In Memory of Pakistan 3.27.2016

Today Amanda Rossilimo and I swam for Pakistan, thinking of everyone there in this most recent senseless tragedy and dreaming of the day that we only do birthday swims. ‪#‎make‬ it stop

Main set:
700 (for the 70+ killed)
P: 400...
A: easy 25
K: 275
I: 225
S: 475
T: 500
A: easy 25
N: 350
(+25= 3000)

In memory of Belgium 3.22.2016

Honor swims for our brothers and sisters in Belgium and all over the world. 2 days, too much sadness.
Today: 7000 yards "UNITY MAKES STRENGTH"
w/u 775 (31 lengths for the 31 lives killed in Brussels)
...

U= 21st letter= 525
N= 14= 350
I= 9= 225
T= 20= 500
Y= 25= 625

M= 13= 325
A= 1= 25
K= 11= 275
E= 5= 125
S= 19=475

S= 19=475
T= 20= 500
R= 18= 450
E= 5= 125
N= 14= 350
G= 7= 175
T= 20= 500
H= 8= 200 c/d

Yesterday: shorter "PEACE ON EARTH"
4900 yards
w/u 450 (3.24.2016, add #'s= 18)

P= 16= 400
E= 5= 125
A= 1 = 25
C= 3= 75
E= 5= 125
3 x 50 (:50) / 2 x 100 (1:35) / 4 x 50

O= 15= 375
N= 14= 350
2 x 25 / 1 x 150 / 6 x 75

E= 5= 125
A= 1= 25
R= 18= 450
T= 20= 500
H= 8= 200
c/d 450 ( date #'s again)

By SodacanThis vector image was created with Inkscape. - Own work, elements by Ssolbergj and Katepanomegas; Based on :File:Greater Coat of Arms of Belgium.png, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=28462803

Working with the date

A question was posed to me by my niece Franci, "I need a swimming workout because I'm getting bored with swimming a 1/2 hour continuous." I am delighted to hear she has gotten back into the water, she has a little swimming background from her youth.

This is an easy way (may be confusing to you at 1st glance) to make up a workout by using the numbers in the date of today.

example: today is March 22, 2016 or looking at all the numbers 3.22.2016

w/u 400
Swim 3 x 50 (:45)
Paddles 550 (work in drill)
Swim 2 x 50
Pull       550
Swim 2 x 50
Paddles 550
Kick 2 x 25
Pull       550
Swim 150
Paddles 550
Swim 6 x 75 (5 sec. rest)
c/d 400
= 4550 yards

So today, I took all the #'s, added them up, which = 16, so that's 400 yards (I used that for my warm up and cool down distance).
With in that continuous warm up,
1st I did 25 drill/ 50 easy free for the 3... get it 3 lengths = 75 yards    3-22-2016
then       25 drill/ 25 easy free for the 1st 2      3-22-2016
then       25 drill/ 25 easy free for the 2nd 2     3-22-2016
then       25 drill/ 25 free for the 3rd 2              3-22-2016
then       25 kick on back for the 1                    3-22-2016
finish with 25 drill/ 125 free for the 6              3-22-2016
= 400 yards

Now the work out: remember 1 length= a 25, 2 lengths= a 50, 3 lengths = a 75 and so on.

3.22.2016

Take the 1st two numbers 3 and 2, this would be 3 x 50 (pick an interval that you get 3-5 seconds rest), so there is 2x2, 2x2, 2x1, 1x6(that's a 150), and 6 (last # of the date) x 3 (1st # of the date) confused yet; easier than you think.

Paddles and Pulling 550 ( 22 lengths is a 550, so that's where the 550 came from)

So that's how I use a date in my workouts, keeps me interested.

Dream, prepare, succeed.

Happy 57 Janet

Another interesting Birthday swim in honor of Janet. We have been through so many adventures and she has accepted everything (well mostly everything) that goes with a crazy open water swimmer... thank you and Happy birthday and year, my dear partner of over 20+ years, time flies when you're having Fun.

