There has been a disruption in the proceedings. Something about a COVID-19 Pandemic that stopped the world for a while. In-person swimming meets have been put on hold. It is now September, 2021.
The good news is that POSSIBLY (!) we competitive swimmers will be congregating in Walnut Creek next month (October 2021) for our Short Course Meters Champs. My mind is getting back into the swimming meet mode. Our collective fingers are crossed. Flipping through some of my archives, I ran across this piece I wrote a few years ago about the Santa Rosa 2018 Resolution Meet: I woke up this morning still excited about the day I had yesterday. Santa Rosa Community College held its annual, small (120 swimmers) swimming meet. This venue has a reputation for being cold. It is an in-door pool, with a retractable roof. That sounds fine except that when the roof is closed and the pool area is nice and warm, no one can hear the PA system due to the reverberations. So the roof is uncovered as soon as the meet starts, and we have an outdoor pool. It's been cold here, 40 degrees in the mornings, making it a bit uncomfortable to be sitting around wet, almost naked, waiting to swim. Even the spectators dress warmly. Coach Sharlene mentioned the meet coming up and I had responded, "I don't do Santa Rosa. It's cold." At home that evening, I thought about it. Santa Rosa has always been held as a low-pressure, fun meet. It's the first Pacific Masters competition of the year, geared to bring everyone together, to get their feet wet, so to speak. No team points are tallied and there's an unusual 100-yd Freestyle relay on the schedule. Each swimmer swims one lap. In past years, I've been a spectator and watched this relay. It goes fast and everyone is laughing and fooling around, yet trying to swim fast, for one lap. Just for a lark, I turned on my computer to see if the 100-yard relay was scheduled for this year, and it was! Then I started perusing the list of events, causally tapping the events I might swim, if I were to attend this meet. First event, the 200 Free. I could do that, if I were going, I told myself. Oh look, the 50 Back. Of course, I would have to do that one also. Well, since I might be there, I may as well enter the 50 Free, and finish with my signature 200 Back. Yup. That's how I'd do this meet. And I'd keep warm by bringing things I would need: 4 different swimsuits so that I would not be sitting around wet and shivering between events. Also added to my bag would be 2 tee-shirts, 2 sweat shirts, 2 extra pair of socks, 4 towels, my light pants and jacket outfit emblazoned with our Mud Sharks logo, topping it all off with my stadium coat, long, hooded, and warm. I would have hot chocolate for breakfast that morning and bring a thermos of hot tea, solving the temperature problem. Then the registration page prompted me to pay. If I were going to sign up, I would use this info. Tap tap. It then said, "Submit." Oh Hell, I'm going to the meet, I said to myself as I pressed the button and officially registered. I then e-mailed Coach Sharlene, asking if a lady was allowed to change her mind. At practice the following day, I was very surprised to hear that only one other swimmer, Greg, had signed up to go. The reason given was that it was cold. I smiled. Coach thanked me and said Greg was happy for the company. Thankfully, yesterday was sunny and relatively warm. Sharlene arrived with her husband Eric, who had been bitten by their dog (!) and therefore was not going to swim in the meet. She showed us where to set up, near the large sunny windows and not in the breezy bleachers. The roof was only open a couple of feet and temperature was not a problem throughout the competition. The warm-up pool was outdoors, chilly going in and out and could have been a problem if it had been raining, but otherwise I did not need all the gear I lugged in. My 200 Free was good, not great. I got tired and posted a time of 2:49. It's a new race for me and I need to work on pacing myself, but I was happy. My 50 Back felt strong, .40 seconds, one second slower than my best time, but still a good race for me. At this point in the proceedings, no results are posted yet. I had taken most of December off from swimming (it has been cold!) and Sharlene complimented me with, "Who does that? Takes a month off and still swims almost her best. Who does that?" Now it's time for the famous 4-man, 100-yard relay and there are only two of us. Eric went around the pool deck asking for volunteers to swim the relay with Greg and me. Usually