MGM Swimteam

End of Season Brain Dump

mark — Mon, 16 May 2011 01:06:04 +0000

Season VIII Big Meet Brain Dump:

1) MGM Sent 10 Swimmer to Nationals, an all-time high. Five individual all-time team records were set -- all by women: Three by Cathy "Doc" Sajn, one by Natalie "Red" Oskvarek one by Emily "No Nickname Yet" Koziarski. Sajn's performance included team records in the 100 Fly (1:10.41); the 100 IM (1:07.96); and the 200 Fly (2:39.83); Oskvarek swam the 200 Back in a record 2:26.26; while Koziarski swam the 100 back in 1:06.69. These performances were so impressive that deck announcer Misty Hyman was unable to complete any of her daily video feeds without a single mistake!

2) The women's team also dominated in relays, where Karen Scobbie, Natalie Oskvarek, Rachel Dickman and Cathy Sajn received medals with a 5th place finish in the 200 Freestyle Relay (18+) with an overall time of 1:51.19. They also placed 8th in the 200 Medley Relay at 2:11.23.

3) Dan Campione set new team age group records in the men's 25-29 bracket, swimming the 100 Backstroke in 54.72. He set new age-group records in the 100 Freestyle (48.44), 200 Backstroke (2:05.31) and the 50 Backstroke (28.89). Dan also became the first MGM swimmer to literally age up during a Nationals swim competition. (Congratulations, Dan, on reaching this amazing milestone.)

4) John Javorski set a new individual record in the men's 30-34 agegroup by swimming the 100 backstroke in 58.09. He is also credited with performing the first spontaneous Robot dance while walking behind a live taping of Misty Hyman's on-deck news feeds. A flustered Hyman stated, "Damn. That's one fine Robot."

**One special note on John's meet: During the 200 mixed Free relays, John is credited with swimming the final length at an astonishing 20.90. This was a really remarkable swim -- compare it to his own all-time team record in the 50 of 21.11 -- mindblowing.

5) MGM swimmers John Javorski, Chad Morris, Dan Campione and Ryan Mulchahy set a blistering new team record in the 200 Yard Freestyle relay, swimming 1:29.58, finishing 6th overall. The Team Illinois Masters men's relay (Team White Tiger) responded bravely by swimming 10 seconds slower and finishing 19th overall.

6) MGM continued to be one of the fastest and most storied small teams in the country by finishing 43rd overall in a field of 146 teams.

7) At state, MGM swimmers finished 13th Overall, while setting a host of new team agegroup records. Mary Moore set new age-group records in the 100 Freestyle (1:13.23) and the mile (25:48.23). Marilyn Kulak set 11 new age-group records(!), and John Miller set four age group records.

8) Wayne Bik set a host of new age group records in the 75-79 agegroup, including the 200 Free (4:09.14); the 100 Back (2:13.03); the 50 Breast (57.97); the 100 Breast (2:14.77); the 200 Breast (5:19.19); and the 50 Fly (1:00.13). Because technicians never anticipated that any MGM swimmers would be this old or have this many records, these times do not currently show up on the MGM records page. This oversite must be corrected! (Hang in there, Wayne, I'm working on it!)

Finally, don't forget to visit the team records page ( http://www.mgmswimteam.org/records ) to see a comprehensive list (except for Wayne) of team records. Dont forget to hover your mouse over any event to see best times by swimmer.

..Stay tuned, more season highlights to come....

MGM Takes 2nd At Evanston

mark — Mon, 24 Jan 2011 16:39:22 +0000

Thanks to everybody who made it out the Evanston meet yesterday. We did very well, finishing second with 930 points. (Smelts won it with 1498.)

We had really strong swimming, especially from the 1st group, who were parading blue ribbons around the deck like they owned the place. Georgean and Wayne were remarkably strong, and we had great swims from John Miller and Scott.

Make sure you give Cathy Sajn a big hand today for setting a new MGM women's team record in the 200-yard Fly. Her time was 2:45.47. Nice!

BTW: If you don't remember how cool the team records page is on our website, you should definitely check it out. If you hover over any the records, you'll be able to see all the fastest times posted by our swimmers. You can do the same for age-group records by clicking on the tabs at the top of the page.

What's the deal with Cholesterol?

ekoziarski — Mon, 17 Jan 2011 01:57:37 +0000

This topic was requested by John who wanted some clarification about the difference between fat and cholesterol, and why some foods are high in cholesterol, but not in fat.

Cholesterol is like fat, but it is not fat. It performs different functions in the body, both good and bad. There is cholesterol in every cell in the body, and also in some hormones. One of its functions is that it helps the body digest and absorb fat. Also, in sunlight, cholesterol in the skin is converted to vitamin D.