 

 

725 w/u (3.20.1959... add the #'s)
3 x 50 (:45)
2 x 25 (***no breathing wall to line then kick on back to wall)...
H= 8th letter= 200
A= 1st= 25 ***above
P= 16= 400
P= 16= 400
Y= 25= 625 (!!!last 25 backstroke: keep below :45 pace)
1 x 225 !!!
9 x 125 !!!
B= 2= 50
D= 4= 100
A= 1= 25 ***
Y= 25= 625 !!!
5 x 225 !!!
J= 10= 250
A= 1= 25 ***
N= 14= 350
E= 5= 125 !!!
T= 20= 500
125 !!!
175 !!!
350 c/d (3.20.2016)
= 7750 Happy Birthday yards

Happy birthday Joe V

A short but sweet swim in honor of friend,  Joe V., our town clerk of Manchester,  good numbeers 7's and 3's

12021942 (add up 21=525)

7x 300 (odd full with breath control:  breathe every 7th stroke,  every 7th and 3rd lengths)
(Even: #2: 2 x 150, #4: 3 x 100, #6: 6 x 50)

12022015 (add up to 13=325)
2950 yards

HAppy Birthday to you.....

I love birthday workouts, motivation to get through the yards....
Happy birthday the my sister-in-law Dianne Urban (55): Feet are pretty special to me, and you're by water... what a match and Greg Rossolimo (my swimming pal Amanda Rossolimo's hubby, a young 35)... this is my version a super morning swim.

w/u            550 ( lots of drill)
Tube/pull  350 breathe every 3.4.5.6.7.8.3 per 50...
Swim        7 x 50 (:50)
Swim         3 x 100 (1:35)
Tube          550 breathe every 3.4.5.6.7.3.7.6.5.4.3 per 50
S                7 x 50
S                3 x 100 (1:35)
T               550
S               3 x 100
S               7 x 50
T               550
S               3 x 100
S               7 x 50
T               350 Breathe every 3.8.7.6.5.4.3 per 50
c/d            550 (lots of drill)

= 6050 SCY ... it was a great day

Dream, Prepare, Succeed

 

 

2015 Connecticut Sun Women of Inspiration Award: Marcy MacDonald

IMD Daves beach

CT Sun: Women of Inspiration

Last night, August 29, 2015, I was honored to join Suzie Whaley and Sarah Gallardo at the CT Sun basketball game. Thank you Connecticut Sun for the recognition and wonderful evening. The half-time presentation  was memorable.

Connecticut Sun To Recognize Inspiring Women

August 25, 2015

UNCASVILLE, Conn. (August 26, 2015) — The Connecticut Sun will honor its 2015 Women of Inspiration, during a pregame reception and halftime ceremony on Saturday, August 29^th, when the Sun host the New York Liberty at Mohegan Sun Arena at 7 p.m.
This year’s recipients are Marcy MacDonald, Sarah Gallardo and Suzy Whaley, who will receive the Margo Dydek Award.
“This event is one of the highlights of our summer,” Connecticut Sun vice president and general manager Chris Sienko said. “We are excited to honor three truly amazing women, who engage, challenge and inspire every day. They are wonderful role models, and we feel privileged that they have agreed to be a part of this special night.”
The centerpiece of the Inspiring Women Program, the Margo Dydek Award is named in honor of the former Connecticut Sun All Star who died unexpectedly at the age of 37 on May 27, 2011. Dydek was an accomplished professional who finished her WNBA career as the career leader in blocks, but she was better known for a warm and open spirit that endeared her to so many women’s basketball fans around the world.
“To win the Margo Dydek Award is an incredible honor,” said Whaley, the Secretary of the PGA of America. “She was just a fascinating, wonderful young woman who lost her life too soon. She really gave back not only to basketball but to those she surrounded herself with, her community and her team.”
Whaley became the first woman ever elected as an Officer of the PGA of America in 2014. Under the formal progression of offices, she is expected to become PGA President in three years, overseeing the world’s largest sports organization that conducts premier spectator events such as the PGA Championship and the Ryder Cup as well as significant philanthropic outreach initiatives and award-winning golf promotions. That is just the latest in a career that has been marked by breakthroughs.

