Here We Grow Again!

As MTSC Masters continues to MARCH ON FITNESS this month, we have almost exploded at the seams! We are happy to announce that we will add the following workouts during the week to help open up some lane space in our regularly scheduled workouts.

Most of you have noticed the small group that has been swimming from 6:30-7:30 a.m. on Tuesday & Thursday mornings. While this began as an entry level group, it has taken on a life of its own, and it is now time to put these practices on the official schedule.

This is a perfect group for entry level to intermediate level swimmers, even though we welcome swimmers of all skill levels! Mark it on your calendars as workouts are happening this week – we’ll see you on deck.

Vote for Julie for “Faces of Fitness”!

Seems like our MTSC Masters are always outdoing the competition.   Julie Shuck, who swims with our “Breakfast Club”, is vying for Fitness Magazine’s Faces of Fitness on Facebook.   Julie is a great example of how fitness should be a factor in everyone’s life–she ran the Boston Marathon while she was three months pregnant with her third child!  Follow this link to vote for Julie: http://photos.fitnessmagazine.com/face-of-fitness-contest/12/2011/38.  You can vote for her once daily, so let’s support Julie–maybe she’ll take us to Hawaii with her! 

Way to go, MTSC Masters on capturing the TRIFECTA—the Men’s Women’s and Team titles — at the Barbara Stevens Invitational Meet in Bowling Green, KY! What a way to start the year!

Our women outdistanced the competition with 160 points over Lakeside, KY with 90points, and Arizona Masters with 70 points.

The men outscored all competition with 418 points, followed by Western Kentucky Green Gators, 386, and SwimLouisville 165.

In the Combined scores, MTSC again took top honors with 578 points, followed by WKGG 386, and the YMCA of Middle Tennessee 187.

Individually, our swimmers earned 20 new national qualifying times and set 10 meet records. Here’s a rundown of who made NQTs at the meet and qualified to swim at Nationals:

In the men’s events, Doug Thain had a perfect day. Thain, who competes in the 50-54 age group, won five events, and earned national time standards and set new meet records in each event he swam– 50 freestyle (24.28), 200 freestyle (1:56.16), 500 freestyle (5:15.90), 50 backstroke (27.85) and the 100 butterfly (1:03.21).

Dennis Mullins and Cody Chlasta also had five individual wins each. Dennis achieved the national time standards and set new meet records in the 50 and 200 backstroke events. Cody pulled down five national qualifying times in the sprint 50’s of each competitive stroke and the 100 yard IM. Keeping it in the family, older brother Scott Chlasta achieved four national cuts by winning the 50 and 100 freestyle, and placing second in the 50 back and 100 yard IM.

MTSC’s Will Fuqua was not to be outdone, earning four individual wins and setting three new meet records. Will won the 50 (30.17),100 (1:06.33) and 200 breaststroke (2:31.89), all in record time. His winning times in the 50 and 200 breaststroke were all under the national qualifying time. He rounded out the day with a win in the 100 Individual Medley (1:01.57).

Roger Lancina, who just turned 70 years young, won the 200 and 500 yard freestyle events. He also competed in the 50 (44.13) and 100 (1:39.41) yard breaststroke, establishing new meet records and earning national qualifying times.

The ABCs of NQTs

Speaking of National Qualifying times; many of you have commented, “These times are so fast – how do they determine the criteria for these time standards?”

* Yes, most of these standards are incredibly fast. Here is how the standards are determined: They take the three year average of the USMS Top Ten 10th place time and then add a conversion factor of 15% for 50’s and 100’s, and 10% for events 200 and beyond.

Next question …

Do I have to qualify to swim at nationals, or can I just sign up to go?

* The national meet draws the best swimmers from across the US. In order to manage a meet of that size, swimmers must qualify to attend. When a swimmer makes a cut, they are also allowed one bonus event that they might not qualify for. The only way a ‘non-qualified’ swimmer can attend is that they can go and enter one event only per-day.