a relay team must be made up of swimmers all from the same team. However, in this instance, the rules were lax. It is a non-sanctioned event and no team points were being accrued. Laura Val was in attendance with her teammate Rich Burns, representing the Tamalpais Club. They are both world record holders and Laura is my idol. I swim my 200 Back in 3 minutes and she does it in 2. Yeah. And she's amazing to watch, makes it look effortless, and she's nice. We had greeted each other earlier in the day. Rich and Laura were the only two from their team and they agreed to swim in the relay with us. I wish you could feel and understand my pride. I am swimming in a relay, such that it is, with Laura Val. This is a dream come true. If I died tomorrow, everything would be all right. (Just kidding here, well, almost...) Laura led off, speeding her way down the lane. Then Greg, who started from the water at the other end because the depth of the pool is only 3 feet there and we can't take the chance of anyone diving in such shallow water. I went off the blocks with Greg's touch, and Rich brought it all home. I was the slow man, obviously, but it didn't matter. Our total time was 52 seconds. I swam my leg in 15 seconds, so you know how fast the others were! We had our picture taken when we were finished. I was invigorated. My 50 Free was up next and I swam it in 32 seconds: very fast for me, as I had a seeded time of 33. I was smiling ear to ear. I got tired on my 200 Back and swam a 3:10 instead of my usual 3:07, but I was still happy, especially now that all my events were over! Then the results were posted: 2nd place for my 200 Free, where I had been seeded 7th, but a lot of people did not show up, 1st place for both Backstroke events and 2nd place for my 50 Free, that I swam in 32 seconds!! Greg entered 5 events, 50 Breast, 200 Breast, 100 IM, 50 Free, and 200 Back. He got 3 firsts and 2 seconds. He's a great swimmer and good company. Man, I love swimming. Alas, there's no rest for the wicked. The next meet, counting for team points, is in two weeks at USF. I think I'll be there.
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OK. 2020 is behind us. Sort of. We are now into March of 2021 and the chaos and hysteria of COVID-19 seems to be calming down. Deep breath... and sincere condolences for all who have lost loved ones or have been personally adversely affected by this pandemic.
That being said, my friend Carol, Coach and Founder of Albany Armada Masters Swimming has been working steadily to keep things as normal as possible in our swimming community. Among her efforts, she aided the comeback of competitions by offering the Annual Splash and Dash Pentathlon - on line this year. This is a fun meet to do: 5 events, all sprints: 50 butterfly, 50 backstroke, 50 breaststroke, 50 freestyle and to top things off, a 100 Individual Medley (IM), professionally timed, done during the month of February. 2021 marks the third year I have entered this fast paced competition. Normally I do two or three events, but because this was held virtually and I literally had a whole month to do these, I swam all five. This was done with the amazing help of Coach Sharlene of the Rolling Hills Mud Sharks, who took time out of her busy and limited practices, to ensure I had a lane and a starting block. I must say, my times were not as fast as I had imagined, or even hoped they would be. But I have been reassured by Coach Sharlene and my supportive teammates to be patient and not put any extra pressure on myself. Instead, I can blame a year of COVID restrictions, pool closures and less training, rather than any lack of ability on my aging body. I will look back in a few years and be happy that I could swim all these events, regardless of the times I posted, especially the challenging butterfly! My results: 50 Butterfly, 45.08 50 Backstroke, 43.22 50 Breaststroke, 52.65 50 Freestyle, 33.72 100 IM, 1:34.21 May we all come through this together and stronger! It's that time of year again, although everything is different in 2020. USMS is mandated to hold an Annual Convention and we did it virtually this year. My fellow Pacific masters delegates and I spent last weekend in front of the computer at the Virtual USMS 50th Anniversary Annual Meeting and Convention. It was different of course, to be at home, yet chatting with 250 people from all over the Unites States about what we all love: swimming. This is the third Convention I've attended and have met many of the people who were speaking and asking questions.
