nearly 30 years of a long over due reunion we had a reunion of our Sigma Chi pledge class that coincided with our collective 50th birthday celebrations.  I flew to Seattle on Thursday and spent the night at the Seifert's and had a wonderful dinner and memorable visit with Anne, Matt and Katherine. Before dinner and I went to the club with Anne. She went to play tennis and I went for a swim. It was a 25 yard bubble pool (my third in the journey). Like all bubble pools at night the lighting was dim and the water seemed a bit warm. While I didn't swim particularly well or long (2000yds) it was good to get some exercise after a long day of travel. 

After seeing the Seif kids off to school and a catch up with Anne I went up to Shoreline for a short visit Bette Mae and Tom. They looked well and I heard the stories of their cross-country train trip. I was then off to quick lunch with Glen Biely (Sweet B). A short but sweet visit. 

Phew...by this time I was a bit pooped but after a short nap at the Residence Inn Lake Union I was ready to see "the guys".  While a small handful of our pledge class may catch up occasionally via phone, email or an occasional visit it had been a very, very  long time since we had gone to a Husky game and seen a majority of the class. In fact, in many cases we hadn't seen each other since we graduated 28 years ago.

We kicked off the night with drinks and apps at Cactus. It was such a blast laughing, hugging and telling stories and catching up. Unbelievable!

It's was then off at a much too late hour to Fado's and Irish bar near Pioneer Square where we proceeded to tell more stories of our glory days and our current lives. As the dj began to play 80's music the dance floor ended up being a bunch of 50 year old guys dancing with each other and requesting songs we use to dance with at exchanges. We closed the bar at 2:15. Very fun and funny!

Thankfully, the Husky game was a night game so we could sleep in and rebound. Eventually, we made it to Pagliaci's Pizza on The Ave for nourishment before we went to the Sigma Chi Annex for a party with the college kids and the off for a tour of the house. While we knew that a house with 80+ guys living in it can look a little rough. I am not sue we were prepared for how trashed it appeared. Better them living in it vs us.

It was then off to the game in the newly built stadium to watch the Huskies play Colorado. The stadium looked great and while not ideal, I guess appropriate for being back in Seattle-it rained throughout the game. Late in the third quarter when we established that it was going to be a blow out we left the game for the College Inn Pub. It was a muted celebration after the night before but a few pitchers of beer and some food capped the night well. Some of us went back to the hotel to watch tv and handful went out. 

It was one of the most fun weekends that I have had in a long time. As I sit here exhausted on the plane flying back to Boston I can't help but think of the old adage "make new friends but keep the old one is silver the other is gold!" Great times, great old friends and I know we won't wait another 30 years before we do this again.

#46 pool will be memorable for many other reasons than just another pool in the count down.

#44 & #45 Hopped Off A Plane @ LAX

I hopped off the plane at LAX with a dream to hit #44 & #45...

Shannon, Sean and I are here for Trojan Family Weekend 2013! 

Courtney stayed at home this trip because of her important roles in her Treasures of Weston play. We miss her. We spent our first night at the Georgian Grand Hotel in Santa Monica. After a long day of travel and some biking down Venice Beach a nice dinner we went to bed not too late to prepare for pool #44.

The pool was the Santa Monica Swim Center at Santa Monica College. It was a big outdoor facility with a 25x50m pool with and in addition a separate 25 yard pool. I got there late around 6:45 and it busy with an age group practice, masters practice and other lap swimmers. Outdoor pools are awesome! 3000 meters in an outdoor pool followed by Starbucks is a great way to start the day,

We had some time before we could meet Ryan at USC so we took a leisurely drive down Sunset from PCH to Hollywood. We drove through the Palisades, Brentwood, Bel Air and Beverly Hills before we decided to be tourist in Hollywood. Walking down Hollywood Blvd in front of Grauman's Chinese Theatre is quite entertaining. It was fun!

Eventually we made it to USC with Shannon waiting to see her boy and Sean chomping at the bit. The big excitement of the day "seeing Ryan" happened around 2:00 after class. With his long hair, blazer, tie and longboard he clearly looked like a pledge at SC. We had a great time catching up for a bit, meeting bros' on campoos and checking out his dorm. It was then back to class. We all had dinner at the Lab Gastropub with roommate Joe's family. Sean then went for a sleepover with Ryan.