There are two different types of cholesterol: the kind found in the blood and the kind found in food. Some of the cholesterol found in blood is produced by the body. If the body produces too much, the risk of heart disease increases. Extra cholesterol produced by the body is either changed into body fat or it can build up in the arteries.

The cholesterol in food exists only in those made from animals (meat, fish, poultry, dairy, eggs). Eating a large amount of dietary cholesterol could increase blood cholesterol , but some people are more sensitive to the cholesterol in foods than others. Cholesterol in food does not automatically become blood cholesterol. Intake of fat in food has more of an effect on blood cholesterol than does the cholesterol in food. Specifically, foods that are high in saturated fat cause an increase in bad (LDL) cholesterol. Some foods are very high in cholesterol, yet very low in saturated fat. These foods include crab and shrimp, and are much less likely to increase blood cholesterol than foods that are high in saturated fat such as fatty cuts of beef, butter and cheesecake.

Duyff, L. D. The American Dietetic Association’s Complete Food & Nutrition Guide, 1998.

Is there a specific diet for swimmers?

ekoziarski — Mon, 20 Dec 2010 04:09:47 +0000

This month’s topic is in response to two questions posed by Mr. Mark Royko:

“Should swimmers have a different diet than other sports?” AND

“What is the recommended amount of calories for swimmers like us?”

The optimal diet for swimmers who compete in short to medium distance races (50-1,500 yards/meters) is high in calories, and necessitates a good balance of nutrients.

· Energy needs: 35-50 calories/kilogram (3200-4500 calories/day for a 200 lb person depending on the level of training)

· Protein needs: 1.2-1.7 grams protein/kilogram (110-155 grams protein per day for a 200 lb person)

· Fat needs: about 1 gram fat/kilogram (91 grams fat per day for a 200 lb person)

As shown above, carbohydrate should make up about 55-65% of energy intake. This is important because carbohydrate is the main source of energy for muscles and the brain. If an insufficient amount of carbohydrate is consumed, athletic performance will decrease because the body will have to resort to attaining energy from breakdown of muscle protein or fat, which are not as efficient as using the carbohydrate stored in muscles and or in the blood.

Protein should make up about 14% of energy intake. Protein is needed for building and re-building of muscle mass, but is not the best source of energy for the body. If too much protein is consumed, it will be broken down and stored as fat or excreted in the urine.

Fat should make up 20-25% of energy intake. Adequate fat intake is necessary to meet essential fatty acid requirements. Fat also aids in producing satiety after eating. Additionally, too little fat can lead to decreased HDL levels and impairment of immune function. However, fat should be limited to 20-25% of energy intake for swimmers to allow carbohydrate and protein needs to be met without exceeding calorie needs. Healthy sources of fat include omega-3 fatty acids. These can be attained from mackerel, albacore tuna, salmon, sardines, lake trout, soybean oil and canola oil. Less healthy sources of fat include saturated and trans fats. These should be eaten in smaller amounts. Saturated fats can cause an increase in your LDL (bad) cholesterol and can be attained from meat, poultry, butter, whole milk, coconut, palm oil and palm kernel oil. Trans fats cause an increase in your LDL (bad) cholesterol and a decrease in your HDL (good) cholesterol. These are unsaturated fats processed to make them stable and solid at room temperature. They are most often found in highly processed foods.

Under-eating is common among swimmers. This is likely related to unnecessary pressure to lose weight because of the amount of time spent in swim wear. Some may need to realize that they may not need to lose weight to improve their health or performance. Swimmers are one type of many athletes who are at risk for eating disorders. Inadequate energy intake can lead to insufficient intake of calcium, iron, zinc and vitamin E. For this reason, all swimmers should take a multivitamin.

With all this being said, there is an optimal weight to strength ratio for every athlete that will help maximize their athletic performance. This means that there is a weight that will provide an optimal amount of muscle to produce maximum strength for an individual combined with a small amount of body fat that will not increase weight to the point that it deters performance. Nutrition is key to attaining this desired weight to strength ratio. Over-training will only lead to injury. Athletes should be mindful that performance will decline if energy, carbohydrate and protein intake are reduced too much in efforts to attain this weight. Major changes to diet for the goal of weight loss should always be made in the off-season or preseason so that performance is not sacrificed during competition.

Hydration should occur before, during and after training. Each athlete should compare his or her pre and post training weights, and consume the difference in fluid after training. It is also important to monitor urine color, which should be light yellow. Caloric sport drinks should be limited if the athlete is trying to reduce energy intake, but may be needed if sweat is lost during training or the athlete is having trouble maintaining their blood sugar level during training.

Nutrition Tip of the Month (November 2010)

ekoziarski — Sun, 21 Nov 2010 00:19:09 +0000

Always refuel after your workouts. Eat a meal or snack consisting of carbohydrate and protein within 30 minutes of exercise to start the process of rebuilding your muscle.