Six out of seven days in the pool was one too many last week. Or perhaps the swimming gods have struck me down for talking smack about the breaststroke. Either way, according to my doc, I’ve torn or severely strained a left intercostal muscle, and I’m out of the pool. Excuse me while I whine… [...]

Sitting at home last night with my leg elevated and my knee on ice, enjoying ibuprofen-enhanced mango sorbet, I actually wondered if the same people who invented the breaststroke invented the mammogram machine. They both involve contorting body parts in unnatural positions. Curious to know the origins, I googled “who invented the breaststroke” and found [...]

I kid you not; last week on the way to the airport, a friend asked me if the swimming convention I was about to attend would be held in a pool. Was I really just in Chicago surrounded by hundreds of U.S. Masters Swimmers (USMS)? Those 3 ½ days are like a blur. Did I [...]

Back after a well-spent 3 1/2 days at the U.S. Masters Swimming convention. Still humbled by the kindness and encouragement I experienced in Chicago. More after a good night’s sleep.

A rare, half-hour break mid-day between meetings, and where am I? Sitting in the computer room wedged between USMS’s Account Executive Kyle Deery, Northern California Rolling Hills Mud Shark’s Susie Powell and my Tuolumne County Aquatics Masters teammate, Arlene Proebsting. Ever the consummate swimmer, Susie got up in the wee hours to swim in Lake [...]

Day Three – USAS / USMS Convention… My friends at the Tuolumne County Aquatics Masters are wondering why I haven’t updated my blog recently.  Well, to be honest, I’m just having too much fun meeting other US Masters Swimmers here in Chicago. AM to PM I’m in meetings, voting on important USMS legislation and networking. [...]

Me? Speedo? Not so much. I’ll be honest. If I could swim in a brown paper bag, I would. However, a Speedo-style suit is a necessary evil in order to swim with the local US Masters Swimming program. (Actually, I like Dolfin Uglies for practice; their patterns are colorful and playful.) The professional instruction, the [...]

I am heading to the Midwest later in the week as a Pacific Masters Swimming delegate to the US Aquatic Sports Convention. The convention is where representatives from all over the country come together to come up with ideas to improve, promote and govern U.S. Masters Swimming. What would it take for you to become [...]

According to a recent article in the Anchorage Daily News, a San Diego woman swam across Sitka Sound with stinging jellyfish, 54-degree water and strong currents – without a wetsuit. At one point in her 4-hour, 36-minute swim, Claudia Rose seriously considered calling it quits, but then she was stung by a jellyfish and "didn’t [...]

Congratulations USMS… U.S. Masters Swimming reached a historic milestone, registering its 50,000th member. This marks the first time U.S. Masters Swimming has ever registered more than 50,000 members in a given year. The mission of the U.S. Masters Swimming program is to promote adult health, fitness, wellness and competition through aquatics.