Friday morning I got up early and walked around Alumni Park and then Shannon and I ate at the parents breakfast and bumped into a friend of hers she hasn't seen since college whose daughter goes to school here. Eventually, we caught up with the boys and very happy but tired Sean. 

#45 came at a welcome time in mid-afternoon at the old USC Physical Ed pool. It's an indoor vintage pool with big tiles and high gutters. It's the pool that Olympians; John Naber, Joe Bottom and Bruce Furniss use to train in. Today the water is very warm and it seems to be the teaching pool for international students. Swam only 1500 yards but that was all I needed.

We then had an early dinner at LA Live and then the Beach Boys at Bovard Auditorium. Ryan didn't go but we met up later to drop Sean for another sleepover. A great way to end the evening for game day tomorrow.

Game day USC vs Utah started with a trip to The Row for a brunch at the ATO house. It was great to meet Ryan's friends and to see where he hangs out. We then walked to the historic LA Coliseum for the game. SC won 19 to 3. We had the chance to visit with Billy & Janet Willson at half time and I bumped into an old, old friend from elementary school-Billy Ruth.

 

A long day was capped off with dinner at the original El Chollo with Ryan's friend Otto from Indy.  We are all packed and ready for the flight tomorrow. All in all, it was a great weekend. We really enjoyed seeing Ryan in his new environment and knowing he thriving. It was also fun to see how excited Sean was to hang with his bro.

Looking forward to the family being together at Thanksgiving and onward to pool #46!

#43 Game Day Clemson, South Carolina

Today's pool is the first in a series associated with college football games. A DSM meeting in Greenville, SC in the fall followed by a Clemson football game has become a tradition for our sales management team.  Today's game is a big one Clemson vs Florida State two teams ranked in the top 5. Because it's a big game it starts at 8:00 tonight which gave me time to swim at the Westside Aquatic Center in Greenville. It's a very nice facility that was remodeled a couple years ago. The masters team came in late so I swam solo and came up with my own workout for 3500 yards.

A good workout this morning before an afternoon of tailgating is key. Off to tailgate and the game!

#42 The Big D and my first senior discount...

I'm in Dallas for four nights at an airport hotel for a series of meetings. The view from my room is beautiful-see below.  Fortunately, I'm near a Mexican resturant that I really like Via Real in Los Colinas-already eaten there twice.

I was also able to find a nice pool at the North Lake College Aquatic Center very close to the Four Seasons and Via Real. It was a 50 meter pool under a huge bubble. The pool was very active with a swim team, synchro team, aqua-sizer class and lap swimming. Due to the configuration of the pool it was 27.4 meters long for lap swimming. I had a good swim and was good to get some exercise in a long day sitting through meetings.

My only beef with the experience was that when I went to pay for admission the young lifeguard behind the desk asked how old I was. I said 50 and she said "oh-you can swim for free". I replied "ok but, I would still like to pay".  She said, "you are old enough to swim for free-go". With one last valiant attempt to not let my age get me in free, I said "what would you charge me if I was 35 years old?" Her was reply was, "I'm not telling."

Finally I gave up and swam for free and got my first senior discount-ugh!

#41 Best of the Ivy's

There are eight traditional prestigous eastern Ivy League schools in America In this quest for 50 pools I have been fortunate enough to swim in the natatorium of three of them; Penn, Harvard and Brown. 

Through some Google Images home work of my own and very reliable anecdotal conversation I am happy to report that I have been to the best natatorium of the Ivy's...Brown University!

Yesterday I had the opportunity to go with my friend Tucker to Providence, RI to swim at Brown. As an alum of the school and the university swim team he was able to get us into this great facilty gratis. The athletic complex and pool are only a few years old and it shows. The entry to the complex is like walking into a nice hotel with overstuffed couches, coffee tables, fresh flowers  and chairs. Beyond the lobby is a beautiful brightly lit 50m pool with spacious spectator seating ideal to host a championship meet. Tucker had run a half marathon before so we only got in just over 2000 yards but it was totally worth the drive. In fact, with a sprint 50 free we both clocked respectable times.

I am very partial to my MIT pool but I wouldn't  mind swimming on a regular basis at Brown University.

While technically not an Ivy League school I am looking forward to one day swimming at Stanford University's beautiful outdoor pool-a Best Coast Ivy school

Thank you Tucker for making pool #41 possible and being part of the journey.

