The Latest News

This page is home to our Menlo Masters news. Visit often to see what's most current and to check for latest results, upcoming deadlines, and fun features. Subscribe to receive news via email by logging into My Account and opting in.

Newsletter
August 16, 2011
by Tasha Capen
In this edition:

Upcoming Events

August 21 - Splash & Dash Weekend Series, Open Water Swim (Morgan Hill) 
This Sunday! And with a team challenge - Menlo Masters men versus Menlo Masters women - the squad that has the most finishers for the swims (1 & 2 miles) will win gift bags for each finisher - rally your teammates! Sign up online or on the morning of the event. In addition to the two swim options, you could also try a duathlon, either a 1 mi swim/3 mi run or 2 mi swim/6 mi run.  
--Info and registration: 
http://www.thresholdracinginc.com/splash-dash-weekends.php  

August 28 - Summer Picnic (Bair Island Aquatic Center, Redwood City) 
Join us for fun, camaradarie and rowing in Redwood City at Bair Island 11:30am-3pm. Bring the whole family to try the Dragonboats, outrigger canoes and rowing shells. Sign up and pay by Aug 24 - only a week left! See front desk staff, or click the links below, for registration forms and more details. We look forward to seeing you there! 
--Event Sign-up: 
https://spreadsheets.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0AtUOxuTLNrE0dDA3YldHYW9TMUtDbFZVdW05RDR1TUE&hl=en_US 
--Event Info and Payment Form: 
https://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&pid=explorer&chrome=true&srcid=0B9UOxuTLNrE0ZjZkYTZmNDAtMzI3Ni00NDVjLTljNWYtZWIzMzg2ODRhODNm&hl=en_US  

September 17 - Dynamic Duo (Burgess) 
Our annual team event where swimmers pair up to swim a total of 2000 yards alternating 50 yd swims is only a month away! Pick one of four time slots and Tim will pair you with another teammate to complete the swim. The pair of you will challenge the others swimming in that time slot. A sign-up sheet will be available around Aug 29.  

September 25 - 8th Annual Alan Liu Memorial SCM Meet (Mountain View) 
Mountain View Masters is holding their annual short course meters (SCM) meet in honor of their fallen coach Alan Liu. There are 50s of each stroke, 100 IM and 100 free (Speed Club membership opportunity!) and THE ANIMAL challenge - sign up for and swim the 400 IM, 400 free, 200 back, breast AND fly to receive a special award. Very close by - a great host team and a great event.  
--Registration and information: 
https://www.clubassistant.com/club/meet_information.cfm?c=1291&smid=3266 
--SCM Speed Club standards for 100 free: 
https://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&pid=explorer&chrome=true&srcid=0B9UOxuTLNrE0OWUwM2UyZTAtNjEzYS00MzA2LTkyNzctMmRiNzM3MGEyZTY2&hl=en_US&authkey=CPSemfAO


<top>

Swim Across America

Coach Judy Strauss is participating in the Swim Across America, "Make waves to fight cancer," event held in the SF Bay, September 24. It's a 1.5 mile swim from the Golden Gate to Crissy Field after a scenic ride from Pier 3 past Alcatraz and out to the 'Gate. (There's also a 0.5 mile option.) A great personal challenge for a great cause - this year's swim will help fight pediatric cancer. Here are a few ways to get involved: 
--Sign up for the swim - on your own, with a team or join Judy's team, Team BASS: http://www.swimacrossamerica.org/site/TR/Events/SanFrancisco?fr_id=1184&pg=entry 
--Be a land-based volunteer to help with the event: http://www.swimacrossamerica.org/site/PageServer?pagename=Get_Volunteer (scroll to "Register Today!" for instructions on registering as a volunteer) 
--Go to Sports Basement THIS SATURDAY (Aug 20): Sports Basement (The Presidio store) is hosting a party for Swim Across America from 2 to 4 pm (see attached flyer). Shoppers get a 10% discount and 10% of sales goes back to Swim Across America.


<top>

Results: Trans-Tahoe

189 relay teams took on the nearly 12 mile challenge to swim across on July 23. Water temperature was around 60-63, as is typical for this race, despite the late snows this year. Four Menlo teams completed the challenge, representing us well:  

-Circus Sheep (Men 240+): Bruce Bower, Jeff Hewitt, Scott Kaloust, Mike Moran, Duke Rohlen, Mike Texido 
This intrepid team finished 13th of a large, competitive field of 27, with a time of 4:46:35.  

-Shivering Timbers III (Men 300+): Tom Anderson, Allan Anderson, Phil Arcuni, Bill Dawson, Tim Sheeper, Dave Tambling 
One team member down with a sudden illness left the remaining five members even more determined to complete the swim than ever. They finished 4th of 9 teams with a time of 4:35:07, despite not finding their lead-off swimmer Phil Arcuni for 40 min (he swam by them so fast they didn't see him!). The pirate team flew the Menlo Masters colors on their ship, and Team captain Bos'n Tom reported: "The Timbers needed 3 legs from Phil "pugwash" Arcuni and Allan "sparrow" Anderson; Bill "the foretopman" Dawson kept us fired up with witticisms and stories from the Master and Commander book series; and Dave "scurvy dave" Tambling told us some great yarns about his days as an officer aboard an aircraft carrier. To a pirate we had a great time!"  