Nationals are very exciting and very fast. They are hosted at some of the finest swim venues in the US. It is a great environment where many of our past Olympians, national champions, and ex-collegiate athletes turn in some inspiring performances. Many of our swimmers who have only gone to swim one event per day come back inspired at the level of competition and fitness that they observe at this meet.

MTSC will plan to attend summer long course nationals at Auburn later this summer.

Honors for our Team!:

Jon Jepsen: One of our teammates recently received a tremendous honor that we must share because he is too humble to share it himself. Jon Jepsen was honored for his commitment and coaching excellence in developing Indiana swimming this past weekend in Munster, Indiana. He was honored at the dedication of the new 50 meter pool that was built on the high school campus. As a coach, Jon has put as many kids on division I college teams as any other coach in our country. Jon is an example of someone who still “walks the walk and doesn’t just talk the talk” as he still competes at 74 years of age. It is a pleasure to have Jon involved in our MTSC program and we are honored that he chooses our group to train with. Congratulations, Jon!

Doug Thain: What can we say about Doug Thain, besides WOW! Doug, or “The Natural” as we call him, ended the short course meters season with three #1 national rankings in the men’s 50-54 age group. He leads the nation in the 100 yard backstroke, 200 and 400 meter freestyle. Doug finds himself in the presence of some of our nations elite swimmers from the past decades. Congratulations Doug – your hard work and dedication inspire all of us every day at workout and dry land training! You make it look easy!

Swim and Spin this Saturday:

Swim and Spin starts this Saturday. Bring your bike and trainer; there’s no time like the present to train for the upcoming triathlon season! Swim is at 8:15; spin is at 9:15 in the Geeks lab. Unload your bikes at 8:00. If you need a trainer, call us at 822-8800.

Check out our NEW BLOG and Swim Tips!

At MTSC Masters, if you’ve heard it first, you heard it here! We have relaunched our blog (http://mtscmasters.com/mtscmastersblog/)! We hope you really enjoy it! One big addition is our Video Tip, which will appear on both our blog and our Facebook page (www.facebook.com/MTSCMasters). There are even more new ideas coming, so be sure to subscribe to the blog while you are checking it out.

Have a great week and we’ll see you on deck!

With 100 100s, we started the year
Quantum Leap built our base…we had nothing to fear.

Shredded, but fit, we attacked Bowling Green
We won all the trophies without making a scene.
Five of our teammates earned national cuts
Now, that’s great swimming—no ifs, ands or buts!
Carmen, Will, Scott, Bill Taylor, the “Natch”
All showed their skills with the pull and the catch.

We think that our athletes deserve all the best
So a summit of doctors we put to the test
We heard Dr. Jenkins and our own Dr. Dave
Give us the info we all seem to crave.
To help us train safely and stay injury free
From agony in the feet to pain in the knee.

Combining science and sport helped us to achieve
A level of fitness that we could hardly believe.
Physiological testing by Barry and Tap—
Collecting the data and recording each lap.
Crunching the numbers to prove what we know
That fitness for life keeps us young and aglow.

Our team got some press on the national scale
Big Red and RA—an inspirational tale
On the USMS website, her story she told
Of the benefits of swimming—much better than gold!
Speaking of websites, ours must be the BOMB…
Cool Website of the Month—mtscmasters.com!

Compete? Yes, we did on a national scale.
Atlanta and San Juan, and we didn’t fail—
To make our team noticed; each swimming our heat
15 Top 10 finishes—now isn’t that neat?
Atlanta was fun, our team did just great—
Then Doug went to the tropics, 50 meters on his plate.
In old San Juan, he swam and he swam–
4 Thirds and 2 Fourths, man, did he JAM!
He kept on jammin’ in meets that would come,
Now in two different events, well, he’s number ONE!

