About
I went swimming today with Luke, and this photo (which I found on the web here) sums up how I felt. Guess which animal is me and which is Luke?
:-)
Some days I just feel like a fat cow in the water; today was one of them! Still, exercise is exercise, and it’s good.
Introducing the Talandis Sports Channel (TSC)
We’re a sporting family, plain and simple. I’ve been wanting to be share highlights more quickly, especially of Luke’s swim races, so I’m happy to announce a new Talandis family video series: the Talandis Sports Channel (TSC). With this series, I hope to provide the thrill of victory and the agony of defeat in a timely manner.
In this first episode, Luke participates in the 13th annual “Chibiko Taikai”, a big annual swim meet in Toyama open to elementary and junior high school kids. Luke swam in four races: the backstroke leg of the 200m IM relay, the 50m free, 50m back, and 100m breast stroke. It was his first meet since last summer’s big one in Tokyo. He’s been training hard these past weeks, so check out ups and downs of how he did.
Live-blogging Luke’s swim meet
We’re at the Toyama Shimin Pool for the annual All-Toyama Youth Swim Meet. Luke is participating in four events today: the backstroke leg of the 200m Medley Relay, the 50m free, 50m back, and 100m breast stroke. I’m the team videographer, so I’ll be busy filming all of the kids on Luke’s team, Yatsuo YBG. Mama is the coach, as usual. Between races I’ll post updates, then later on I hope to upload the video of Luke’s races and some photos. Luke has been training hard of late, and we’re all excited to see what he can do today.
First race: 200m Individual Medley Relay
Luke swam the opening backstroke leg. Good news: Luke set a personal best time of 39.28! <Insert fireworks sound effects here> Bad news: Coach Mama wanted him to swim under 39, so he was “too slow!” <insert deep sigh special effects here> Luke said the wall at the start was very slippery, and he had a hard time starting well. His team also finished last with a time of 2:30-ish. Oh well! Luke, in his defense, is only in the 4th grade and was swimming against 6th graders. Anyway, never mind! It’s all about how you do personally in this sport… just try to keep improving, and accept that you’ll never be fast enough! :-)
Update: 10:45am
Luke has a long break until his next race, which won’t start for about another 45 minutes. He’s been hanging out at the Team YBG area, chatting with teammates and playing with Chiaki’s iPod Touch. Boo boo! He was told “no games” today, but he still managed to find one. Oh well. Coach Mama put a stop to that. We’ve found that he loses concentration and does more poorly when distracted by too much gaming. Another point: he just ate a banana, but it wasn’t easy to get him to do that. His appetite is small anyway, but on race days it’s even smaller. “I’m nervous, papa” he just told me. That’s probably a reason why he eats so little. Anyway, he managed to eat the whole thing by going slowly. Hopefully this will give him energy.
Update: 12:23pm
2nd race- 50m freestyle
Luke just finished his 2nd race, the 50m freestyle. Good news! He set a personal best time of 32:25. He won his heat, and his time was 3rd best overall amongst 4th grade boys in this stroke. He was only 0:41 off the top time, so he’s right up there! Great. Even more amazing, Coach Mama was very positive his effort, saying that his 1st leg was especially strong. Of course he needs to improve his turn, but overall a great job! Now he has a break for lunch and we’re going to strongly encourage him to eat something, food that will sit well in his stomach. Next race: the 50m back stroke…
Update: 1:01pm
Oh no! Luke lost his lunch… Again! This happened at the big Tokyo meet last summer. This time we were very careful not to load him up on food. But still he barfed! <sigh> What’s going on? He had one banana, one saltine cracker, a piece of kiwi, and some sports drink. How could that cause him to throw up? He’s okay now. Coach Mama is taking care of him. But we are really flummoxed as to why his is throwing up. Could it be nerves? Hm…
Update: 2:04pm
3rd Race: 50m Back Stroke
After throwing up during lunch, Luke was not at full-strength for this race. His time was 39:35, slightly slower than his first race this morning. Kudos to Luke for toughing this one out. I’m sure he did NOT feel at his best. One more race to go! Hang in there, Luke!
Update: 3:11pm
<Yawn> There is a long gap between races for Luke. All of his team mates have swum their races; only Luke is left! We’re all alone here. It’s kind of boring! Luke is antsy, bored. He seems genki, however, which is good. This is often how it goes with these meets. They start really early and last all day. Even though you only swim a fraction of what you do in practice, it’s really tiring because of the long waiting times. Anyway, about another half an hour to go…
Update 3:47pm
Race 4: 100m Breast Stroke
Wow! Luke set a PB in this distance with a time of 1:32:44. It was a grueling race, for sure! He was panting hard after he came out of the water. But his did his best. Coach Mama wanted a better time (as usual), but she was pleased. So over all, not a bad day! These meets are long slogs that always have good points and things to work on.
Gotta clean up now… I’ll post photos, video, and some final commentary later on.
