Name: Linda Shoenberger
City and State: Reno, NV
Age Group: 60-64
Team Affiliation: Tamalpais Aquatic Masters (TAM)

Linda at the Trans Tahoe relay (she is on the right)

How long have you been a swimming in Masters & why did you decide to join?

I have been swimming since 1996. I joined when I found out a Masters swim program was being started at my gym. At the time I was recovering from a broken leg and I happened to be at the pool on a Saturday morning when the coach showed up to start practice. He asked if I would like to join and I got right in the water.

What kind of swimming background do you have?

I grew up in a small town, Winnemucca, Nevada. They had a 4th of July swim race at the public pool when I was 12 years old. I competed and it turned out I was a pretty good swimmer. After that we moved to Reno, Nevada where I became a member of a very small swim team. I swam competitively until I was 16 years old.

Where do you swim and how often?

I swim mainly at Sports West Athletic Club about 7 blocks from my home in Reno. I am the Masters coach there along with Scott Young who is my personal coach. I swim 5 days per week. In the summer I swim twice a week at Idlewild Pool, a 50-meter outdoor pool in Idlewild Park. On Sundays a group of triathletes from my gym and the Reno Area Triathletes meet at Donner Lake in the Sierra Nevada Mountains for a 2-3 mile open water swim.

I’ve read that you have set some masters records, what events are you a record holder in? What are your favorite events to swim?

This past year I set a record in the USMS National 3,000 Postal swim. I swam it in 43:32. I swam it again a couple of weeks ago and improved my time to 42:10. I believe that will be the new national record when the results are posted in a few weeks. I also won the USMS National 1 Hour Swim this year swimming 4,200 yards. I set national records at the YMCA Nationals held in Fort Lauderdale, FL this year in the 1,000 freestyle, 500 freestyle and 200 freestyle. The women’s 55+ relay that I swam on also set a YMCA national record. Lastly, my TAM Relay set a national record at the Pacific Masters Championships in Walnut Creek, CA, breaking the old record by 14 seconds in the 800 mixed free relay.

While I love to swim any freestyle event, my favorite races this year were the Trans Tahoe Relay and the Maui Channel Swim.

How does Swimming help you with your lifestyle (health, relationships, etc.)?

Through swimming I have met many wonderful people. I coach triathletes and I love it when someone asks me to be on a relay for a triathlon. I am the treasurer for Pacific Masters Swimming and the leaders for the 10,000+ member group have become good friends. On the national level I am co-chairman of the USMS Fitness Committee and I have grown so much by participating on the committee. My main job is to write monthly fitness swimming articles for the USMS website. I enjoy writing the articles and particularly I love the feedback I get from swimmers all over the United States.
As for my health, I couldn’t be healthier than I am now at 61 years old. I had high blood pressure but it is gone. I had aches and pains that have disappeared. I never have to struggle to button my pants now that I swim. I just stay in shape!
As for relationships, I have met so many wonderful people through swimming. It is as though once I became a swimmer I discovered my true personality and I have become an open and happy person. My family members are my biggest fans and my favorite moment so far in swimming was when I finished the 1,000 freestyle at Short Course Yards Pacific Masters Championships this year and I heard my 1-1/2 year old granddaughter clapping and yelling, “Go Grandma!”

What do you do for a living out of the pool?

I am a property manager. I have a wonderful boss who owns all of the property I manage. His son is my assistant. We manage a mini-storage complex, several houses, apartment buildings and vacant land. Some of the properties are located in northern Nevada so I travel frequently to Elko, Wendover and Ely, Nevada. I love Nevada and the desert/mountain landscapes so I have ample opportunity to enjoy that part of my life too. My boss is supportive of my swimming endeavors and never complains when I’m off swimming a race. I really have the best of both worlds by having a job I love and a sport I love.

What do people (coworkers, friends) say when you tell them that you are a masters swimmer?

Some people don’t even have a clue what that means. Others are extremely impressed. Co-workers and friends have always been great fans and a wonderful source of inspiration to me.

