I have been working towards becoming a swim instructor for a while now. I first wrote about the idea of becoming a lifeguard back in 2022 and last fall I finally started the process. In all, I needed to complete five courses (since I already had my first aid and CPR qualifications).
In May, I applied for a job. In Ottawa, the process includes a set of fitness tests that are even tougher than what you need to pass your lifeguard exams. I failed.
I was pretty discouraged, even though the person who conducted my interview encouraged me to try again. She said I was close enough to the qualifying times that if I did some extra swimming, she thought I could do it. I finally agreed to a re-test.
I wasn’t keen about adding extra swims, and I wasn’t sure how to prepare except to swim faster. That’s where my swim village stepped in.
My coach noticed my extra speed at practice and encouraged me to keep at it. She gave me some advice on how to get more out of my head’s up freestyle. She timed me to see how close I was.
A lane-mate started doing regular freestyle sprints so I could aim to keep up while doing the required head’s up stroke. The rest of my lane-mates patiently worked around this weird set of drills that was technically what we were supposed to be doing (choice) but not quite.
Another friend invited me to the nearby pond (I’m a sucker for peer pressure) and then did her own thing while I guesstimated 50 metre distances and swam my heart out.
On Wednesday, I redid all the tests. I finished everything with a couple of seconds to spare, even though I had to do one test a second time because I was too slow the first time around.
I am deeply grateful to my swim gang who had faith in me and made time to get to help me improve my times.
A woman wearing a shirt that says “instructor” faces a line of young children wearing swim gear. They are all in a swimming pool but the children are holding on to a large blue float of pool divider and kicking their feet in the water. Photo is from https://www.lucieslist.com/swim-lessons-for-kids/
Sam recently wrote about Amy Appelhans Gubser, her amazing swim and the way it was portrayed in the media. TL:DR it was bad. Lazy journalists treated it as a “human interest” story about an overweight grandmother who miraculously did a long swim.
Since I follow a lot of marathon swimmers and marathon swimming enthusiasts, the coverage I saw what quite different. Everyone was respectful (in awe) of what she achieved. No-one commented on her age, family status, weight or anything else. I assume it’s because women are very well represented in marathon swim records (which do not have separate categories for men and women) and extra weight may actually be an advantage when you are swimming for many hours in cold water. And they can understand just how tough that swim was, and that it wasn’t undertaken lightly by some kooky old lady who miraculously succeeded.
Here’s what Amy accomplished:
Golden Gate Bridge to SE Farallon Island
47.7 km (29.6 miles) in 17 hours, 3 minutes on 11 May 2024
First to complete route in outbound direction (mainland to island)
That’s impressive all by itself, but here’s what her friend and fellow marathon swimmer Simon Dominguez had to say:
“I am still marveling at Amy’s swim. What some might not know is why this is such a difficult swim so I thought I would tell you.
28.5 miles of open water swimming. A long way but there are other swims of the same distance that are not nearly as tough. Why is it so tough ? (and thanks for asking). Because of the following:
The cold While the temperature ranged from 48 to 57 degrees F, I know that it touched down at a low of 43 near the islands. 17+ hours of swimming in these temperatures should not be possible but were for Amy because of the work she put in training in very cold water for a number of years preparing for this swim. Also, you need to remember that the longer you swim, the more exhausted you get, the more you feel the cold. Add this to the fact that as you head out to the Farallones, the water temperature continues to drop so you get the double whammy of exhaustion and cold combining to make this an almost impossible undertaking.
The currents While Amy whipped out extremely quickly at the start of the swim on a strong ebb, she then had to fight a flood. Amy told me that she got stuck in place for over an hour at one stage as she fought the tide. And it was near the end of the swim when she was the most depleted. Truly amazing.
Sea creatures Luckily Amy did not encounter any men in grey suits but they are out there all year long. I have no doubt that she was watched while she was swimming. The Farallon Islands sit in the Red Triangle – the largest great white shark breeding ground in the world. Amy respects that she is a visitor in their world. This is not the first swim that Amy has done in shark inhabited waters.
I attempted this swim in 2015 and did not make it due to a shark encounter about three miles from the finish. I could not be happier that the first person to successfully complete this swim is the amazing Amy Appelhans Gubser. A fierce competitor who has no quit in her and who is the first person to put her hand up to help others in need.
I salute you Amy. I know you probably feel like you have gone 10 rounds with Mike Tyson. But your name will now go down in history as a true South End Rowing Club badass.”
