Swim Lessons for Kids with Autism!

Swimming is a very important, life saving skill. EVERYBODY needs to know how to swim. That may seem like too large of a to teach your child with Autism to swim. But I think it is even more important for children with special needs to have basic swimming skills.

First, if you haven't been here before, I'm a father of a child with Autism and I'm competing in the 2012 US Masters Swimming Summer Nationals, and raising money for the Ozark Center For Autism. Go here for my intro blog.
One of my masters swimming team mates works at KU Med, which has been working on a solution to this problem. They are offering swim lessons to kids with Autism at a very affordable, darn near free, rate. Details below.

Training: I took advantage of the holiday weekend. I was back in the pool this morning, and the first swim after Memorial Day means the first swim in a 50 meter pool in a while. It went better than I thought, and was able to push it pretty good, and make it through the whole workout without completely bonking.

	Qty	Meters	Interval	Total Mtrs
	1	900		900	Odd 100s Free Swim Dcnd 1-5
				0	Even 100s Not free, Mixer
	12	50	1:00	600	Choice	Odds Kick, Evens Drill
4	1	150	3:00	600	Free	Pull
	1	100	2:00	400	I.M.	Swim
	4	50	1:00	800	Choice	Swim	Dcnd 1-4
	1	200		200	Easy
	3	100	2:00	300	I.M.	Swim	Dcnd 1-3
	1	200		200	Cool Down
				0
				4000	Meters
				2.485485	Miles

Now for the info on swim lessons!

Sensory Supported Swimming Program

Greetings!
We are excited announce an opportunity for learning how to swim! KUMC Occupational Therapy Education is partnering with
The children will be learning from swim instructors and therapists who have experience working with children with autism spectrum disorders. All swim lessons will be held at Kirmayer Fitness Center, located at the University of Kansas Medical Center.
Classes will begin in June and will be scheduled on an ongoing basis. Our goal for the program is to build the swimming capacity for children with autism.
Parents are NOT REQUIRED to swim with their child, but are encouraged to observe their children learn to swim. For more information please contact, Jennifer Tanquary at 913-588-7198 or email her at
Sincerely,
The Sensory Supported Swimming Team Autism Speaks to provide the Sensory Supported Swimming Program. We are looking for participants with an autism spectrum disorder between the ages of 4-18 with a true desire to learn to swim! Cost for families is $10 for 8 sessions. Individual and group lessons will be held Tuesdays and Thursdays at 9:30 and 10:30. jtanquary@kumc.edu We are excited and look forward to working with your children to create the best experience possible! .  

This workout was brought to you by...

In my experience in masters swimming, the swimmer is far more independent than an age group, high school, or collegiate swimmer. We grow up with coaches making all sorts of decisions for us. They write our workouts, pick our events for us, arrange our travel and meals on the road, plan our taper and make sure we are ready for every race. For a masters swimmer, most, and sometimes all of these things are left completely up to the athlete. It can work, just look at Olympic Gold Medalist Jason Lezak who has trained completely on his own for 6 years.

First, if you haven't been here before, I'm a father of a child with Autism and I'm competing in the 2012 US Masters Swimming Summer Nationals, and raising money for the Ozark Center For Autism. Go here for my intro blog.
I do still have a coach to write workouts. He does as good of a job as I can expect. Many of the workouts are geared towards types of swimmers that are not anything like me. But, they are still challenging to me, and I know going head to head with my team mates makes me better every workout. I can appreciate I don't get workouts tailored for me in this, or just about any masters group. Close to half the group are triathletes, and a good portion of the remaining in the group consider themselves distance freestylers. A person that is training for a 2.4 mile swim just to begin their race, needs very different training than someone that specializes in going really fast breast stroke for short distances like I do. So, 2 or 3 years ago, I began swimming on my own, at least once a week. This is where I work on my breast stroke drills, speed work, and big kick sets that I don't get with my masters group.

For quite some time, I went completely on my own. Just recently I started reaching out for help on writing my workouts. For this morning's workout, I went to a blog written by Jeff Commings. We are pretty similar types of swimmers in that our primary stroke is breast stroke, and we like the shorter distances. It's also worth noting, Jeff is quite a bit faster than I am, and will be competing in the U.S. Olympic Trials next month at the age of 38. Even at my lifetime best I fell short of qualifying for that meet, missing the 100 breast by less than 1/2 a second in 2000. The qualifying time was slower than it is now, and that was 12 years and 2 kids ago. So I have no illusions of keeping up with Jeff, and I'm quite thankful that in my next meet, he and I will be in different age groups. I do think copying his workouts will help me reach my own goals. Today I did the same workout Jeff did Wednesday. Go to Jeff's blog to see what it was. I was looking for some good quality fast swims and this workout gave it to me. The only adjustments were I couldn't go from a dive at Health Ridge. There are no starting blocks, and it's only 4' deep, so diving is a bad idea. But the pool is 25 meters, so I didn't have to adjust anything else. Getting my 75 times was tricky, I tried to sync the clocks, but only got them to with in 3 seconds of eachother. But, the 50 breast at the end, I pushed a 34 flat, which I am extremely happy with, considering how tired and sore I was in this workout.

