28 July 2026 I had written a post last fall after I was particularly chuffed with my race execution and splits on a 200 fly I swam at Millfield School, where my 50 splits as a percentage of total time worked out to: 22.9% 25.8% 25.7% 25.5% I was reminded of how beautiful a perfectly executed 200 fly can be as I watched Lewis Clareburt control his pace, be comfortable in his strategy, bide his time and appear to storm home the last 50 to win the 200 fly at last night's Comm

18 July 2026 I really, really wanted to love the new Canary Wharf Sea Lanes. Maia came up from Brighton to spend the weekend in London with us ... and the timing was pretty perfect as it was almost three years ago to the day (July 9, 2023) that we had swum together in the "OG" Sea Lanes pool down in Brighton. We booked our swim for 3pm and had absolutely perfect conditions, with fairly skies and the water chilled, but not too chilled. The location is less than a ten minute

4 July 2026 King Charles happens to be in residence this weekend at nearby Palace of Holyroodhouse, but, though he was a keen swimmer in his youth, I didn't see him at either Friday or Saturday morning's long course lane swimming times at the fantastic Royal Commonwealth Pool: Speaking of royalty, this pool was officially opened January 16, 1970 by Princess Anne and it was her first ever solo official visit. This facility also has the superlative as the only pool to ever hos

9 June 2026 This is a facility that I've wanted to visit for years ... really for decades, probably going back to my freshman year at the University of Texas when I first met Spencer Martin: J. Spencer Martin circa 1987/1988 Spencer was a year ahead of me and he took many of us first-year members of the men's swimming team under his wing. Though he and I never actually trained together - he was a breaststroker and sprint IMer, me stuck over in the distance lanes - he taught

7 April 2026 After our (mis-)adventures in Madrid and with Canadian Masters Nationals a mere seven weeks away, today marked the start of a focused six-week training and one-week drop taper cycle to try to see if I can get back into any semblance of racing shape to at least be able to deliver a somewhat decent 200 freestyle result. I arrived at the London Aquatics Centre to brilliant sunshine and evidence that there was a lot of fun happening here over the Easter long weekend

3 April 2026 While the swim/workout and the pool itself are the primary goals behind all of my pool tourism, a very close third place is the journey to and from the pool. Particularly when I'm in a new city, I view the travel as part of the challenge ... and the delight. It can also be humbling ... but in a growth-oriented way. We arrived into Madrid on Thursday late afternoon and I was smugly confident in my ability to navigate the Metro from the airport to our hotel. Mad

25 March 2026 Mainz, Germany really is a wonderful city, nestled on the south side of the Rhine River, due south of Weisbaden and southwest of Frankfurt, this burg of about 225,000 people has everything I need for a productive business trip: an easily accessible main train station with decent hotels and reasonably priced (but good) restaurants in walking distance and two great public pools. Until today, I've always swum at the Taubertsberg Bad as it's an easy 5-10 minute wal

27 June 2025 I think more London area fitness facilities should adopt this term - “Lifestyle Club” - over the much more dominant “Leisure...

31 March 2025 There's a classic saying - "To be old and wise, you must first be young and stupid." I proved with today's "Birthday Bash"...

3 March 2025 I love going to the London Aquatics Centre first thing in the morning, but it's oh so much nicer when you arrive as the sun...