Amy Appelhans Gubser showing off the badass T Shirt her husband brought her from Dublin, where he had been while she was doing her Farallon Island swim. Photo shared by Amy Appelhans Gubser on Facebook
Amy is well-known and respected as a long-time marathon swimmer. Her first major marathon swim was across the Strait of Gibraltar in 2015: 14.4 km in 4 hours. There have been many great swims since, and she was named one of the World’s 50 Most Adventurous Open Water Women in 2019 by the World Open Water Swimming Association.
But somehow all that pales in importance imparted to her status as a grandmother (sarcasm). Sam’s son Miles made me laugh by telling Sam “All your athletic achievements could be so much more impressive if I had a kid.” I have a feeling Amy would laugh at the absurdity of it too, secure in the knowledge that people who understand marathon swimming appreciate what she achieved.
One of the way we get ideas about to blog about is that outraged readers send us some of the things that outrage them. This past weekend many of you sent us this. It’s been shared by many feminist groups on social media.
Tweet reads, “Last week, a 55 year old, 200 lb grandmother was the 1st to swim from the Golden Gate Bridge to the Farallon islands, a -30 mile journey. She swam in 43° water & it took ~17 hours. She was stung by jellyfish 20 times. It’s considered the toughest marathon swim in the world.” Comment below reads, “The fact that her weight is included but not her name is an interesting choice. Congrats to Amy Appelhans Gubser.”
Most people were shocked that the tweet mentioned Amy Appelhans Gubser’s weight but not her name.
When I shared that tweet and the response on our Facebook page, many readers also pointed out that the “grandmother” identity is off-putting, too. We’re all pretty sure that men who achieve great things don’t get called “grandfather” in the headline even if they are, in fact, grandfathers.
The grandmother theme was pretty ubiquitous in the reporting of this incredible achievement.
I was impressed that in in my newsfeed at least Outside Magazine didn’t mention her grandmotherly status or her weight in the headline. She even got her full name in the title. Nice!
See here:
But then I clicked through and got this:
ARGH!!!
In some ways, it seems worse than the “mother” designation. At least in my case becoming a parent, is something that’s about me. “Grandmother” just means my kids decided to have kids. Is the emphasis on the age part of being a grandmother? Or do you think there’s something special about grandmother in particular that makes her accomplishment so remarkable? It’s like age + gender + parental status all bundled into one identity.
I used to wonder if it got used in headlines because the women themselves talked about it a lot in the interview. But no, there’s no talk of how thoughts of her grandchildren kept her going through the night, no discussion of how she worried about sharks and not being there for her grandchildren. It’s just there in the headline. Otherwise, it’s all the terrifying details of marathon swimming that we talked about in our Saturday night with Nyad blog post. You know, the cold and timing the swim, and the support crew and the jellyfish.
Anyway, what an incredible accomplishment. I’m in awe.
At least in the USA. In Canada, it’s the start of the May 24th long weekend, so the traditional start of the season when people go to the lake, camping, kayaking, etc.
Everyone should learn to swim, or at least learn enough about water safety to keep themselves and their families from drowning.
It’s also a great form of low-impact full-body exercise and a new skill you can learn at any age. I taught my grandma to swim when she was in her early 80s.
I admit to bias, as I have been swimming since childhood and find my calm and peace in the silence and rhythmic movement of swimming. It’s also where I have met a whole network of adult friends.
Diane and four friends taking a selfie in the water. All five are wearing bright caps, goggles and swim floats.
If you do a lane swim regularly , or swim with a masters club, or even swim competitively, that’s awesome. If that’s not your thing, please enjoy the beach, the pond or the river – safely.
I feel like there is zero danger of me drowning (not zero, but pretty close). I’ve got lots of endurance. I float well.
But I’ve always struggled with lane swimming, with free style/front crawl. I’m horrible at coordinating my breathing. I get water in my nose, hair in my eyes, and I seem to lack the basic coordination to have anything like a real stroke.
I’ve mastered it once in my life, with a total immersion swim coach for triathlon, but even then I was the anchor member of the slow lane. Like I could do it, but I never got any better, any faster. In triathlons, I was always the last person out of the water who didn’t need to be rescued.
I’ve taken learn to swim a bunch but the problem there is that I can swim. I won’t drown. I just can’t do a recognizable stroke that would have me swim laps.
I’ve considered just getting a snorkel for lane swimming!
One thing for certain, this summer I will swim more outside.
But I want your advice about learning to lane swim inside. What’s the best way to learn? I’m too good for learn to swim and not good enough for any masters’ swimming groups.
The blog has some excellent swimmers: Catherine, Tracy, Savita, Mallory, Diane, Nat….I want to join your ranks.
