Face the Music

It was winter 1999. I was a freshman on my high school swim team and "Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me" had just come out the previous summer. I doubt many, if any, of my high school swimmers remember either the year or the film. Does that make me "old"? Don't answer that.

The movie is an otherwise forgettable sequel to the fabulous progenitor of the Austin Powers franchise, aside from a few things: Heather Graham, Mini Me, the phrase "Get in my belly!" and Lenny Kravitz' cover of The Guess Who's slow-burning rocker "American Woman". I bought the soundtrack on CD simply because of this song (does that sentence mean anything to you, boys and girls?). This was just something we did before there was iTunes, Napster, etc.

Lenny and his funky guitar stylings became part of my pre-meet ritual. I would blast Kravitz' cover though non-ear-covering or noise-canceling headphones from my shock-protected, bass-boosted Panasonic CD player on the bus, repeatedly, before each meet. Not social enough yet to feel comfortable talking with other swimmers and relaxing prior to the swim, I would press play, close my eyes and let the juicy bass line and guitar riff waltz me into my race mindset.

Here's where I went:

To be honest, I'd never watched this official music video for what became one of my favorite pump-up songs until about ten minutes ago. But there's a lot swimmers could learn from it as an instructional tool. Just fast-forward to 2:42, and there's Ms Graham demonstrating impeccable streamline technique. Highly commendable! She must've been a swimmer prior to her illustrious acting career...

I'm curious what music everyone's listening to these days to get psyched and amped up for swimming. Michael Phelps and Ryan Lochte claim to benefit from some manner of heavy-hitting rap "beatz" prior to their events. I'll admit to falling victim lately to the likes of Carly Rae Jepson and Taylor Swift urging me onward during masters practice. 

But don't blame me; blame the secret geniuses who've perfected the formula for ultimate pop performance. "Call Me Maybe" is exquisitely planned and executed, ear-burrowing, Top 40 gold. It just is.

The Razor's Edge

Suddenly the high school team I coach and I find ourselves in the final week of practice for the regular season. Our last dual meet is this Friday, with the district, regional and state championship meets following over the next several weeks. But for a number of our swimmers, this is it.

And as such, our head coach is encouraging our male athletes to shave. Yes, to shave. Now, the word "shaving" in swimming actually has a double meaning, but both are in the context of preparing for a big meet. 

In one sense, shaving refers to reducing the number of yards per practice. This is generally done somewhat gradually, and in a specifically timed manner. Throughout the season, swimmers are pounded with yardage in an effort to both continually break down and strengthen muscles, as well as develop a hearty aerobic base. Between hefty practices, their bodies have little time to rest, so many experience soreness, fatigue, even malaise, etc.

But with an important meet nearing, coaches will shave, or "taper" practices shorter and shorter to give swimmers and their fatigued bodies an opportunity to rest and more fully recover. And in essence, because their bodies are in the routine of turning over such great amounts of energy and effort to keep up with the grueling practice regimen, suddenly when less work is required, swimmers experience an overabundance of energy that is then expected to be used to go faster than ever before in the important meet.

There's also a fair amount of excitement over having a two-hour practice instead of two-and-a-half; then one-and-a-half hours, then one. It's mental shaving as well, I suppose.

But there's also literal shaving. As in shaving cream, razors and boys. High school boys will typically get together and shave at least their legs, to complement the shaved practice yards. Sometimes boys will get carried away and do their arms, chests, heads, feet, backs, etc as well. Boys do get carried away at times.

On a basic level, one could make the argument that shaving one's appendages decreases drag (on some more than others) by removing excess hair from the skin. And it's true, the drag coefficient probably does decrease somewhat. But honestly, I think the number is nominal. It's not a big difference. What IS a big difference is the feeling: the tingling, the intangible-tangible sensation of shaved skin against the suddenly much cooler air and water, the tiny cuts made in the skin by the razor exciting surface-level nerves that have been disrupted for perhaps the first time ever.

I say tangible because you can feel the difference between hair and no hair. That's simple - it's there, then it's gone. But "intangible" because you can't quantify how much of a difference it will make in terms of time in the race. Having a shaved body, plus shaved yardage, could drop you half a second in one race. Or it could spark a spectacular meet, a series of sensational swims with huge chunks of time just melting off personal bests like meat off a perfectly slow-roasted pork rib. You don't know. And that's exciting.

So this week at practice will be something of a transition. District's isn't until next week, so we won't get into full-blown shaving or tapering, put sets will become more race- rather than yardage-oriented. And there will be more reminders to stock up on razors and shaving cream. Fun.

Hydration shmydration?

If you match the color numbered 8, you are a dried up corpse

Water. It's all around us while we're swimming. So we don't need to drink too much during practice or a meet, right? Wrong. Hydration is just as important in swimming as any other sport. And some of my high school swimmers (ahem, Lafonda) need to be reminded of this fact.

At last Friday's meet and again at today's practice, we saw a lot of lethargy, a lot of tired swimmers, a lot of cramps. Some of that is unavoidable. I understand high school kids don't get nearly enough sleep, or maintain optimal nutrition. And these symptoms are also signs of the body working to advance from not being in shape at all to being somewhat in shape. Cramps and fatigue are going to happen. 

Getting through fatigue and cramps is partially about toughness. Forcing blood to keep moving through your muscles despite a lack of oxygen isn't easy, but it's something you have to do as an athlete. You have to play through pain, play through exhaustion. If you stop and sit out with a cramp or because you're tired, you might as well not have shown up. Players keep swimming. Champions keep swimming.

But champions also hydrate - a lot. Hydrating is all about "early and often". And proper hydration can help athletes - even swimmers! - prevent and combat fatigue and cramping. Now, I'm no nutritionist, so here's an article by someone who knows what they're talking about that gives some good advice and explanation about hydrating for swimming.

A key takeaway from the article is this: the need to be mindful of how much water you're drinking on a daily, even hourly, basis. I asked a handful of my student-athletes at Friday's meet if they recalled how much water they drank that day at school. The majority didn't have a good answer. Which most likely means they weren't hydrating enough. Be accountable for your own (de)hydration and resultant performance. If your night's not going well, be able to answer the question Why?

And once you know the answer, be able to eliminate it. Most likely, it starts with drinking more water. Just do it.