Another workout planning lesson I learned this week: Tuesday night I planned my Wednesday morning workout on my Workout Trainer app on my phone. I picked out 3 workouts as I was dozing off, put them on my calendar before dropping my phone on the nightstand. The first workout, Wicked Weights, I was thinking 'Wow, that's a lot of push ups'. Then the next workout, Peripheral POWAH!, just as many push ups. And the last workout, Arms & Abs added even more. I probably would not have planned that if I wasn't dozing off. Before it was done, I had completed 260 push ups. Sore chest for 3 days!!

Have a great Memorial Day weekend. I think the best we can do to honor thos that died for what we have, is to enjoy the freedoms they gave us to the fullest!

May 22

Today is May 22, 2012. What does that mean. Well, if you are an obsessed swimming fan like me, you know today crews begin erection of two temporary pools at the Century Link Center in Omaha to be used for the U.S. Olympic Trials. But, you have probably noticed in the news, especially if you within 2 or 3 television markets of SW Missouri, it is an important one year anniversary, . May 22, 2011 brought the deadlyist single tornado in U.S. History to Joplin, MO.

First, if you haven't been here before, I'm a father of a child with Autism and I'm competing in the 2012 US Masters Swimming Summer Nationals, and raising money for the Ozark Center For Autism. Go here for my intro blog.

Rather than hash over all that happened that afternoon in Joplin, and everyday since, I'll tell you about I recall from that day. It was already going to be a memorable day. My oldest son Evan, 9 at the time, had just started swim team a few weeks before with the Tiger Sharks Swim Team in Olathe, KS. We soon learned the team was invited to partcipate in a Mutual of Omaha Breakout Swim Clinic. I thought it might be a good opportunity. Then my wife read of to me the names of who was running the clinic. It would be Rex Tulius, Dagney Knutson, and Brendan Hansen. That was all I needed to hear. Brendan Hansen is a two time Olympian, a former World Record Holder, and a bit of a breaststroke legend. Being a breaststroker myself, I couldn't wait to meet him.

The clinic was very impressive. I was really impressed at how good Rex, Dagney, and Brendan were with the kids. They first came out, one at a time, to give an inspirational talk about the sport of swimming, and what it means to them. They split the kids into three groups, and rotated them to work on a variety of swimming skills. Then a Q & A session, before giving every single kid a chance to race one of them. Before heading home, they stuck around for autographs and pictures for every kid that wanted one. As brief as that description was, it was a full 5 hours, a very full 5 hours. That was $50 well spent!

Here is  Rex, Dagney, and Brendan with Evan. And yes, that is the real deal around Evan's neck. An Olympic Gold Medal from Beijing 2008.

































It was a great day, and left Evan, and myself inspired. The Rezek family will be in Omaha the end of next month to cheer on these Rex, Dagney, and Brendan to make the 2012 U.S. Olympic team.

Now, I don't recall much else of what happened that day. I do recall keeping an eye on the weather, as we were warned of the potential of severe storms. I don't think we got anything in Olathe. But when my wife and I went to bed, we could see on the news a tornado had touched down in Joplin. It was pitch dark, so nobody was able to report the extent of the damage. But, they could see enough to know it was bad. They had no idea. The destruction was beyond imagination.

Included in that destruction was The Ozark Center for Autism. I'm raising funds to help them rebuild, and continue operations during the rebuilding process. The work this clinic is doing is helping make those suffering with Autism be more productive members of society, thus building a stronger community. If you want to help this community that has suffered so much, please go to my donation page.

TRAINING:
How is my training going? Well, it's crunch time! I only have a few weeks to get some good hard work in before I begin to taper for the USMS Summer Nationals. I have to make these next 3 weeks the best I've ever had. Every workout has to be solid. This morning I did my Workout Trainer app by Skimble. The workouts I chose today: I did Heavy Lifter twice, then Cut & Chiseled twice, and finally Fat Burner Deluxe. For a few minutes I thought I would puke, but I pulled through, so it was just about perfect. Tomorrow I'm in the pool. Every stroke counts!

Easy Friday, Again!