It’s finally here– International Mermaid day! I know, you’ve been looking forward to telling the kids they can have mermaid cereal for breakfast, serving siren-shaped cookies at work, and putting more than the usual amount of colorful seaweed in your hair for date night. Well, feel free to unleash your inner water-nymph– it’s time!
Seriously, though, International Mermaid Day? Why?
This article suggests that, because mermaid figures have appeared in literature and mythological stories around the globe, having a day dedicated to them offers us a chance to be creative. That makes sense. However, I’ve always associated mermaids with more athletic pursuits. Why? Two words: Weeki Wachee.
Weeki Wachee Springs State Park west-central Florida has featured underwater mermaid shows since the late 1940s. Although the publicity photos are very pin-up and glamour-like, the women working as mermaids have serious athletic skills. They are strong swimmers and divers, and learn to use hoses underwater to take occasional breaths so they can perform graceful and acrobatic maneuvers for awed guests. Here’s a short Youtube piece on the multi-decade tradition of working as a Weeki Wachee mermaid.
NYT video on the mermaids of Weeki Wachee Springs in Florida, on YouTube
You can also explore an online exhibit of the history and lives of the Women of Weeki Wachee State Park, curated by historian Rebecca Schwandt. I did, and it was so interesting reading about these women. They trained, they performed, they went on strike for better pay and they passed on their knowledge to others.
And they’ll pass on that knowledge to you, too, if you sign up for a Sirens of the Deep Mermaid camp weekend (although all 2024 dates are sold out, sadly). Want to know more? Of course you do. Here’s a video about the camp:
Sirens of the Deep Mermaid Camp video on YouTube
For me, the image of the mermaid reminds me of ways women have always been very athletic in and around the water: swimming, diving, lifeguarding, kayaking, paddle boarding, surfing, synchronized swimming, distance swimming, diving, snorkeling, etc.
And yes, there were (and still are) women performing feats of athletic prowess in coconut shell or sequinned bikini tops and pull-on spandex opalescent fins. Why not? It can be fun, and it’s a job that Central Florida women have valued and made their own for decades. Honestly, there are worse gigs than working as a serious underwater swimming mermaid. Am I right?
So Happy International Mermaid Day to us all!
p.s. I keep flirting with the idea of signing up for Mermaid Camp. Whaddya think?
“February 7th marks NGWSD, an annual celebration dedicated to acknowledging women’s history in sports, celebrating current achievements, and recommitting to the continued fight for equality.
So on today’s episode of The GIST of It, co-hosts Ellen Hyslop and Steph Rotz are starting the party early, digging into the history of the day, some of the ongoing barriers to participation in sports for girls and women, and all of the incredible recent progress that’s been made. Queue it up and let’s keep on leveling the playing field.”
📢Or if you’re in the mood for a cry, there’s my sad song playlist. Suggestions? Leave them in the comments below.
“A wealth of literature shows that the size of our bodies is largely out of individuals’ control, in being due to genetics, the food environment, common illnesses and medications, and a whole host of other unchosen factors. But even to the extent that fatness is (for some people, and to some extent) under our control, analogies suggest that this is not a genuine moral issue.
People make all sorts of trade-offs to enrich their lives in some way, to pursue their desires and whims and pleasures, at the expense of potentially serious health problems and even increased mortality. Take the person who regularly goes BASE jumping, despite the risk of serious injuries and death; take the person who attempts to climb Mount Everest, despite the risk of altitude sickness and falls and frostbite; take the person who races cars, despite the risk of crashes and conflagrations; take, to use the philosopher A. W. Eaton’s pertinent example, the person who tans their skin, despite the risk of cancer. Provided they take reasonable precautions, such as using the right equipment, and do not endanger others, we do not tend to condemn or shame these people. We regard them as entitled to live their lives, and to have humane and fitting healthcare if they do run into problems. We even generally regard them as entitled to run the risk of dying significantly younger. And we are right to regard them as having these entitlements.”
“…there was something striking about hearing people use that term [marrying my best friend] at their weddings, when there was a maid of honor or best man standing right next to the couple. I felt like I was watching best friends get publicly demoted. If you have a spouse, they’re already assumed to be the most important person in your life, so I was curious about why many people feel compelled to have a spouse grab the top title in the friendship category, too.”
I’ve always thought these “Polar Bear dips” (where people voluntarily run or jump into open bodies of water in the winter) were rather silly events. Why on early would anybody want to subject themselves to cold, icy and potentially dangerous (read: hypothermia, heart attacks) conditions? How ridiculous.
And then.