Tell us more about the “Go the Distance” program you are involved with and how others can get signed up.

Go the Distance is a fitness event run by the USMS Fitness Committee. It is going into its 3rd season in 2009 and it has become quite popular with USMS swimmers, both competitors and non-competitors. Its attraction is that it rewards everyone at every level no matter what age, shape or amount of swimming they do. To get involved, visit the www.usms.org website. In the top bar click on Health and Fitness, then on Fitness Events. (direct link to Go the Distance) Entries are free and you can track your yards each time you swim. The chart then converts your yardage into miles. Each time you reach a certain level (50 miles, 100 miles, on up to 1,000 miles) you get a certificate and you can purchase awards such as swim caps, t-shirts, mugs, etc. that are printed with your achievement. People love it and it’s great to go to a workout and see someone wearing a Go the Distance cap saying, “I swam 100 miles.” It opens doors of friendship for swimmers everywhere.

Anything else that you want to share? Have a great swimming story? Any swimming tips for us?

My swimming has progressed through the years because I am dedicated to trying new things and listening to coaches and fellow swimmers who have tips for me. I am never afraid to ask a question of a coach or a swimmer I may have just noticed doing something better or differently. I have also attended several swim clinics that always seem to give me some tip that improves my performance. Each little step eventually adds up to a great swim in the future.

I always suggest that people try to swim in a Masters group or have a personal swim coach like I have. The fun and motivation always pushes me to go farther than I ever would have on my own.

**I actually found Linda via an article in the Reno Gazette Journal. The article was great so I e-mailed the author and he put me in touch with her. A big thank you to Linda for being nice enough to share with us!

If you would like to be profiled on the site or know an exceptional masters swimmer that would make for some good reading let me know! Check out more details on the program here.

Name: Rebecca Friedlander
City and State: Denver, CO
Age Group: 40-44
Team Affiliation: CMS (Colorado Masters Swimming)

How long have you been swimming in Masters & why did you decide to join?

Hmmm…maybe 5-6 years now? At the time, I was working fulltime in fitness and the only place I could workout without anyone chasing me down with a phone was the pool. I realized how much I missed swimming on a team and competiting, so I joined a team shortly thereafter.

What kind of swimming background do you have? None at all, Age group, High School, College, International Competition, the Olympics?

Age group, scholastic, masters — all competitive.

Where do you swim and how often? Do you compete? If you do compete what are your favorite events to swim?

I swim all over the city and beyond seeking practices that are longer than an hour. Most weeks I get in 4-6 practices. My favorite events are long course (200 fly, 1500/800 free 400 IM) and open water races 5K and longer.

How does Swimming help you with your lifestyle (health, relationships, etc.)?

Swimming is the cornerstone of my life. It has taught me just about everything I know: setting and reaching goals, forming good discipline habits, cultivating patience, finding work/play/rest balance, and so much more. It’s introduced me to terrific people and places all over the world. And, swimming keeps me very healthy and in shape despite aging!

What do you do for a living out of the pool?

Full time freelance writer.

What do people (coworkers, friends) say when you tell them that you
are a masters swimmer?

So far everyone thinks it’s really cool and interesting and then they
ask a ton of questions.

How about swimming advocacy? Have you helped run or start a team? Are you involved with your LMSC? Do you have a blog or swimming website you’d like to share?

I am the self-proclaimed “swim evangelist.” My mission is to share swimming with as many people as I can as a way to give back to my sport because it’s given so much to me. I also do the COMSA quarterly newsetter, Master Splash, a swim blog (www.offthedeck.net) and volunteer when I can to help out anyway I can.

Anything else that you want to share? Have a great swimming story? Are you a record holder in your age group? Swimming tips?

Don’t even get me started here — I’m a writer after all!

A big thank you to Rebecca for sharing with us! If you’re interested in hearing more from Rebecca check out her blog at offthedeck.net.

If you would like to be featured on the blog or know another swimmer who would, check out the swimmer profile info page.

Name: Joel M.
City and State: Los Angeles, CA
Age Group: 35-39
Team Affiliation: WH2O

How long have you been swimming in Masters & why did you decide to join?