The 2020 Convention was originally planned to be in Jacksonville, Florida. We convened there two years ago in 2018. My favorite part of Jacksonville are the blue dolphins in the St. Johns river. We had an amazing time in St. Louis last year, with a warm, southern welcome and an abundance of fried raviolis. (Seriously, fried cheese raviolis were served at least three times. I put on 5 lbs.) This year there was no traveling. Get up, have breakfast, get dressed with my Pacific Masters shirt and go to convention. My password for the meetings was a cryptically spelled "Don't Have To Fly." We covered a lot of topics, considering the new format. Lots of folks were forgetting to un-mute themselves and were talking for a while before they realized no one could hear them. But all in all, the tech part went smoothly. Instant voting results, too, instead of waiting for a count of Yes or No cards. I mention a Slack account set up for Pacific Masters. We had a group text going, "What's he talking about?" "Why are we voting on the pool/open water fees if there is no change?" and the plaintive, "Our breaks are getting shorter." Many comical comments about what's for dinner and needing a nap, or a swim (!), made the long hours sitting in front of the computer a little easier to bear. I missed my Convention buddies, Maggie and Annette. I wrote a report about the Convention for our on-line newsletter, Pacific Masters Update. It can be found on Pacificmasters.org. ,2020: A Year to Remember, and to Forget
My last entry (October 2019) was all about my favorite swimming meet of the year, the Short Course Meters Champs at Heather Farms Park in Walnut Creek, held, usually, each October. It is now September 2020, almost a year later. Months have gone by since I reported in. Why? 2020 is why. 2020. The first wave of tribulations began apparently as a foreboding in December 2019. We learned that two dear friends had passed away. Losing friends is always painful, but even more so when they leave without saying good-bye; the sadness is very deep and personal. We were grieving. Then we received more news that we had to vacate our home after 20 years. The hits keep coming. Moving out of a neighborhood that had become home, and find a new place to live was the next hurdle. We needed help and thankfully received it from family, especially family, but also friends and neighbors. This situation was challenging and difficult; the love and support from everyone carried us through. Most days were spent house-hunting, cleaning and packing, lots of packing. Add a full-time job as a restaurant server into the mix. My schedule was full, which meant, along with everything else, my swimming routine was severely interrupted. I never-the-less got to the pool and tried to make as many practices as I could, to maintain normalcy amid chaos. Swimming was instrumental to relieving my stress. I caught the water, pushed it back and then let it go. I let it go. With every stroke, I pushed harder and let it go. I am talking about water here, but also referencing my anxiety, worry and fear. I let it all go with each flip of the fingertips. The water was centering me. The balance achieved during swim practice stayed with me, helping me keep up with all the necessary details of the move. I was coping. And then COVID-19 hit. No swimming at all! No pools! Even ocean access was denied! Businesses closed, which included my workplace. No work? Say good-bye to any semblance of routine. Social interaction as we know it - forbidden! No gatherings! I was not able to visit my Mom on her 92nd birthday! This goes on for months! The hits keep coming! Damn you, 2020! Then the heat wave hit. I stopped my car, safely, along the highway to snap a photo of the thermostat on my dash. It read 113 degrees. Sunday, September 6, 2020. Yup! 2020! Now the state of California is burning. NASA and their satellite photos show that the western sections of Oregon and the State of Washington are also enshrouded with smoke from the massive fires. You can see it from Space! The fires of 2020. But there’s good news. Besides the days that are either too hot, have a threat of dry lightning, or are too smoky, the pool is open! Coach Sharlene is adding to her workload by preparing a schedule each week of swimmers and lane assignments. Only 5 swimmers at a time (instead of our usual 12-16), one to a lane with the “start” at alternating ends of the pool. Coach does a Power Walk from one end of the pool to the other, giving instructions