SweatyShe Monday (05/17/10): GuppyMax -- Ode to the Jim Swim

SweatyShe Monday (05/17/10): GuppyMax -- Ode to the Jim Swim
By Susan Farago
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Austin is a great place to train for just about any sport (as long as you don’t need snow) and we are lucky enough to have hills, hot weather, and a lot of open water.

Lake Travis is by far my favorite place to swim and I especially like Hippie Hollow because its “big open water”. One drawback, or at least point of interesting amusement, is that Hippie Hollow is a nudist beach. Yep. Nothing but naked people just letting it all hang out. The water is usually a little choppy which makes for a more honest swim and there is a well marked swim area where you can easily swim a mile along the shoreline without stopping. So if you don’t mind the occasional flapping body part or someone getting arrested, it’s fantastic!

So when this time of year rolls around, thoughts turn to GuppyMax – the very informal Monday night open water swim group. GuppyMax wasn’t always GuppyMax. Unofficially starting sometime around 2004, it was originally the “Jim Swim”, named after Jim Pacey and it all started at Barton Springs. Jim is an amazing athlete but swimming isn’t exactly his favorite part of the swim-bike-run triathlon combo. So his version of a swim workout would be to swim for 5 minutes, then stand around and chat for 10 minutes. Then swim another 5 minutes, then chat for 15 minutes. Then do a 5 minute swim cooldown, chat for another 5 minutes and go get breakfast. That was his idea of a 45 minute swim.

After that first year we decided to move the swim to Lake Travis. Jim coined the name “GuppyMax” and we’ve been swimming at the lake from March to October ever since. We alternate between Hippie Hollow and the cove at Mansfield Dam depending on water levels and our mood.

Part hard core swim, part screwing around and laughing our heads off, GuppyMax is whatever people want it to be. Some people come and swim hard for an hour while others are just getting used to the idea of swimming in open water. There is never a dull moment and I am not sure if it’s the fresh air, open water, or eclectic mix of personalities that make for unforgettable memories. Some hilights include:

-- When we set the record of the most people ever crammed into Leary’s truck – 18! The look on the face of the park guard was priceless!

-- The time Danny tried to sneak up on a couple of ducks. When he got close, he dove underwater and all we could see were a few ripples and then the two ducks completely freak out! Nice try Danny!!

-- The “Hoochie Fish” – those little fish that cautiously swim up and then when you’re not looking, ZAP! The give you the old nip and run. Robbie seems to attract them so don’t swim near her.

-- Synchronized swimming performances as a post swim cooldown. We look pretty good with our circle swimming, leg extensions, and the grand finale of kick, spin, submerge!

-- The post swim “Foodie Challenge” where we compare Hey Cupcake to Sugar Shack’s chocolate cupcakes and Rudy’s ‘nanner pudding to Thundercloud’s brownies.

-- The time Mike called Rudys to find out if they had brownies for dessert (because Thundercloud did and we wanted to do another Foodie Challenge). He got on the phone and all we heard was, “This is Mike P. with GuppyMax.” … pause… “Mike P.…with GuppyMax.”

-- Swimming out to Fraggle Rock at Mansfield Dam cove when the water was really low and then just hanging out and chatting. Jim would be proud!

-- The guy swimming in the cove with his dog floating alongside in a cooler.

-- Going for dinner at “ThunderRudys” – vegetarians would swing through Thundercloud Subs and get veggie subs to go and then sneak the vegetable contraband in to Rudys where the meat eaters were already seated at the outside picnic tables. Who says we all can’t get along!

-- Instead of swimming the buoy line, I convinced everyone to swim to the boat dock, which was a nice change of scenery - except for seeing the underwater stumps which always freak me out. In the words of Ed, they look like heads!

-- It seems to take forever when getting into our wetsuits – and we now have some new terminology:
“Bohonkus” (from Cynthia): referring to hip and rear end sizing when trying to pull the wetsuit UP over this area. Oh the irony of putting ON clothes at a nudist beach!

-- Jake gyrating around in the water and when I asked him what was going on, he gasped and responded, “I’m dying of heat stroke!!” as he was attempting to flood his wetsuit with fresh lake water.

-- Several encounters with “John and his John” - a very nice guy who introduced himself (ALL of HIMSELF) to us. Notes from my initial encounter with John is posted at: www.susanfarago.com/writing/SW-SH_Mon_05-11-09.pdf

-- The monsoon that hit Hippie Hollow a few minutes before we got in the water. We all looked at each other and decided that while the trees were bending nearly horizontal there was no lightening so it must be safe to swim. We swam through the storm and 20 minutes later everything was calm and we enjoyed a beautiful sunset.

There are so many funny stories and did I mention that we actually do get in a swim workout? This is our 6th year of GuppyMax swimming and I look forward to seeing the same friends every Monday and meeting new ones as well. GuppyMax meets every Monday night so come join us! We promise not to make you synchronize swim – at least not right away. More information is at: www.susanfarago.com/athleteresources.html#guppymax .



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