In 2003, Whaley became the first woman to compete in a PGA Tour event – the Greater Hartford Open at the TPC River Highlands – since Babe Zaharias in 1945. That came as a direct result of being the first woman to win a PGA of America Section Championship – the Connecticut PGA Section – in 2002. An accomplished teacher of the game and recognized as a Top 50 instructor by Golf Digest, Whaley will donate the $1,000 she receives from the Connecticut Sun Foundation as the Margo Dydek Award winner to PE2Tee. To find out more about the non-profit organization that helps bring golf to schools by growing the game with children of all backgrounds, visit www.pe2tee.com.

Marcy MacDonaldShe might be accustomed to imposing challenges, but even veteran open water swimmer Marcy MacDonald admitted to being a little nervous on her last swim. On August 2^nd, MacDonald became the first American to swim the 23-mile length of Loch Ness in Scotland. It took her 11 hours, 59 minutes and 11 seconds, the third fastest solo swim of the Loch.
A podiatrist from Andover who has swam across the English Channel 15 times, the American record, MacDonald had some extra incentive to complete her swim across Loch Ness in 51 degree water. She was raising money for a cause. In this case, it was Homes for the Brave, a Bridgeport-based organization that provides, with emphasis on veterans, the housing and services necessary to help homeless individuals return to productive and meaningful life.
“The last few winters have been really brutal here,” MacDonald said. “I just started thinking about all of the homeless people. I just can’t imagine not having a place to go home to. Or not having a place somewhere warm. And then if you serve our country and are homeless? It just got to me.” It is to Homes for the Brave that MacDonald will donate the $500 she receives from the Connecticut Sun Foundation as a 2015 Connecticut Sun Woman of Inspiration. For more information, visit http://www.homesforthebrave.org/.

Sarah Gallardo A single mother who survived 10 years of domestic violence at the hands of her ex-husband before leaving her marriage after the birth of her daughter, Sarah Gallardo has turned her experience into a safe haven for others with the founding of Sarah Speaks Up, a charitable organization that raises awareness about domestic abuse while also seeking to help educate, comfort and empower victims.
“The idea behind Sarah Speaks Up is essentially to speak up about the situation that I had been in,” she explained. “Domestic violence is typically something that people keep to themselves. It’s almost like a secret that you are carrying. For me, I felt like it was something that I had to get out. By speaking my truth, it encouraged other people to do the same thing.”
Gallardo, who is currently studying public relations at Central Connecticut State University, has become a certified domestic violence counselor and has shared her story through a variety of interviews and speaking engagements. She is a dedicated volunteer at the Prudence Crandall Center of New Britain, a full service shelter and counseling center. It was there where she received counseling when she was in the midst of her domestic violence relationship. Now she gives back as a speaker, counselor and advocate.
It is to Sarah Speaks Up (visit http://www.sarahspeaksup.com/ for more information) that Gallardo will donate the $500 she receives from the Connecticut Sun Foundation as a 2015 Connecticut Sun Woman of Inspiration.

 

Captain Webb started it all

Here's a cool link to article about Captain Webb, the trail blazer of swimming the English Channel in 1875, that's a long time ago.

 

 
 

 

http://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/140-years-ago-captain-matthew-webb-swam-the-english-channel-and-made-swimming-cool?utm_source=Atlas+Obscura&utm_campaign=2bbdd98a4a-Newsletter_8_25_20158_24_2015&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_62ba9246c0-2bbdd98a4a-59887937&ct=t(Newsletter_8_25_20158_24_2015)&mc_cid=2bbdd98a4a&mc_eid=1d34508e8f

 

     

 

 

 

 

A walk to Arthur's Seat

Quick good bye to Fort Augustus/Loch Ness

Final day in Fort Augustus/Loch Ness, some quick highlights.... and not all about that swim. A beautiful place, not to sweat, relax and meet some really nice sincere people. On to the big city, Edinburgh, on the train, choo, choo....

My sister Teresa MacDonald Holder was wondering why I was not posting, I just wanting to give you a break from after all that swimming 'stuff'.