all throughout practice. There is more good news on the swimming front. Something new in the COVID-19 era: Virtual Championships. Swim your favorite events, have Coach officially time them and enter your results on-line. Very cool. I registered for 200 Backstroke – we are friends again. (Reference the 2019 SCM Champs blog). I also checked the box for the 50 Breaststroke, the 100 IM and 50 Butterfly, just for fun. I first used the phrase “just for fun” believe it or not, at my favorite SCM meet. I was really scared before I swam, so I tried to calm myself by saying it was going to be fun. I told everyone, “50 fly, just for fun.” I said it repeatedly and what do you know, it was fun! I won my heat. So, being superstitious, I say it each time I swim the 50 Butterfly. So far, so good. Back to the Virtual Championships. I had pre-arranged with Coach that I would be timed during a scheduled practice. The time limit in the pool is now 45 minutes. I intended to swim all four events at one practice so as not to disrupt Coach’s plans too much, which meant swimming four all-out sprints in 45 minutes. This, after being out of the water for almost 5 months! I was not thinking straight. After an all-out 200 Backstroke, I was tired. My time was slow compared to my best, but it felt good. I swam my second hundred faster than my first, in other words, I negatively split the event. This is what we aim for. After a warm-down of 200 yards, I was ready for my next event: 50 Breaststroke. Surprisingly, I swam well with a respectable time. I have been working on my Breaststroke at practice. Now I was really exhausted and cannot quite look the next event in the eye. 50 yards of Butterfly did not sound like fun. The months out of the pool due to COVID had taken a toll on me. I had bitten off more than I could chew. Coach Sharlene informed me that the deadline for entries had been extended. Therefore, I could postpone the Butterfly and the IM until the next practice. I heaved a sigh of relief and took her up on the offer. The next practice day was extremely smoky due to the fires and I felt dizzy and woozy. “It’s the smoke” said Coach. I felt terrible, but raced the 100 IM, using everything I had. For a second time, the Butterfly did not seem like fun. I postponed it again. More fires and more smoke meant the air was too polluted for any outside exertion. I could not get to the pool for a few days and the deadline came and went. No butterfly. Ah well. This was a National Competition, with almost 400 swimmers in my age group. The results of my endeavors are: 76th place for my Backstroke, 67th place for the Breaststroke, and 57th for the IM. Top 20% in the Nation. I accept this with the understanding that I can do much better, maybe in the New Year, when we can say good-bye and good riddance to 2020. Keep swimming. Short Course Meters Championships, Walnut Creek, Clarke Swim Center, October 11-13, 2019
(The exact same spot where we just now had a 4.5 earthquake, Monday night, October 14, 10:45 PM, felt in Petaluma as I'm writing this!) _____________________________ What a great weekend! I along with my teammates, the Rolling Hills Mud Sharks, attended a terrific, well-run swimming meet Friday, Saturday and Sunday, complete with team camaraderie, exciting races and personal victories. I signed up for seven individual events, including the 200 breaststroke that I haven’t swum since 2014. Somehow, I fit in 5 relays too! I slipped the 200 breaststroke in, omitting my signature race, the 200 backstroke. We’re not friends anymore since I swam 9 seconds slower than my seeded time for the long course champs in July. I’ll give it a much needed “time out” and perhaps the 200 back and I can connect again next year. I won my 200 breaststroke. No need to mention that I was the only brave one in my age group to attempt the swim. Two hard-won 2nd place finishes, behind Laura Val, in the 50 back (45.19) and what has become one of my favorite races, the 100 meter IM (1:41.02). I got 4 third place finishes with my 100 back (1:39.52), the 50-meter breast (57.65), the 100 free (1:22.99) and the 50 fly (44.50). Now, about that 50 fly: I read the heat sheets before the meet and saw that Mary Welsh, 66 years old, just like me, was seeded right next to me, with the exact seed time, 45 seconds. Mary is usually a faster swimmer, so I was nervous for a few days leading up to this close show-down. Come time for the race, and I’m ready, goggles affixed, standing at my designated Lane, #3, preparing