Surviving swim practice
Since my wife manages and coaches at a swimming pool and my 10 year old boy is a completive swimmer, it’s inevitable that during my breaks from work I’ll be in the pool a lot. This has certainly been the case for me this winter break. One thing I love doing is to train along side my son. There is something really joyful and satisfying about that on several levels. Trouble is, Luke is usually in the midst of whatever training regimen for his next meet while flabby me has not been in the pool for a long time. So the first week of training with Luke after a long time away from the water is an unusually harsh challenge. I’m up for challenges, however, so I do my best to keep up.
My secret for completing long workouts with Luke is to use fins as much as possible, at least to start. After a few weeks, as my strength and endurance return, I can wean myself off of them. But I’ve also thought they are a great tool for anyone wanting to increase their distance during training. With fins and occasional breaks, I can swim many more meters than if I just plod along non-stop by myself. I’ve learned a lot about swimming from my wife; perhaps I’ll write more about that in the future. For now, here is the workout I did yesterday, FYI:
Total distance: 4,550m
Total time: About 2 hours
1. Warm-up: Any stroke, slow pace (100m)
2. 4-strokes Swim: 100m x 16, 2:00 interval (no rest between sets) (1,600m)
This 1,600m block consists of repeating the following 400m block 4 times each:
- Individual medley (IM) x 100 (fly, back, breast, free)
- Backstroke x 100
- Breaststroke x 100
- Freestyle (Crawl) x 100
This part is pretty tough; there is no break between sets, so it’s almost a continuous pace for 1,600m. Without the fins there would be no way to keep up.
3. Kick: (50m x 8) x 4 sets; 1:00 interval, 1:00 rest between sets (1,600m)
This 1,600m block is similar to the 1st one, only focusing on the kicks of each stroke Fly, Back, Breast, Free). Using a kickboard and fins when appropriate, we swim each type of kick for 400m, resting a bit between teach set. Naturally we don’t use a kickboard for the backstroke kick or fins for the breaststroke kick. The fins make this portion of the workout go rather smoothly.
4. Drills: One-hand stroke practice (800m)
In this section of the workout, Coach Mama has us focus on a particular point. It could be anything, as there are various drills to practice or strengthen whatever. Today we worked on developing the form of our free and back strokes by swimming each stroke with only one hand. We used a paddle for the stroking hand and a figure-eight-shaped fulcrum gadget to keep the wrist straight on the forward arm.
(25 x 8) x 4 sets; 00:45 interval
- Backstroke (right hand)
- Backstroke (left hand)
- Crawl (right hand)
- Crawl (left hand)
5. Speed training (400m)
This is the killer ending of each workout, where you expend whatever little energy you have left for some final sprints. It’s positively inhumane!!! (Just joking, sort-of)
Swim (25m x 8) x 2 sets; 00:40 interval
- Backstroke
- Crawl
6. Cool-down: 50m, any stroke, very slow
So this was our workout yesterday. It was longer than most recent ones, but contains all the basic elements (warm-up, 4-stroke swim, kick, drills, speed, cool-down).
In writing this post up, I still can’t believe I could do all that, even with the fins. I’m pretty wiped this morning, but less wiped than I was last week. I know if I keep this up, I’m going to be in great shape. I’m feeling really blessed that I have such an amazing wife with such a cool set of skills. She is such a great coach. She can help people do more physically than they ever thought possible of themselves. She has a real gift for teaching swimming as well as other sports, such as aerobics, skiing, and snowboarding. That I’m not a total slob is very much because of her. Don’t think I’m not eternally grateful!
:-)
Our pool gets new flooring:
Went into swim practice yesterday at my wife’s pool for the first time in 2012 and was greeting with a new scene: bright yellow flooring had been installed over the New Years’ break. As you can see when compared to the previous blue/orange combo, it’s a much livelier atmosphere now. The color was my wife Shinobu’s choice; she persuaded her boss to go with yellow over his choice of gray. Judging by the new look, I’d say that choice was a good one.
Favorite Family Photos: Luke in the Pool
Love this photo of Luke during swim practice one day in 2010. It captures his great smile and playful demeanor. During my break times from work, I’m often in the pool with Luke, suffering together through Coach Mama’s tough workouts. Through all the laps, we clown around a lot and have some fun.
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If something bad happened and you could only save a handful of your photo collection, which ones would choose? That’s the question guiding this series of blog posts I’m dubbing “Favorite Family Photos”. It’s a chance to look back at the past 10 years and revisit special moments in our family’s history. These are our best and most precious memories.
Training for the big race
Tomorrow (August 12th) we’re off to Tokyo for Luke’s big national swim meet. We’ve all been working hard this summer with this goal in mind: to help Luke win a medal in this prestigious race. Last year as a 3rd grader he made it to the 50m backstroke final for his age group (elementary 3rd & 4th grade), but finished 8th (last). This year he’s at the top of the group, so he has a real chance to medal.
This past week we’ve been practicing at the big Olympic-sized (50m) pool in Toyama, which is next to the airport, only about 10 minutes from our house. Shinobu is one of the coaches of the Toyama team, and she’s been helping Luke and other swimmers from our town (Yatsuo) get ready. I’ve been training along with them, trying to keep up! It’s been exhausting, but also very exciting.