-Mighty Menlo Mermaids (Women 240+): Barbara Breen, Tasha Capen, Stephanie Couch, Laura Legros, Jana Matena, Nancy Prouty 
The Mighty Menlo Mermaids won their division of 13 teams with a time of 4:31:50 (and the fastest Menlo time too!). The secret to their success was mascot Miranda, the pinata mermaid and her glistening, fluttering cape - easy to spot from the water. Miranda helped find lead-off swimmer Nancy Prouty who zipped by the boat in the early pack of swimmers off the start, and Miranda shielded the team from the cold waters and the myriad dangers of the deep lake (or so she claimed). While she was proud of the team's finish, she continued to pine for the lake's waters and ignored the celebrating team for their victory photo (see bulletin board at Burgess).  

-Lane Etiquette (Just For Fun): Geoff McCavitt, Anne Young, Joel Darnauer, Stephane and Kirsten Mouradian, Roger Osborne 
Showing the rest of Menlo teams how to REALLY do this race, taking the "just for fun" mantra truly to heart, team member Stephane reported: "2.5 year old Tycho came with us on the boat and actually enjoyed the ride (especially "driving" the boat), Anne took the up and coming baby ("team member #7") for her 30 min swim and I soloed the swim alongside the relay-ers. It was great to have their company in the water."  

Congratulations to all Menlo Trans-Tahoe competitors!


<top>

Results: USMS Long Course Nationals

One of our star Lane 1 swimmers, Mike Pyle, sprinter extraordinaire, proved himself worthy of the moniker at USMS Long Course Nationals at Auburn earlier this month. Mike entered the 50 and 100 free for this meet. He won the 100 free for his age group (35-39) with a 54.18, which was also the second fastest time overall in the 100 free of any age group at the meet. He came in second in the 50 free with a mind-numbingly fast 24.45 - a Stanford buddy, and collegiate All-American, took first with a 23.95. Mike's 50 free time set a new *Pacific* Masters record, beating the prior record 24.56 set in 2006 by Brett Lang (a gold-medal Olympian on the 4x100 free relay in Seoul). Mike also set two team records with his swims and now owns the fastest 50 and 100 free records in LCM on our team. Congratulations!


<top>

Results: Open Water Swims

Open water swimming season is in full swing, with a number of local Pacific Masters sanctioned swims (which count toward Pacific Masters open water point totals) and quite a few other open water swims Menlo Masters swimmers are participating in. A total of 24 team members participated in the six Pacific Masters sanctioned events: Spring Lake (500yd, 1mi), Del Valle (3/4mi, 2.5km), Russian River (1mi), Cruz Roughwater (1mi), Cruz Cruise (2mi), Donner Lake (2.7mi), with the Donner Lake and the Cruz Roughwater swims drawing the most Menlo swimmers - each had 11 Menlo participants. In their respective age groups, Marianne Brems has amassed 5 first place finishes, Nancy Prouty has 3 and Kent Steitzel credits another first place finish for Menlo Masters.  

Nancy Prouty and Stephanie Couch both swam Donner and agreed that the weather was perfect that day (blue sky, still water, high 60s/low 70s), and that the water was comfortable at nearly 70. (They felt that Miranda the Mermaid continued to watch over them from Lake Tahoe!). Stephanie was able to apply the techniques she learned from the Karlyn Pipes-Neilsen clinic the prior weekend. Marianne Brems reported the following from the two Santa Cruz swims:   

"[Saturday (the 1 mile race)] was a fine day and I'm guessing there must have been 250-300 swimmers. We went around the pier from left to right. The run up the beach seemed punishingly long to me (probably 25 yards) ... They said the water was 58 degrees, but I had 61 on my thermometer watch on the finish side.  

Sunday there were only a handful of people for the 2-mile swim, I'd say something like 50. I had 58 degrees on my watch. We started on the left side of the pier again then went out and around a triangle on the right side then back to the same place we started. The run to the finishing arch this time was twice as far (Why? Is this a duathalon?). Actually the 58 degrees was good news for me [as] the cold doesn't bother me at all."  

Congratulations to those who competed in these swims: Sergey Averchenkov, Sandy Bardas, Marianne Brems, Ann Burton, Sean Carlton, Stephanie Couch, Joe Davis, Veronica Doeschot, Steve Foster, Greg Gaffney, Dave Gildea, Scott Kaloust, Laura Legros, Anna Lippi, Janice McCall, Martin Michael, Steve Munoz, Nancy Prouty, Peter Remick, Kent Stietzel, Karen Stine, Vangie Ventura, Mimi Winsberg and Madhuri Yechuri.  