Even open water made our team members compete
Big Shoulders in Chicago was no easy feat!
Lake Michigan was cold, the skies were all grey
It stormed and wind blew for most of the day.
But Coach Ron and Sarah were champs through and through
And when they hit the beach, they both had turned blue!
Shivering, but happy, they completed their swim.
5K takes its toll on your vigor and vim.
Think of something warm—like coffee and pajamas.
And hope your next swim is in the Bahamas!

MTTC was born with a particular reason
To prime our triathletes for their race season.
Swimming and Spinning on the deck of the pool
For our tri team, it was just another tool.
To achieve great results, they continued to train
With the Music City Triathlon etched on the brain.
They swam and they biked and they ran the whole course
Thinking of winning—the barn and the HORSE!
And triumph they did, as they each reached the finish
To the top of the podium, like Popeye after spinach!

When summer was hottest, we needed a party
Off to Tomato Fest—it was really quite arty!
The Burrito Eating Contest seemed a great idea
Getting hosed with water while scarfing a tortilla
Filled with hot peppers, and all kind of stuff
Cramming it down, well, it got a little rough.
Did I mention the costumes? Coach Ron and Bart—
Well, I’ve really gotta say they both dressed the part!
But Cody appeared, with his tux and no shirt
Got the ladies’ attention, and that didn’t hurt.

Now, open water swimmers are a whole different breed.
Escape to the Rock fulfilled every need.
Our curriculum took us to Old Hickory Lake.
To Rock Castle Cove, it was no mistake—
Grinders, Special Ops, and Nacho Cove were all fun
And as we sang Kumbiyah; our summer was done.

Before summer’s end, we held our inaugural event—
Swim Across America—we needed each dollar and cent.
To cancer research, our efforts would go
For the Faces of Cancer we’ve all come to know.

From sweet little Ansley to Jackson and John
And for all the new faces we stumbled upon.

Janel, Craig and Ashley, our Olympians three
We all were inspired I think you’ll agree.
With love, toil and tears and much perspiration
We earned $50,000—now that’s inspiration!

We showed all our swimmers our Southern roots
With a picnic and a singer who wore cowboy boots!
On a hot, muggy day without even a breeze
Our swimmers gathered to help cure this disease.

One mile, a half mile—any distance they selected.
100 plus swimmers, our hearts all connected.
Our new friend Dana came to swim a mile.
The chance of a lifetime, he emerged with a smile.
Weight loss and fitness and a show on TV,.
Helped him achieve his goal for all to see.

We’ll continue our quest, to see cancer defeated.
Only when there’s a cure will our task be completed.
So, all hands on deck, all swimmers too—
SAA 2011—we’ll need our whole crew!

As the days became shorter, it soon became fall.
Coach Ron had a challenge for one and for all.

G.O.A.T. presents tasks, both mental and physical
And the looks from bystanders were always quite quizzical.
From canoeing to donuts to Lifechurch.TV
We worked through the puzzles and solved them with glee.

A walk through the park with our mascot Otis
Who left Ron’s backyard without any notice.
On his own great adventure until early next morning.
Three joggers found him without any warning.

Back to Ron’s, then to the pool Otis went.
Our teams all competed with focused intent.

At the end of the morning, we gathered for lunch
Barefoot Charlie’s we chose as a great place to munch.
All the participants were absolutely delighted,
Except for Otis, who wasn’t invited!

Before we knew it, it was already December
One Word made our Christmas one to remember.
As they sang at our party, we remembered the reason
We gather together to celebrate the season.

Now, recapping a year isn’t a perfect science.
We’re bound to miss things we can say with reliance.
If we missed your achievement, we do beg your pardon
We hope you’ll still love us and hearts will not harden.
Please think of this year and all the good times,
And please understand I’ve run out of rhymes…
We’ve been training so hard and our engines are revvin’
Can’t wait to see what happens in 2011!!!!

