We have just returned from the annual Doug Stern Curacao Open Water Swim Camp. My body is still trying to recover from the shock of a 70-degree temperature shift, the stunning inefficiency of the Miami Internation Airport, and the disappointment (but not shock) of finding that my bicycle is still somewhere between here and MIA. Still, as usual it was a great and productive trip. Here's the recap.
Most days would begin with a cruel alarm ringing at 6:30a, a couple of sips of coffee and then a short walk to the hotel's 50 meter Doug Stern Memoirial pool. (The pool overlooks the Caribbean Sea and is pictured here.) Swim coaches Boris Talan and Vlad Bartchouk (both of whom have a keen eye for swimming and an impressive ability to communicate what they see) oversaw a 1.5 hour workout chock fulla kicking, drills, and good-old swimming. Then it was off to the buffet breakfast for a little caloric replenishment.
After breakfast Mike Halstead and I would lead a bike ride through the area around the hotel. The roads tend to be narrow, bumpy and heavily trafficed, so we kept the rides fairly short except for two days on which we were taken by bus to the northwest section of the island, where the riding is much nicer and we got some extra mileage. After the ride there would often be a short run, though the ambitious sorts would get up early to go long before the heat set in. The training day would finish with an open water swim in the pristine waters of the aforementioned Caribbean Sea.
Other highlights included a catamaran trip to Klein Curacao as well as a barbeque at the Knip Beach complete with a reading by Oliver Sacks himself. Along the way there was also some cliff jumping, pole dancing, a fair amount of training for the next Beer Mile, and some mutual admiration between our group and a the Dutch National swim team who were also training at the pool. The camp finished with the traditional 2-mile open water swim back to our hotel.
The roster of athletes spanned in age, ability and experience. Most knew and loved Doug, but some newcomers never had the opportunity to meet him. The conistent thread was that everyone came to have fun and improve. That the camp has continued to be a positive resourse for so many people even after Doug's passing in 2007, is proof of how many people he influenced.
Thanks to Lisa Dignazio for the great photo.
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Doug Stern Open Water Swim Camp 2011
We have just returned from the annual Doug Stern Curacao Open Water Swim Camp. My body is still trying to recover from the shock of a 70-degree temperature shift, the stunning inefficiency of the Miami Internation Airport, and the disappointment (but not shock) of finding that my bicycle is still somewhere between here and MIA. Still, as usual it was a great and productive trip. Here's the recap.
Most days would begin with a cruel alarm ringing at 6:30a, a couple of sips of coffee and then a short walk to the hotel's 50 meter Doug Stern Memoirial pool. (The pool overlooks the Caribbean Sea and is pictured here.) Swim coaches Boris Talan and Vlad Bartchouk (both of whom have a keen eye for swimming and an impressive ability to communicate what they see) oversaw a 1.5 hour workout chock fulla kicking, drills, and good-old swimming. Then it was off to the buffet breakfast for a little caloric replenishment.
After breakfast Mike Halstead and I would lead a bike ride through the area around the hotel. The roads tend to be narrow, bumpy and heavily trafficed, so we kept the rides fairly short except for two days on which we were taken by bus to the northwest section of the island, where the riding is much nicer and we got some extra mileage. After the ride there would often be a short run, though the ambitious sorts would get up early to go long before the heat set in. The training day would finish with an open water swim in the pristine waters of the aforementioned Caribbean Sea.
Other highlights included a catamaran trip to Klein Curacao as well as a barbeque at the Knip Beach complete with a reading by Oliver Sacks himself. Along the way there was also some cliff jumping, pole dancing, a fair amount of training for the next Beer Mile, and some mutual admiration between our group and a the Dutch National swim team who were also training at the pool. The camp finished with the traditional 2-mile open water swim back to our hotel.
The roster of athletes spanned in age, ability and experience. Most knew and loved Doug, but some newcomers never had the opportunity to meet him. The conistent thread was that everyone came to have fun and improve. That the camp has continued to be a positive resourse for so many people even after Doug's passing in 2007, is proof of how many people he influenced.
Doug Stern Open Water Swim Camp 2011
We have just returned from the annual Doug Stern Curacao Open Water Swim Camp. My body is still trying to recover from the shock of a 70-degree temperature shift, the stunning inefficiency of the Miami Internation Airport, and the disappointment (but not shock) of finding that my bicycle is still somewhere between here and MIA. Still, as usual it was a great and productive trip. Here's the recap.
Most days would begin with a cruel alarm ringing at 6:30a, a couple of sips of coffee and then a short walk to the hotel's 50 meter Doug Stern Memoirial pool. (The pool overlooks the Caribbean Sea and is pictured here.) Swim coaches Boris Talan and Vlad Bartchouk (both of whom have a keen eye for swimming and an impressive ability to communicate what they see) oversaw a 1.5 hour workout chock fulla kicking, drills, and good-old swimming. Then it was off to the buffet breakfast for a little caloric replenishment.
After breakfast Mike Halstead and I would lead a bike ride through the area around the hotel. The roads tend to be narrow, bumpy and heavily trafficed, so we kept the rides fairly short except for two days on which we were taken by bus to the northwest section of the island, where the riding is much nicer and we got some extra mileage. After the ride there would often be a short run, though the ambitious sorts would get up early to go long before the heat set in. The training day would finish with an open water swim in the pristine waters of the aforementioned Caribbean Sea.
Other highlights included a catamaran trip to Klein Curacao as well as a barbeque at the Knip Beach complete with a reading by Oliver Sacks himself. Along the way there was also some cliff jumping, pole dancing, a fair amount of training for the next Beer Mile, and some mutual admiration between our group and a the Dutch National swim team who were also training at the pool. The camp finished with the traditional 2-mile open water swim back to our hotel.
The roster of athletes spanned in age, ability and experience. Most knew and loved Doug, but some newcomers never had the opportunity to meet him. The conistent thread was that everyone came to have fun and improve. That the camp has continued to be a positive resourse for so many people even after Doug's passing in 2007, is proof of how many people he influenced.
Thanks to Lisa Dignazio for the great photo.
Posted at 02:31 PM in Coach's Comments | Permalink