myself for the upcoming exertion of 50 meters of butterfly. I see my nemesis Mary coming along the deck with a panicked look on her face, saying, “I don’t know what lane I’m supposed to be in!” (As an aside, this has happened to me before. At the short course champs last summer, I wrote down the wrong heat number, missed my event and received a no-show as a reward!) Now here’s my competition, in the same predicament. For a split second, I considered keeping my mouth shut and allowing her to miss the event, giving myself an advantage… But, we swimmers don’t do that to each other, and I called out, “Mary! You’re over here in Lane #4, next to me! My name is Linda.” She responded, “Thank you” and then hesitated, “Oh! You’re THAT Linda!” Apparently she had noticed my name as I had noticed hers. Off the blocks we went, and butter-flied our way down the pool. We both turned at the same time, and I kicked and pulled as hard as I could to keep up with her…and completely ran out of energy, kicking in the last meter to the wall, to the finish. I had no more strength to do even one more arm stroke over the water… and saw her touch just before me. She had beaten me, but in the process, pushed me to swim my best time in years, 44.50. Thank you, Mary. I told my teammates that because I helped my competition like that, and accepted the “loss”… I may have guaranteed my entry into Heaven. It was a wonderful meet. Great people. Inspirational swims. I saw my new swimming friends that I had spent so much time with in St. Louis at the Convention. The Mighty Mud Sharks finished 5th overall, with only 13 registered swimmers, and third for medium teams. Go Mud Sharks! And the highlight: Our coach missed our splits on the 400 medley relay because she was distracted by a young man, in another lane, doing the butterfly, losing his swim trunks along the way, with a white butt rising and lowering, rising again… Not to worry, our splits will be posted on the results page on the web. I love swimming! I just returned from being a delegate for Pacific Masters within the United States Masters Swimming Organization (USMS). I spent 4 days with swimmers from all over the country as we debated new rules and regulations and held elections for next year. Here's my summary:
2019 USMS Convention, St. Louis, MO. Sept. 11-15 By Linda Hepworth St. Louis, Mo, Gateway to the West, was the location of the 2019 USMS Annual Convention. Under the shadow of the amazing Gateway Arch, committee meetings were conducted, rules were clarified and elections were held as swimmers of all backgrounds and abilities were celebrated. Delegates and representatives of Local Masters Swimming Committees (LMSC) had a great time meeting old and new friends, while learning about the hard work that goes into keeping USMS such a vibrant organization. This was the last annual meeting of the first half century of Masters Swimming! Established in 1970, 2020 will be our 50th year. 2020 is also an Olympic year, so expect to see “50 years of USMS” branding prominently displayed throughout the games! One of the most notable moments of the convention was when our own Pacific Masters’ Peter Guadagni accepted the position of President of USMS for a 2-year term. He began his speech with, “Shoulder blade, upper arm or calf…” Since branding is so important, he asked the House of Delegates to vote on where he should put his tattoo! I do believe calf won, but there was too much laughter in the room to really know. There was a lot of discussion, again this year about what to do about our dwindling numbers. Membership is down from 60,000 last year to 57,000 this year. However, our new College Club program is paying off with 5,500 new members recruited through their efforts to reach out to newly graduated college swimmers. Swimming Saves Lives (SSL) is front and center of our attention. To help with that ideal, I attended a luncheon hosted by USA Swimming Foundation. Spokesperson Rowdy Gaines sat informally with Elizabeth Beisel and Chase Kalisz discussing their amazing Olympic careers and dreams while we had a beautiful lunch. USA Swimming Foundation serves as the philanthropic arm of USA Swimming. At that luncheon, I learned that if the parents in a family don’t swim, only 14% of those children will ever learn to swim. Some staggering statistics were brought forth about drowning in this country every day, mostly adults. Drowning is the fifth common cause of death in this country. And this is preventable! Rowdy Gaines