Wow, can't believe I haven't been here since Monday. It was a pretty busy week, although not so busy that I had to comprimise my training. For the 2nd week in a row, I took an easy Friday.

First, if you haven't been here before, I'm a father of a child with Autism and I'm competing in the 2012 US Masters Swimming Summer Nationals, and raising money for the Ozark Center For Autism. Go here for my intro blog.

Last weekend I had a swim meet on Saturday night, so I didn't want to work myself into the ground on Friday and not be able to go fast the next day. This week is kind of the same thing. There is a large healthcare software company in Kansas City called Cerner. They invited the company I work for,

Burns & McDonnell to a mini-meet at Cerner's fitness center, a little practice meet for the Kansas City Corporate Challenge. This would have been a pretty laid back deal, and I wouldn't do much to prepare for it. In fact last year I got there late, and got in and raced with out warm-up. I dove in dry for a 50 breast! (Don't ever, ever do that!!) This year, I got an email from one of their guys, Chris Musfeldt, who wanted a race or two to help him prepare for a meet he has coming up. He is a really good breaststroker, so I'm going to need my 'A game' to give him the challenge he needs. I'm really kind of excited about it.

Now, if you have never heard of the KC Corporate Challenge, go back to the above paragraph and click the link to check it out! It started over 30 years ago, and has gotten bigger and better every single year. This year there are 176 companies participating, will certainly be upwards of 10,000 participants. It is amazing for building team work, boosting moral, and more importantly, promoting health and fitness amongst employees. If you are in KC, encourage your employer to get involved. If not in KC, some other cities have started something similar. None are as big, or nearly as cool as KC, but it has to start somewhere!

Here is how my training has gone since Monday:

Tuesday; I had a really sore knee (probably from Monday's workout). My plan was to have a good swim workout, but not push my knee, and hope it loosens up. Mission accomplished!

5/15/2012
Qty	Meters	Interval	Total Mtrs
6	200		1200	Stroke	SKDS
6	150		900	50 Free Swim, 50 Stroke Kick, 50 Stroke Swim
1	200		200	Easy
12	125		1500	Odds are 25Free25Stroke25Free25Stroke25Free
			0	Evens are 25Stroke25Free25Stroke25Free25Stroke
1	200		200	Cool Down
			0
			4000	Meters
			2.485485	Miles

Wednesday: Time for another gym workout. My legs were still very sore from Monday's workout, especially my hamstrings. I found a couple of workouts in my Workout Trainer app that were easier on the legs, and really worked the upper body and core. I did Muscle Memory, and Ab Bootcamp. Great workouts. Chest, shoulders, back, abs, all were feeling it after that.

Thursday: A good I.M. workout. It started out slow, and stayed that way until the last swim, where I moved out of the "wall lane". Things seemed much easier, and faster when I moved towards the middle. Now I'm thinking that lane is worth about 5 seconds per hundred, and my bad workouts that I've had ever since they changed the pool format really weren't as bad as I thought.

5/17/2012
Qty	Meters	Interval	Total Mtrs
1	800		800	Warm Up
12	50	1:05	600	Stroke	Kick
			0	4 Fly, 4 Back, 4 Brst
3	200	3:20	600	I.M.	Swim	Tchnq
			0
8	75	1:30	600	Odds;FlyBackBrst
			0	Evens;BackBrstFree
6	100	1:50	600	I.M.	Swim	Dcnd 1-3
1	100		100	Easy
1	200		200	I.M.	Swim	For Time	2:47
1	200		200	Cool Down
			0
			3700	Meters
			2.299073	Miles

And then of course, like the blog title says, and easy swim this morning. Have a great weekend. If the races with Chris go well, I'll let you know how it turned out. If not, you might not hear about it!

Mothers Day Special

Always have to stop and pay respect to our Mom’s. It’s easy to forget all of the selfless work our mothers do to make us who we are. I can’t express enough gratitude not only to my own mother, but the mother of my children. I can remember many of the words my mother said to me that helped shape my life. Much of it was the typical “you can do what ever you want, as long as you work hard enough”. Much of it was far more important, like how to behave, and how to treat others. Those talks are the reason Simple Man by Lynyrd Skynyrd is one of my all time favorites. 

I would be lost without Stacy. She is a wonderful mother for both of our boys. I especially lean on her heavily when it comes to Quin. He was diagnosed with Autism 3.5 years ago, and I don’t know if we would have gotten that far if it was left to me. Of course he career as a speech pathologist means she has a lot more knowledge about Autism than I do. I really rely on her for making the decisions when it comes to Quin. If it wasn’t for her, I would have to be working much harder to do tons of research on every choice we have to make, and there are many.

Here are a few photos from our Mothers Day yesterday at Stacy’s Mom’s house.



