In addition, Dennis Woodside has completed the June and July versions of this Sunday's Splash and Dash, and Lark Widen did the June Splash and Dash. On Aug 7, Laura Legros, Janice McCall, Kent Stietzel, Kathy Swartz and Dennis Woodside all swam the SwimOutlet.com Silicon Valley Open water v1.0 at Steven's Creek Reservoir (1 and 2 mi options). Laura and Kent both landed first places in their categories and Janice took home a second place finish.  

Always looking to push themselves, Bill Dawson, Scott Ray and Dave Gildea swam the Alcatraz Touch and Go swim - a 2.4 mi swim that goes out to Alcatraz...and BACK! Bill placed 3rd in the non-wetsuit group, Scott 4th and Dave 7th in the wetsuit division. Dave reported:  

"It was a little bumpy near the turn and there was an ebb on the second leg. These things and the scenic views from water level and the course corrections made this swim more interesting than most. We agreed that it was great fun. Afterward we breakfasted with Irish Coffees at the Buena Vista and then were back home when it was still morning."  

--A list of Menlo Masters Open Water swims through Aug 7: 
https://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&pid=explorer&chrome=true&srcid=0B9UOxuTLNrE0MzJmNDQ3NjYtN2U1OC00MzA2LTlkNDAtMzU5MjBkYjM1ZDRm&hl=en_US


<top>

Results: Long Course Season Wrap-up

Now that the bulk of the long course meets are complete for 2011, summaries of our team's swims are available on Google docs. 
--Individual swims: 
https://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&pid=explorer&chrome=true&srcid=0B9UOxuTLNrE0MzVkNDBmNGItZjg1ZC00NGZmLTk4OGQtNWQxMWFlMDgwOWRi&hl=en_US 
--Relay swims: 
https://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&pid=explorer&chrome=true&srcid=0B9UOxuTLNrE0ODA0ODc0NGUtYmRkNi00M2UyLWE4MzEtYzU0NzZhNDQyZWYy&hl=en_US 
--LCM Speed Club results: 
https://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&pid=explorer&chrome=true&srcid=0B9UOxuTLNrE0OGQ1NjFlYTItNzBiYy00ZTYxLTg4ZmUtMjY4OTg3YmM0ZmNh&hl=en_US


<top>

Keep in Touch with Teammates

Join our team's Google Group and have access to nearly 150 team members via a single email address: menlo-masters@googlegroups.com. Only team members are allowed to join. Recent discussions have been about the wide variety of open water swims and swimmers sharing which events they'll be attending. Also, we've been sharing information about the results of those swims shortly after the event is complete! You can also get advice about gear, find a carpool to a team event and so on.  

Note: You do NOT need to have a Google account to use the group list (though it does make looking up past posts easier...)  

If you've not yet joined, but want to, you have 2 options: 

1) If you have a Google account already, or don't mind creating one, you can send an email to: Menlo-masters+subscribe@googlegroups.com, and follow the instructions provided.  

2) If you want to join, but do not want a Google account, email Tasha Capen at tasha@menlomasters.com.


<top>

For Your Calendars...Menlo Masters Team Events

** 2011 Team Competitions and Events ** 
 - *August 21* - Splash & Dash Weekend Series (Morgan Hill) 
 - *August 28* - Summer Picnic (Bair Island Aquatic Center) 
 - *September 17* - Dynamic Duo (Burgess) 
 - *September 25* - Mountain View Swim Meet (Mountain View) 
 - *October 14-16* - Pac Masters Short Course Meters Meet (Walnut Creek) 
 - *October* - Killer Quad I (KQI) Hour Swim, ~Halloween (Burgess) 
 - *November* - KQII 50x100s, ~Thanksgiving (Burgess) 
 - *December* - KQIII 75x100s, ~Christmas, and KQIV 100x100s, ~New Year's (Burgess)  

** 2011 Year Round Intramural Challenges ** 
 - Year-Rounder - Swim 10,000 yards in a day once per month 
 - One Million Yard Club - Swim 1,000,000 yards in 2011 
 - Speed Club - Meet the time standard for the 100 Free at a swim meet 
 - Swim the Cycle - Swim each of the 18 events at meets throughout the year 
 

 Supporting links: 
 - Year-Rounder - record your progress: 
https://spreadsheets.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0AtdguLaBiFTWdEZYQ09wNGJoUXNJcnVsWVhEVUwxNGc&hl=en_US#gid=1 
 - One Million Yard Club - record your monthly progress: 
https://spreadsheets.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0AtUOxuTLNrE0dFZJdXdFZ1dZZnF5Y0syUndLREdpcXc&hl=en_US&authkey=CMGNosMD#gid=0 
 - Speed Club - SCY/LCM/SCM standards: 
https://docs.google.com/leaf?id=0B9UOxuTLNrE0YWE1OGExYjgtYWY2YS00ZWMyLWEwMjUtOTc3YjU4ZjVhN2Nm&hl=en_US  - Swim the Cycle - Email Tasha Capen for a list of what you've already swum


<top>