was friendly, taking pictures and giving autographs. He graciously accepted a copy of my book, The Water Beckons, about how I returned to competitive swimming after a 40-year hiatus! Later that evening, I attended the International Masters Swimming Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony. The nine inductees, including Rowdy Gaines, were impressive, inspiring and humble. Rowdy said he was in a room filled with his idols. “Rick Colella is here!” And then he added, “Wow! There’s Laura Val!” Everyone laughed. During the meet-and-greet, he remembered me, “Hi there! I have your book!” I was impressed. Apparently we’re pals now. What a night! I made two (2!) early morning workouts this time!! “The bus leaves promptly at 5:30!” On Thursday morning, I woke and along with 60 other crazy people were chauffeured, in two elegant coaches to Maplewood Swim Center. Practice from 6-7 AM. The outside air was warm and the pool water even warmer. The pool seemed long. Maybe my stroke count was off. But no, it wasn’t me. The pool is 57 yards long!!! They apparently ran out of money for a bulkhead. The outside lanes were coached, but the middle of the pool had no lane lines. There was a mass of confusion, or so it appeared to me, but made complete sense to the open water swimmers who were churning the water. Saturday, I woke again, snuck out of the room in the dark (as to not awaken my roommate) to attend another practice. This time it was different. There were no buses waiting. A few minutes late, two older school busses pulled up. We climbed in and headed out. I noticed, and wasn’t the only one, that we did not pass by the impressive and well-lit Busch Stadium like we had on Thursday morning, and we appeared to be going in a different direction. After much a-twitter amongst the swimmers, someone spoke up to the driver who was indeed taking us to a different pool. When she realized her mistake, she turned around and tried to make up time. I didn’t know that a school bus could go that fast! No seat belts, mind you! She got us there only 5 minutes late. We all thanked her for “kicking ass!” Bagels were provided after the practices. This is so appreciated and has indeed become expected! After all the business was finished, the convention ended with a grand banquet Saturday night featuring video presentations and awards for all four factions of US Aquatic Sports affiliates: Water Polo, Masters, Synchronized Swimming (now called Artistic Swimming) and USA Swimming. There was some time for sight-seeing. Many folks went to the Busch Stadium Friday night to watch the Cardinals trounce the Brewers 10-0. Sunday morning, a group of us Pacific Masters went over to the Arch. The underground museum told us about the history of St. Louis and how the Arch was built. We got in little pods and climbed 630 feet in the air for a magnificent view of the area. Great finish to an exciting week! The whole convention was a wonderful experience. I spent time with so many involved, enthusiastic, like-minded people and really got a sense of how our USMS and Pacific Masters groups are organized, and how we volunteers all work together. It’s not easy putting on the many open water, competitive and championship events. History and Archives keep all the records, too! So much is taken into account. Safety is the first concern as well as insuring the rules are upheld to make the competitions fair. The 2020 “50th Anniversary of USMS” Convention will be held in Jacksonville, Florida. I can't wait! July 22nd, 6 PM, Le Chalet Basque was unusually alive and active. It was a Monday, and the restaurant is normally closed. But, Linda was presenting her new book, and everyone she knew showed up! Her Mom was there, along with her Aunt who lives in Montana. Her sister Tracy, the "champion in the backstroke" who helped Linda edit the manuscript, heard her words being read out loud. Linda's cousin Pam, who never misses these events represented the rest of the family. The Mud Sharks came out to support Linda, and to hear what had been said about them. No worries, it's all good! Linda greeted everyone in her blue lace, water-colored dress, but then changed into her Mermaid outfit resplendent with a "ridiculous bow" covering one shoulder. As one friend exclaimed, "It's so out-of character, yet in-character!" Linda Hepworth: still a waitress underneath the mermaid outfit! Here I am cleaning up after my presentation. I can't help myself!
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