 

Training is still going great. Friday I just wanted a quick swim session with a sprint or two, just to make sure I was ready for Saturday’s meet. That meet could have been a disaster. Thanks to a kids meet that was before it ran late, our masters meet warm-up started almost 3 hours late. Then warm-up was shortened, and relays were eliminated (which means potential rest between events was cut). The toughest part about the delay was since races were going to run past 11 pm, it meant I really needed to have a meal before the meet. I like to swim on a somewhat empty stomach, but going that far would have been ridiculous. So I had to swim with a somewhat full stomach. It could have been rough. I wanted to go faster, but actually came away with times that I’m not terribly disappointed with, in the breaststroke events; I went 33.2, 1:13, and 2:48. Those aren’t bad in season times for me. I was happy with my race execution for all three, and found some things to work on. So a positive experience, despite.

This morning I did my Workout Trainer app workouts, Sexy Swinging Dumbbells (forget the name, this was actual a really good workout, and my hamstrings are quite angry with me) Drill Sergeant Mom (a Mothers Day special workout, boy Mom has gotten tough over the years!), and finished with one of my favorites, P90X Ab Ripper X.

Riding The Struggle Bus

This morning I drove to Roeland Park Aquatic Center for my very first outdoor swim of 2012. I love these first couple of weeks, when the temp outside is in the 50s, I don't over heat during work out, and it is so refreshing when I get out of the pool. Most think it's too cold, but I love it!

First, if you haven't been here before, I'm a father of a child with Autism and I'm competing in the 2012 US Masters Swimming Summer Nationals, and raising money for the Ozark Center For Autism. Go here for more intro blog.

So I was excited to have a great workout, ready to hit it hard and make this milestone a great experience all around. My body didn't get the message. I was sluggish during warm up, which is not unusual. Then the first set, I just kept feeling worse and worse. Normally when I'm not feeling well, I just put mind over matter, and figure out a way to fight through it. But I knew quickly that wasn't going to happen today. I even considered getting out during the first set. I was, as some in the swimming world say, Riding the Struggle Bus. I think today, you might say I was driving it. The best I could do was try concentrate on keeping my form, which is actually good practice for racing. The hardest part is ignoring the clock. It never lies, the clock makes sure you know when you are having a bad day. What do I want you to get out of this? Simple.

IT HAPPENS!! And it happens to everyone. I've seen Olympians talk about it on Twitter. Katie Hoff, Ricky Berens, Natalie Coughlin. It happens, and you can't beat yourself up about it. And if you think about it, it happens even more often if you hold yourself to a high standard, like I do. And I was actually relieved when I realized, I can't remember the last time I felt that bad. That means training has been going very well. And remember I said the clock never lies. Don't forget, it lets you know when you are having a good day as well!

It's been a few days since I've been here, so here are a few workouts I've done, including today's Struggle Bus.

Skipped Monday to help the wife with the kids. Gotta do that sometimes!

For Tuesday, I put out a plea for a workout, since our team wasn't practicing together while the dome over our pool was being taken down. My friend and team mate Tony Stewart gave me this one.

	5/8/2012
	Qty	Meters	Interval	Total Mtrs
	1	800		800	Warm Up
3	1	200	:30 Rest	600	25 Stroke, 25 Free
	1	200	:30 Rest	600	50 Stroke, 50 Free
	1	200	:30 Rest	600	75 Stroke, 50 Free, 75 Stroke
	1	200	:30 Rest	600	50 Free, 150 Stroke
				0	1st set Fly, 2nd set Back, 3rd set Brst
	1	200		200	Cool Down
				0
				3400	Meters
				2.112662	Miles

Wednesday was a workout at the gym. Again, I did my Workout Trainer app on my phone. I did Smart Dumbbell Class Act, Extreme Plank Pyramid, Quick Cardio Crunch. Solid workout, maybe part of why Thursday was so rough.

And finally, the Struggle Bus

	5/10/2012
	Qty	Meters	Interval	Total Mtrs
	1	500		500	Free	Swim
	1	400		400	I.M.	SKDS
	1	300		300	25Free25Back	Swim
	1	200		200	25Free25Brst	Swim
	1	100		100	25Free25Fly	Swim
2	7	50	1:00	700	IM around	Swim
				0	1st set work trnstn, 2nd set neg split strokes
3	1	100	2:30	300	Stroke	Kick
	4	50	1:00	600	Stroke	Swim	Dcnd 1-4
	1	100	2:00	300	I.M.	Swim
				0	1st set Fly, 2nd set Back, 3rd set Brst
	1	200		200	Cool Down
				0
				3600	Meters
				2.236936	Miles