I started to have conversations with someone I’m getting to know and is becoming a good friend. It turns out they are a huge fan of an apparently popular thing called cold water immersion. They swear by it; it helps them with mental focus and clarity, aching joints, malaise, you name it. So in an effort to understand them more, I embarked on my own cold exposure protocol. For two months now, I’ve been starting my showers with 3 min of cold water only, followed by regular warm shower. While it’s quite a shock walking into a cold water shower, afterwards I feel a very pleasant cooling sensation across my upper body and upper legs. It’s a nice change from those raging fires of menopause!
I have also been doing a 5-minute outdoor meditation, standing outside on my front porch in my shorts and t-shirt and practicing Qigong-style breathing: feet shoulder width apart, knees slightly bent, shoulders back and a breathing cycle of 5 s inhale, 5 s exhale and 5 s breath hold. It’s got to the point where walking outside in the cold air automatically triggers the deep breathing cycle. It’s a great start to my day and I really look forward to it. And in these winter days, I get to see the sun rise (when we get treated to the sun!).
I also joined a Facebook group called “Did you swim today” and there are LOTS of people all over the world who enjoy “wild” swimming or just swimming in cold water. It’s a thing! I love seeing their pictures of swimming in the open water, then all huddled together on the shore in their swim parkas, sipping tea and eating cakes (yes, many cold water swimmers are in the UK). There’s even a group that call themselves the Bluetits! They have outfits and everything!
So seeing as many people experience cold water swimming as fun and/or therapeutic, I thought that maybe a polar bear dip may not be such a weird thing after all. Maybe all those cold showers and outdoor meditations prepared me to change my thinking?
So last week I put out a question to a group of new friends on my swim team: Does anyone know of a New Year’s Polar Bear Dip in London?
THAT got the ball rolling, and soon we were all signed up for a Polar Bear dip at Little Beach in Port Stanley. It was happening!
There were 7 of us from the swim team, but there were lots of other people at the beach, maybe about 50 total. The air temperature was -1C, and the water was 4C. WOW!! My cold exposure protocol definitely “trained” me for this event. In addition to my swimsuit, I wore goggles (they are prescription goggles so that I could see), a swim cap and toque, neoprene gloves, and water shoes. We did a 5 min “acclimation” on the beach, getting used to the cold air in our swimsuits, and I automatically started my breathing cycle. Then everyone starting running into the water! I did as well, and very quickly found out 2 things: 1. Little Beach is VERY SHALLOW for a LONG WAYS; and 2. Those water shoes did NOT protect my feet from the cold. So I realized very quickly that I was NOT going to get any swimming in! After a bit of running, my feet started to hurt from the cold, so I just dropped down into the water (not my head, but the rest of me), and started my breathing cycle again. It felt so invigorating, and I know that my cold showers prepared me for the cold water. I stayed in the water for less than a minute; my feet were SCREAMING, so I ran out, immediately put on my robe and ran to the car to change and warm my very numb feet.
My post-swim attire consisted of 2 pairs of wool socks, winter boots, fleece track pants, t-shirt, wool sweater, parka, mitts and fleece-lined wool toque. I was not shivering, but was a bit concerned about my very numb feet. We went for breakfast and warmed up with hot coffee and food. At first, I felt pretty good, feeling warmed up and not cold at all. Then about 30 minutes later, I felt rather cool within my upper body. It was kind of like after my cold shower, but a bit more intense, so I put my parka back on. It took about 15 min to warm back up.
As for my poor feet, they took a LONG time to recover! I felt a tingling sensation during breakfast, and the feeling came back very slowly. My feet stayed cold until after I got home and put my feet close to our fireplace for about 10 min.
But what a great time! In fact, our group wants to go to the beach once a month, so we’re doing it again in February! I’ve put my order in for neoprene swim boots. Stay tuned for the next cold swim adventure!
Side profile of a person submerged in shallow water with her head and feet above water.
It’s Saturday night in the big city, and what are three slightly sick, still recovering from the lurgy, fit feminists to do?
Why, how about watch NYAD, and write a short and snappy group review it for the blog?
Sam
What I loved
The soundtrack is great. And given that these are the songs Diana Nyad sang to herself while swimming for hours and hours, they had better be good.
I totally got caught up in the drama, the “will she make it?” of it all even though I knew the answer. Given how boring hours and hours of swimming can be, I think they did a pretty good job making that gripping.
What I didn’t like so much
Diana Nyad herself is extremely annoying and there’s just no getting around that.
Swim training is only so exciting to watch.
Overall
I’m turning 60 this year and while I’m tempted by the idea of various athletic challenges, Nyad has persuaded me that long distance ocean swimming won’t be it. Lol.
I learned a lot. I’ve never thought about seasickness while swimming and I thought box jellyfish were purely an Australian problem.