#40 Ordinary

I wish I could come up with a more exciting post about #40 however I am feeling just about as creative as the pool I swam in this morning. 

It was the lap pool at the JW Marriott Orlando/Grand Lakes. I am here for the Merrill Lynch AES meeting. The pool is attached to the spa and it's 33 yards which is an odd distance but definitively makes the cut for my quest. 

It was dark out when I swam my 40 laps (1320 yards). There was only one other person in the pool. 

Well-that's about all I have to say about that...

Good night

2013 Boston Sharkfest

Fun day today swimming in the 2nd annual Boston Sharkfest Swim with my friends Rachel and Tucker. 

It was a 1500 meter swim from East Boston boat marina to the Moakley Courthouse by Fan Pier.  It was suppose to be a nice warm day but during registration and before the swim it felt like it clouded up and turned a bit cool. The water was in the low 60's.

Tucker and I started in the first wave and Rachel was forced to swim in the second wave as she walked down the gangway. Tucker and I swam in the non-wetsuit division and as always the anticipation of jumping in cold water was much worse than the act itself. It took a few minutes to get use to the water temp and a bit longer than that to get out of the scrum of people. I got thrashed around a bit more than normal at the start. Unusually, it took quite sometime to settle in and get some semblance of a rhythm. Maybe it was the water as it turned a bit choppy or maybe it was just me. I guess the last third was a bit better in the water but I didn't have it in me to really sprint hard at the end. Near the end Rachel spotted my stroke and we touched the wall basically at the same time. Her net time was faster as she started in wave two. 

Tucker was spotted on shore all bundled up and shivering. It was his first race without a wetsuit and by the sounds of it maybe his last. I know he was just talking crazy and will do it again-sans wetsuit. Rachel and my times for reason didn't post accurately so we had some scurrying around to resolve our dilemma. It was good to do it together. 

Dilemma resolved for Rachel and Bob--2nd place podium finishes in both our divisions!!!

Congrats Rachel and Tucker. Looking forward to next year.

#39 The YMCA Flashback

Flash back circa 1989 to the Vanderbilt YMCA in midtown New York City on 47th between 2nd & 3rd.  It was early morning as I stepped off the red eye from Los Angeles with two suitcases and hopped in a taxi to my new temporary home the Vanderbilt YMCA. At that tender age I was young ambitious and had a full head of hair and didn't care where I lived as long as it was NYC. I checked into a small room with a shared bathroom and shower down the hall.  While I didn't stay there long before I rented a very, very small studio with a shared kitchen (that's better than a shared bath ) there were two things I remember from my stay at the Y. First a swimming in a pool in a subterranean basement where I was required to wear a swim cap. The second thing was a weekend morning where I was awakened by a knocking on my door asking if I needed a "spray". When I asked a spray for what, I was told a spray for cockroaches!!!

Flash forward to 2013, I am now 50 years old, have no hair and my ambition is to swim in 50 swimming pools. This ambition is what took me back to the Vanderbilt YMCA. A lot has changed in 25 years and the lobby and the gym looked nice and clean. I didn't get stay in one of the bedrooms (although I would like to relive it again) but I did get to swim in the subterranean basement pool but this time without a cap!

If I can make it here I can make it anywhere! 

#38 Politically speaking...

In my opinion, there is a lot wrong with the bipartisian politics and our politicians in Washington DC. When our elected officials can't find some compromise that averts shutting down the federal government, raising the debt ceiling or agreeing on plan where both parties sacrifice in order to get our fiscal house in order-- it's a problem.

What's not a problem is the swiimming culture in the DC Metro Area. The area is known for having some big age group and master swim programs. High school junior and Olympic Gold Medalist, Katie Ledecky the recent phenom womens distance swiming is from the local area. When I did my homework to find a pool in DC the were a lot of great choices. I finally settled on the Wilson Aquatic Center in Northwest. It was a fabulous new looking facility attached to the inner city Wilson High School. It is a 50 meter pool clearly built for competition and spectating. In my quest for 50 pools I would say it ranks among the nicest indoor pools I've found. High ceilings, spacious, clean and nice locker rooms with security and janitors visibly present.

It was my second swim for the day so I didn't feel to bad when I only swam 1500m. I also swam like to was second workout for the day. 

While I remain very skeptical about our government really listening to the "American people"  I believe somebody is listening to the local swimming community in the Washington Metro Area and look forward to another visit.