We are enjoying the beauty and lovely culture of the Highlands in western Scotland, the quiet and serene mood is a wonderful holiday destination to re-energize.


As a MacDonald, this is a very place for me and Teresa and Margaret Peterson has heritage in the Sinclair clan, Janet is has Eastern European and is having fun watching us.
...

I'm focused now on the Thistles, saw some Poppies but quickly passed them by.
Tomorrow I see Loch Ness from the ferry.
Enjoy the beauty of your day,

 

Loch Ness swim 8 2 15, the movie

The movie took almost as long to make and publish, as it did to swim.

12 minutes for 12 hours.

Dream, Prepare, Succeed

24 hour after Loch Ness

OK, after 24 hours, I have had some time to reflect on that crazy COLD swim.

 

The Distance: 23 miles: certainly challenging but fine

Temperature: averaging 51 degrees F: do-able

 

Put the length and temperature together = one really Uncomfortable Sunday swim.

 

Thank goodness the wind was light or non-existant: a mill-pond, a gift from Aeolus (Greek god of wind), taking pity on me.

Advise to other swimmers: Seize the day, don't wait for a "better day" : chances are you will not get it., make the Most of your opportunity.

My crew took wonderful care of me. Margaret minding the kettle (hot water is very important in warming the core), Teresa entertaining me and Janet, My inspiring feeder. Helen Beveridge from Inverness was our official BLDSA observer and Ryan Tozer and his crew, Robie, (of iPowerboat) safely escorted us north and delivered us warmed back to Fort Augustus.


I'm told I was pleasant but I don't think I smiled much yesterday, until it was over. There were times of amusement, Margaret swimming, Teresa dancing and Janet putting Gumby and Pokey out for me, but when that pink flag with a pirate came out, .... Feeding time, 45 seconds of rest and warm nourishment.

I don't know I did it, I kept reminding myself of my past swim experiences, night swimming in the channel, early season swims in Jersey, UK, my early years at Globe Hollow and playing night water tag at Columbia. All these helped adjust me for the ever dark
                                                     water of the Loch.

Thoughts of people going through worse things than me, Homeless people living in their cars, if they one, in the winter,: how do they get through the cold.

All and all, I had a peaceful sunrise, flat water and a cold long swim that I NEVER have to do again.

No injuries or hypothermia, I guess another may be in the plans, just not this cold.

 

Dream, Prepare, Success

It's done, success

Loch Ness: 23 COL miles
Time: 11:59

Thank you everyone for kind comments, this will a short post, I arrived home safely, bathed in a warmer-than-normal-for -me tub, took my Ibuprofen, a couple of scrambled eggs and I'm ready to try to sleep.

Thank you my crew: janet, Teresa MacDonald Holder and Margaret Peterson for preparing my feed (photo: only time I kick breaststroke) and entertaining me. Our pilot and his crew Ryan Tozer and Robie for a safe escort, and Helen Beveridge for her BLDSA observer and informatio...n to us all about the infamous Loch Ness, oh thank you/blame Kevin Murphy planting this crazy seed in my head.

Start

  

One word, Cold through out, you don't know how many times I wanted to get out.
More about this tomorrow on my cuttingwater fb page and blog with photos.
OK, zzzz time now.

 

Plans for Loch Ness: TOMORROW, Sunday August 2, 2015

Hi everyone,
This is my final post before the swim, if you do hear from me tomorrow, the weather has changed and we're going another day, but as I said previously, wind is favorable.

1st: Thank you for supporting Homes for the Brave, Thanks 100x over.
...

Track me tomorrow, Sunday August 2nd!

We meet Ryan and Robey at 5am, should be in the water at 6am.

I have a SPOT device for my Loch Ness swim.

SPOT devices use satellite technology to allow people to share communicate and share GPS coordinates from virtually anywhere in the world.

Click the link to locate my SPOT.

Just follow this link to see my location updates:

http://share.findmespot.com/shared/faces/viewspots.jsp?glId=0RWV5uFHr5aqT45F9tuaqQ7XKhopUIFAS

If the link doesn't work, try copying and pasting it to your browser's address bar.