Sarah
What I loved
The film seemed to be reasonably faithful to Nyad’s life, personality and experience. While the dialogue was a little wooden at times I felt the actors did a good job portraying complex real-life characters.
The film started a little slowly but overall I felt the directors did a good job maintaining interest and pacing despite the marathon, repetitive nature of the subject matter. Their experience in documentary filmmaking shone through in their effective use of archival footage and they managed to keep us on the edge of our seats even though we know how everything turns out in the end.
I enjoyed learning more about Nyad’s years-long journey to her record-setting swim, and the team that surrounded and supported her.
What I didn’t like so much
There were definitely a few scenes and bits of dialogue that came off a little stilted, and it sometimes felt like they weren’t sure if the film was a documentary, a relationship drama, or an adventure movie. I was charmed but unmoved by the animated hallucination sequences.
While I understand why they kept the on-water team to a single boat for dramatic effect, it was weird not to represent the larger team and flotilla of boats that followed Nyad from Cuba to Florida.
The film sometimes loses its way when trying to capture Nyad’s abrasive personality and single-minded focus on her goal. The result appeared to imply a certain level of neurodivergence, or at least obsession with her “destiny”, underlies Nyad’s efforts, rather than highlighting her as a driven athlete who focused on achieving and stay in peak condition for weeks at a time waiting for the right conditions required for a successful swim, and the cost to both herself and the team around her.
Overall
Overall this was an entertaining and inspiring movie, warts and all. Definitely worth checking out, albeit with a content warning for the vivid and repeated portrayals of several traumatic events in Nyad’s history.
Catherine
What I loved
There was a total transformation into characters by some well-known actors. I loved that it was done by, uh, just acting– not prosthetics, heavy makeup, or body padding.Their skill was sufficient. I no longer saw Jodie Foster or Annette Bening or Rhys Ifans; I saw these personages, all caught up in this quixotic enterprise spearheaded by Diana Nyad.I believed it and was also caught up in the drama, despite the fact that I already knew how it ended.
The filmmakers and writers were very creative and clever, which they had to be in order to make several attempts at a 100-mile swim (spoiler: she swam 110 miles) seem compelling. They used special effects to play out several colorful hallucination experiences Diana had during long hours in deep water. I enjoyed the ways they depicted them and how Bening as Nyad reacted to her watery delusions.
What I didn’t like so much
Even though I really enjoyed the characters as built by the actors, sometimes it seemed like they were trying to act like old people– crotchety, stubborn, single-mindedly irrational. However, those moments were fleeting.
Overall
I came away from this film about Nyad’s stupendous athletic achievement feeling impressed by her focus and ability to tolerate pain in order to reach this goal. But I also feel like the completion of this goal doesn’t at all relate to more ordinary physical goals or programs we non-professionals take on, fail at, complete, or make progress toward. It took hundreds of thousands of dollars, a team of many dedicated people, and a lot of time– resources that almost none of us have.
I don’t see her as an athletic role model; I see her as an extraordinary and unusual athlete with a very special set of skills and unusual personality. That said, this film is really worth seeing. I got to see inside the mindset and pressures of one world-class athlete who did at 64 what no one had done.
I’ve taken some steps to being certified as a spin instructor. I started that because I thought I could help out with the bike rally winter, indoor, training sessions. See here and here.
I’ve also done some teaching with Chris Helwig, Coach Chris, in his basement.
For the certification, I’ve done the class and just need to do the practical part, co- teaching and then leading my own spin class.
It seems likely that I’ll do this after dean-ing!
But in the meantime, there’s a flurry of activity among senior lifeguards. A lot of programming is being canceled because of the lack of lifeguards, and friends near or past retirement are re-upping their life guarding credentials to help out.
My daughter Mallory, who teaches people to be lifeguards of all sorts, thinks I should give it a go, too. It would certainly give me a focus for swimming. But she did all of her Bronzes as a teenager. The idea of swim training with teenagers doesn’t really appeal to me.
I might look around for adult classes. I’m a strong, steady, but not very speedy swimmer, and I know one of the things I’ll struggle with is the timed endurance swim. I sometimes wonder why it’s needed. I don’t think pool lifeguards ever swim 400 m to rescue someone.
Yes, beach lifeguards might, but that’s its own separate qualification. That test also involves running, so it’s a definite no for me.
I am good at treading water, and I’m good at getting bricks from the bottom of the pool.
Are you a swimmer? Have you thought about getting your lifeguard credentials? I know Diane is on it! If you ever were a lifeguard, I think you just need to recertify. Me, I’d need to start from scratch.
