June 26, 2011.
Glorious sunny, low wind morning. Water temp in upper 50s.
There is a masters group from the peninsula that is preparing for the lake Tahoe swim in July with this crossing.
We also have a family swimming their first open water event! Dad, and 3 kids are crossing.

My open water friend Cathy and 5 other women swam this past Sat, 16hours and 29 minutes from the Golden Gate Bridge to the Farallones. It is 30 miles and water temp ranged from 50-54 degrees. Each woman swam for 1 hour shifts and no wetsuits were allowed. Pre-dawn to post-sunset! The waves were up to 20 feet. So awesome, so crazy.

http://gallery.me.com/vitobialla/100119

Cathy told me that she was throwing up most of the time and it was hard and not fun in the, “oh, yeah, this is great!” It was an incredible experience that motivates me to go outside our comfort zones and get a jolt of mother nature. There is nothing like the power of a team to achieve more than one may believe. So grab a buddy or two and go out there and share an experience together which creates a truely unique friendship and success.

One group of clients that I am training, is a family that is preparing to swim the Trans-Tahoe relay together. A family connection and an opportunity to achieve while still having the parent/child rivalries. I love this idea. I grew up swimming 4.4 miles across the Chesapeake Bay with my brother and dad since 13. Mom was our #1 fan, dropped us off on one side and cheered for us all coming in. My brother and I always beat my dad!! Ha, and 1 year, my brother and I finished the same time out of 500 swimmers. Incredible, we got to cross the finish line holding hands. This once a year swim is a great memory in my youth and I hope to keep parents and kids swimming together. As a matter of fact, open water swim practices start this Thursday at the Berkeley Marina at 6:30pm. Come on out! We are starting to train for June 26- a Golden Gate Bridge Crossing. And there is 1 dad and 3 kids doing it together. Go family Go!

I worked with Liv, a 7 month old baby, during the sunny part of today. This is her 7th lesson. She cried a lot. I noticed a new tooth, front and center, lower jaw. So, ok, the first big goal is to sitt on the side of the pool and jump/fall into the water, submerged and then move toan independent back float to relax and then roll over and kick yourself to the wall.

Liv can fall from the side and into the pool and independently back float. Just today, rolled over onto her stomach and had face in the water. she started kicking her legs! wow. for me, babies look like boys. I dont know why. When Liv was out of a bathing suit plus two neoprene suits, and she was warm, she tiredly smiled at me.

I had an hour 30minutes break and decided to sit in the chaise in the sun and melt. I started talking to a member who likes to exercise in bits, but doesnt have the focus to do endurance. We talked power nutrition during events. He mentioned to me that he goes to the sea. goes to the sea. goes to the sea. I really like how it sounds. How it seeps from your own mouth and I have to exhale to the sea. the sea helps me exhale. rhythmic breathing, ebb and flood.
check out this video…

Let’s get ready and plan the summer with SF Bay area open water swims.

http://www.openwaterpacific.org/

I am surrounding myself with 7month to 70 year old swimmers. I am teaching basic survival skills like submersion, floatation, relaxation and enjoyment in water. The baby screams as communication and it doesnt bother me, really. The toddler who is so in his head about fears and can not’s. The ageless swimmer who is piecing verbal descriptions to physical movement. mind-body.
motor control and muscle memory.
bilateral strength and individual parts used to create a whole movement
eek, too much to remember.

i like to connect the dots during a massage, and on a body. I hope to find the tightness and the referral spots. Yes, and I will continue a bit to soften the rest of the limb and bring it back to the orginal hot spot.

I like to connect the dots for learning swimmers. I hope to relate a swimmer to a movement for efficiency and rhythm. Rhythm is so soothing and can also be incredibly powerful.