Here we go, I'll be thinking about you all, thanks to all my training partner from this past year, Amanda Rossolimo, Terese Karmel, John Lenard, Elizabeth Fry, James Bayles, Marty McMahon, Doug Comstock, Greg Kohut and past swimming partners, Marcia Cleveland, Scott Lautman and my young LEHY summer swimmers, you're getting faster and hopefully wiser, Trust in your Training.

Again, Thank you all for supporting Homes for the Brave, that will help me through some tough patches also,

Marcella

Our final training day

We had our final training swim today in the mouth the river Oich, everyone from the party joined in, except fuzzy Peep, not his style to get his fluff wet.

Not too many nasty comments from the gals, it is a great dipping spot for acute arthritic/injury pain, one reason I like colder water, 'you don't feel the pain in the joints' .

No heart palpitations when getting in; that's a good sign and I'm not going to tell you the temperature until it is over; these are... the instructions to my crew: No mention of temperatures.
 

The weather as the Scots will proclaim has been 'crap', no summer to speak of.

 

Tomorrow, SUNDAY, August 2nd, will probably be the day, lower wind speed, but clouds and a chance of rain, what else is new.

Apparently the wind may not affect the lower end of Loch Ness but as we go north, there is a back wash affect, so we're go for light wind over sunshine and wind, it's part of the game anyway.

— with Janet Galya, Teresa MacDonald Holder and Margaret Peterson, Gumby, Pokey and Barbie

It's raining....

It's raining in Scotland, a common occurrence this summer according to the locals. They are patiently waiting in their rain and winter gear for a sunny warm (would love a hot day but really), we can't ask much from Mother Nature.

Last evening, I met and spoke with Chloe McCardel, a young strong Australia gal, training up here
for a another English Channel attempt, very interesting, I wish her the best.

I had another short swim at the 'beach' swimming up stream in the River Oich, behind our cottage. It's cold but bearable so far, we shall in a couple of days. I'd swim up the current for about 4 minutes and turn to fly back down to the mouth of the river. I can see the bottom here, and only saw one small quick fish swim beneath me, I'm preparing myself for the dark water, it's just another night swim with light upon turning my head.
Thank you Janet for watching me, safe and smart swimming.

I met our pilot, Ryan Tozer of iPowerboat, as he and Robey had to transport the boat through the locks to Loch Ness, it's a pretty cool site to watch the large boats stepping up and down the Caledonian Canal.

Very soon my friends,
I will confirm tomorrow.

Dream, Prepare, Succeed.

We have arrived to Fort Augustus Scotland

If you look at my packing, you'd think it was December 28th, not July 28th, wool sweaters, mittens, hat and pants... where am I going, oh Scotland.

I don't think I'll ever get used to stepping off the plane and seeing everyone in winter jackets.

Our biggest adventure yesterday was traveling from Inverness Airport to Fort Augustus. I don't know how much help we were, but a friendly reminder to our driver, Margaret to stay on the left, but not too left (the roads are quite narrow)... white knuckled, especially when those lorries are passing us from the opposite direction, we arrived safe in town. What a beautiful place to lay our heads, Bon Accord in Fort Augustus, a beautiful quaint cottage on the Canal leading into and out of the famous Loch Ness.
 

 



I didn't swim yesterday, but we stopped along our journey to view the Loch, water looks beautiful, cool and I started my rock collection.

I've already had notice that my swim may be quick in timing, possibly Saturday or Sunday, all depends on the WEATHER, between periods of clouds and rain, normal weather pattern this year.

I'll be in touch as soon as we firm up plans. I have my tracker with me, hopefully it will work, we're going to try it today, walking around town.

Dream, Prepare, Succeed

Remember:

 Homes for the Brave!  -Facebook pages – https://www.facebook.com/pages/ABRIHomes-for-the-Brave/199613606735630?ref=hl
-Check donations can be mailed to the following address:
       Homes for the Brave
       655 Park Avenue   
       Bridgeport, CT 06604 

- Donations can be made online as well: https://homesforthebrave.isecuresites.com/products/index.php?type=1110  

Please write “Loch Ness Swim/Marcy” to track your donation.