For most of these kids it was their first time at any kind of swim lessons; but I did see one of my Big 4’s from my Saturday morning class It started when they walked in the door. All the smiles, all the looks of uncertainty of what’s coming next. Trying to corral 30ish kids was an interesting task for Graham, Melanie, myself and the two teacher’s that brought the kids. Figuring out lane assignments, peering to see who gets who as an instructor. All the things as adults we still do, but don’t think about much anymore.

Once we had everyone in their classes, the true fun began! We had six instructors in the water for this group, PLUS our two normal once a week/camp instructors in the water at one time! Eight! Eight awesome instructors in the water at the same time. It was a slow and quiet start, but about six minutes into the lessons, everyone started to get more excited, and louder. Till about ten minutes into our classes we had the pool area to a very loud ROAR! It was FANTASTIC! There was so much energy pouring out of us; but not just us! The kids were having an absolute blast! Laughs could be heard from everywhere in the pool area! From the Little 1’s to the Big 1’s! The 30 minute lesson flew-by so fast, and even hours after that one class, I was still so full of energy, and excited about teaching with such awesome instructors! that I’m writing this at 1:15 a.m.!

What made today such a great day, was the energy that *every* instructor put forth to get the kids involved, wanting to participate, and laugh; but that energy goes further past just the kids! It reaches the parents of our students, *AND* other staff members. I’m not one to use big words often(due to spelling errors :-p) but what today proved is that synergy is an AMAZING thing! When everyone(Foss staff, parents, and kids alike) are involved/included in the amazing things we do everyday, it just makes it *that* much better!

Contributed by Erik  Olson, Foss Swim School Instructor/Shift Coordinator

Melanie: I competed in one full tri this summer and cut about 5 minutes off my time from last year. Then 3 of us from Lakeville did the Lakeville Triathlon as a relay (I biked) and we came in 3rd place. That was a fun event!

I’ve never really calculated how much I save in gas by biking, too much math:) but I probably put in at least 600 miles on the bike this summer. My goal is to keep biking until the end of October, if not into November. Last year my last day of biking was November 16th!

FOSS: How’s Yoga Instruction?

Melanie: With all the activities I do, Yoga is still my favorite! I teach at 2 different fitness clubs, and typically have the same folks come each week. It’s fun to see them try new poses, get stronger, and leave feeling amazing. There’s nothing quite like a “yoga high.” It’s very nice to make a little extra cash doing something I love! I feel extremely lucky to have found jobs that suit me and that I enjoy (FOSS included of course!).

FOSS: How long does it take for the layman to achieve reasonable balance?

Melanie: Whenever you’re trying to balance, focus on one unmoving object. This helps to quiet the mind, its called “drishti.” Most of the balance comes from the core, so try and tighten your stomach and keep length in your spine.

Some days I could balance forever, others I completely suck. I balance better on my left side than my right; there are all sorts of weird things that affect it.

Mike W.: Vince Flynn- Protect and Defend (Vince is a fellow Tommy whose house I lived in after college!)

FOSS: What did you like about the book?

Mike W.: I like the patriotic, tough American, Ironman connection. Makes you feel good about America! My own connection is very interesting also. Eric Rapp (Mitch in the book) is the total reason I got into triathlon. Of course Eric is a St. Paul native who ended up marring one of my ex-girlfriends. They now have 3 kids and have swam at Foss Swim School.

FOSS: Speaking of Ironman, how did your racing season end up? Are you training for anything now?

Mike W.: Not a very good season. Didn’t want to suffer during training and racing. Made for sub-par performances. I am starting

FOSS: What is your recovery time like after doing these intense physical challenges? Do you need to practice Tai Chi, special stretching like Dara Torres, or does R & R do the trick?

How long does it take for you to prepare for these races?

Mike W.: Ironman will be a 36 week training program. This assumes high fitness going into it. It usually take 1 month to fully recover from Ironman. I am actually less sore after an Ironman than a marathon due to how much you get to warm up for the marathon in Ironman. By that time your body is pretty loosey goosey and you can’t really hurt anything. Whereas in marathon, you usually aren’t warmed up until a couple miles in and if you push too hard, you hurt cold muscles, tendons and ligaments.

FOSS: Tell me about the P.F. Changs Marathon, Jan 17th and going to Madison September 12? Are you fund raising or is this a pure punishment event?

P.F. Changs Rock’N'Roll Arizona Marathon

Ironman Wisconsin

I’ll bookmark my calendar to cheer you on and send good thoughts your way. In other words I won’t be signing up to join you.

Mike W.: Yes, I believe those are the dates. No fundraising, I pay to punish myself.

You have put a lot of work into your child trying to potty train them:  Being prompt with cues and timing, frequently asking them “Do you have to go?;”  Planning outings to accommodate the training progress; Getting creative with Cheerios for the boys; Developing rewards systems; Wondering how long it will take and eager to be done from diapers; Saving your cost on diapers, the time in storing them strategically around the house, and the task of changing them; anxiously awaiting the time when you can defray the expense of diapers and wipes into a college fund or other financial commitments.  Knowing all work pays off you stay on track and report the success and failures to family and friends.

Finally!  The potty program shows signs of success and eventually you get to state your little one is trained.  You’re proud, the child is proud, that part of rearing is for the most part over (literally).  You celebrate with them and share the good news to encourage, nurture and foster the new freedoms for both of you.  A weight has been lifted and blue skies are here.

We realize, as stated above, the energy required to succeed in potty training.  It is never fun to push policy in front of people but it does have a purpose, in this case to avoid shutting lessons down for every one if there is an accident.  Our stance is if your swimmer is under 36 months they must wear some protection while in the pool.  We’ve softened the lingo by encouraging you to use words like “Swim Pants” and omitting the word diaper.  It is a pure form of semantics but necessary to help maintain the success you’ve achieved by not dashing your child’s pride after working so hard to get them out of diapers.  We suggest you let your swimmer know this is simply part of what you wear for swimming.

Feel free to talk to our staff and see what we recommend to help this be as seamless as possible.  For more information and to see some of the other guidelines we operate under please visit: http://www.health.state.mn.us/divs/eh/pools/wadingpoolsafetyfactsheet.html