Usually we do about 2,500-3,000 meter in a typical practice, working on a number of drills to focus attention on the kick, stroke, or other points. At the end, when everyone is totally tired, we do some start practice. The life guard sets up a starting block for us and we take turns jumping into the water and then having Coach Mama give us pointed feedback. Finally, comes the worst (best) part: speed training! No one wants to be first, so we play a game of “Osama Jan-Ken” (Rock-Scissors-Paper King) to decide the order.
Speed training kills! It’s really really REALLY HARD! My arms are totally aching now after this morning’s practice, but you know what? They are aching less and less each time. I’m feeling stronger and have better endurance. Just today, during our final practice, I swam the fastest 50m crawl in my life (35.5 seconds)! I was amazed. If I have made improvements in just a few weeks of heavy training, you can imagine what Luke is like now. He’s in great shape, and if he swims his best this Sunday, there’s a great chance he can make the final of both is main events and possibly even medal! I can’t think about that, though… It makes me too nervous!
The plan for this weekend is for Luke and Coach Mama to ride on the Toyama team bus, while I drive with Max to Tokyo. My sister Vi and her husband Ramunas are going to meet us at the hotel! They are flying in from India. Great timing! I’m so happy they can see Luke swim. On Sunday we’ll all gather at the big Olympic pool for a full day of swimming. Luke’s first event will be in the 200m freestyle relay. He was added just the other day by Coach Mama based on his good 50m time (33.91). Next it’s the 50m backstroke, and then the 50m breast. If his time ranks in the top eight of either event, he’ll qualify for the final, which takes place after lunch. In addition, there’s also a chance he could be picked to swim in the 200m free relay, depending on how his team fares in the first race. So, overall, Luke will have at least three 50m swims, and potentially up to six. That’s a tough schedule! Hopefully, he’ll be up to it. Go Luke!!!
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Update: It was a big day at the big pool, and quite emotionally draining. It was great to have Vi and Ramunas there to watch. However, Luke was very very nervous and threw up twice! Still, he did his best considering.
Good news: He made the final in three different races: the 50 back and breast, and the 200m free relay. The latter race was unexpected; he was suddenly chosen for the team based on his previous good time.
Bad news: he finished 4th twice, just out of the medals! We were so disappointed, and frankly I felt embarrassed that I felt that way. Overall Luke was awesome.
Best moment: Luke swimming his personal best in the relay not long after throwing up. His team finished 5th, but Luke battled to keep his team out of 6th. I really admired that.
TFiJ42: Luke’s 1st official gold medal
Hey! Luke finally got one: his 1st official swimming gold medal! And he set a course record to boot! Awesome.
Luke is no stranger to gold medals (see previous post), but they have always been of the symbolic kind, a reward for participation or acknowledgement. He had yet to grab one all by himself in a sanctioned competition. Well, that wall came crashing down on the morning of July 23, 2011. Luke swam fastest in the 25m backstroke to claim his first shiny trinket. He also managed to grab on in the 25m breast stroke and changed his IM relay team’s medal from bronze to silver with an electrifying anchor leg. (By the way… It’s so cool to call my 10 year old “electrifying”!) The meet was a qualifier for a big B&G national race in Tokyo, to be held on August 14th. This was the race Luke competed in last year as a 3rd grader. This time he’ll be at the top of his age group, so he really has a chance for a medal. He made the final in the backstroke last year, but was only about 7 seconds off the winning time. He has improved a lot in this past year, and he is close to what it will take to win, both in the back and breast strokes. This is a big reason coach mama has been training him hard this summer and why I’m always going on about swimming. A medal in a national-level race would be a huge accomplishment, and it’s within the realm of possibility, hence the hard work! Despite Luke’s good results during the B&G meet, coach mama was not impressed. She can spot imperfections in his form with ruthless precision and made no bones about how unhappy she was at his performance. For her, a gold medal in a little local race doesn’t mean much- her eyes are on the Tokyo prize. So in this respect, mama and papa looked at Luke’s accomplishment with different eyes. I’m all “wow, my kid actually won something (that I never did)!” For Shinobu, who was a champion swimmer in her day and has a closet full of medals and trophies, it was like “why couldn’t you keep your hands together on your start? How many times have I told you to stop putting your hand into the water at the wrong angle? Why didn’t you count your strokes during the last five meters?” Seems harsh to me at times, but this is the way of sports. It’s all about striving to be your best, of working hard for a goal, of never being satisfied, always pushing for more. It’s quite intense, if you ask me, but the thing is I know my wife loves Luke SO MUCH, and I know he knows that, too. Their relationship is very deep and very interesting, so I’m confident that all this intense tough-love stuff Luke is experiencing these days is for the best. It’s like my wife is an artist, building some real skills into our son. Luke will have a real advanced skill going forward and understand very deeply about the value of hard work. I’m excited to see what sort of man he’ll grow into!