      ]]> http://mtscmasters.com/mtscmastersblog/?feed=rss2&p=12 0 http://mtscmasters.com/mtscmastersblog/?p=8 http://mtscmasters.com/mtscmastersblog/?p=8#comments Thu, 21 Oct 2010 21:01:00 +0000 MTSC Masters http://mtscmasters.com/mtscmastersblog/?p=8 This month at MTSC Masters, we will have three different opportunities for competition and fitness challenge.  Next weekend, there are two different swim meets that you can attend.  GRIN is hosting a two day short course meters meet in Indianapolis, with a full compliment of events on October 30 & 31^st.  Crimson Tide Aquatics in Tuscaloosa is also hosting a short course yards meet on October 30^th.  This meet’s focus is on sprint events. 

Additionally, we are focusing on our team goals during the 30-60-90 challenge with a focus on 30 minutes of exercise five times per week through the month of October. Other upcoming events in our “Territory Ahead” include G.O.A.T. (Great Outdoor Adventure Tour) on November 6^th and the Louisville Invitational (short course meters) in Louisville on November 21^st.  Mark your calendars now and we’ll see you on deck. – Ron

We’re tall people.  Short people.  Thin people.  Not so thin people.  Older people.  Younger people.  People who swam in college.  People who just learned to swim and seek new challenges.  People who are in perfect health.   People who face struggles each day because of chronic illnesses.

We’re proud to say that one of our MTSC Masters has received a bit of national recognition by our governing body, United States Masters Swimming!   Rebecca “Big Red” Ehmling is the lead story on the USMS website:  www.usms.org.  Rebecca describes her battle with rheumatoid arthritis in an article called “Swimming for Life”.  I know you’ll be inspired.

Swimming for Life is what masters swimming is all about. Swimming is truly a sport that you can enjoy for a lifetime.   Knees and hips get a lot of wear and tear from pounding the pavement; the water offers an equally challenging workout without the stress on the joints.

Seeking new challenges keeps life interesting.  The women of MTTC, our new tri club, have requested a women’s swim and spin midweek workout.  To that end, we are launching our Women’s Swim and Spin this Thursday at 9:30 in the Endurance Geeks’ Human Performance Lab.  For your convenience, you can drive around to the back of the building and unload your bikes there.

Our regular Saturday Swim and Spin that normally meets on the pool deck will also meet in the Endurance Geeks’ Human Performance Lab at 9:30 because our new starting blocks are being installed!

Next, we advance our mission to bring the very best medical personnel and credentialed coaches to our athletes.  To accomplish this, our Doctors Summit will continue this month.  Dr. Brandon Jenkins will speak to the Middle Tennessee Triathlon Club on Sunday afternoon, February 28th at 1:30 p.m.  He will speak about active release therapy and will demonstrate ART on team members at the meeting.  Dr. Jenkins is a Doctor of Chiropractic, Board Certified in Physiotherapy, a certified strength coach, and has a degree in Applied Kinesiology.  The meeting will be held at Endurance Geeks’ Human Performance Lab.  NOTE:  this meeting is for MTTC members ONLY.

Mark your calendar for Saturday, March 6th at 9:30 a.m. (immediately after our masters’ workout) where MTSC’s own Dr. Dave Trenner of Vanderbilt Sports Medicine will be our featured speaker.  This session will be open to anyone in the Hendersonville  running/multisport community who is interested.   This open forum will address treatment and prevention of injuries to the foot and ankle that are common to runners and triathletes, such as plantar fasciitis or Achilles tendonitis.  Dr. Trenner does a terrific job of addressing these concerns.  We encourage any of you who wish to attend and have a specific concern to ask Dr. Trenner, to please email it in advance to commandoswimmer@hotmail.com in order to keep our meeting pertinent, focused and streamlined.  This session will meet in our Multi-use Room.

Since February is a month all about the heart, our regular MTSC Masters’ workouts will focus on progressive heart rate sets.  This will be an exciting phase in our training cycle that will be sure to inspire us through these bleak mid-winter months.

We’ll see you on deck!