I started swimming in Masters on July 5th, 2004. I quit swimming back in the Fall of 1987 and to be honest didn’t do a lick of swimming or any sort of working out till the winter of 2004. After over a decade of smoking a pack a day and other unhealthy lifestyle choices I was looking like a Buddha. For my birthday that year I was given and I returned a gift of a gym membership. A few months later on Easter morning as I was getting ready to head to a work event the water was shut off in the middle of my shower. As I put on the towel and headed to ask the DWP guys when they would be done I noticed a huge blob of fat folding itself over the towel. A few hours later I joined the gym. I used my one free training session and I was off. Okay so I puked my first time by myself. I then attempted a spin class in which I fell off the bike and have the scar to this day. So I headed down to the swimming pool at my gym. An overheated cloudy pool. After my first swim workout I puked again. This was all in my first week! After a few weeks I felt more comfortable and started to look up Masters Swimming. I looked a few teams but the information on various websites was lacking. Except for one, West Hollywood Aquatics. After reading the website including reading about two years of archived newsletters I decided to join. I waited to the beginning of the following month and swam on Wednesday, July 5th, 2004.

What kind of swimming background do you have? None at all, Age group, High School, College, International Competition, the Olympics?

I started swimming very young as my mother sent my sister and I to swim lessons at the local YWCA. We also belonged to a country club in the summer but the club didn’t have a swim team or any instructional swims it was more for kids to horse around. A few years later we joined a local Boys Club. After a year or so it was clear that my big sister had taken to the sport. Our parents then enrolled us in a private club at Brown University which would eventually become “Little Rhody Aquatics Club”. My sister continued to excel at swimming while I just swam. I actually didn’t enjoy it that much and would fake stomach cramps almost daily to get out of workout. During Junior High our city didn’t have an official swim team but did have an annual competition which we joined in besides our age group swimming. Finally I actually did well at a meet. Of course it wasn’t much fair that I had proper instruction swimming against inner city kids who didn’t have much more than lap swim at the Boys Club. In high school we moved to the suberbs and I swam for three years at Cumberland High School. I quit before my Senior year season started. I hated swimming all those years and to be honest still wasn’t very good. I hung up my speedo in 1987.

Where do you swim and how often? Do you compete? If you do compete what are your favorite events to swim?

I swim with West Hollywood Aquatics WH2O somewhere between 4 and 6 times a week. Our team offers workouts at various times so I jump between night and morning swims. I’ll compete from time to time at about 3 or 4 swim meets a year at most. I pick the ones that are close by like at UCLA that way I can grab some cookies at Dee Dee Reese after the meet. I also head down to Long Beach for Regionals and have gone to IGLA (International Gay Lesbian Aquatics) Championships and US Masters Championships. I still hate competing and get so nervous I get sick to my stomach. Another great thing about smaller local meets is that they end pretty early and go really fast so you don’t have time to get sick to the stomach.

My favorite events are the distance events such as the 800 and 1500 freestyle and the 200 butterfly. I will be the first to admit that I’m not that fast but I can keep going and going. I’ve been described as a squirrel on crack and as the energizer bunny. I’ll never place in the 100 freestyle or the 100 butterfly but I know I can in the longer events. Not only am I able to continue on when most others just give up the fact that the longer the event the less competition means I’m able to actually place. The perfect example of that was at the 2007 USMS SCY Championships. In the 100 fly I finished I 13th but in the 200 fly I finished 7th. Then in the 1650 I finished 5th.

How does Swimming help you with your lifestyle (health, relationships, etc.)?

Swimming is what keeps me healthy. I eat horribly and will devour a box of Oreo cookies in one sitting. Also swimming in a Masters swim team and going to various meets I’ve meet people who’d I never have met otherwise and have made some life long friends.

What do you do for a living out of the pool?

Right now I’m job searching. I took some time off earlier in the year and have started the fun task of searching for a job.

What do people (coworkers, friends) say when you tell them that you are a masters swimmer?

My previous employers were behind me 100% and chatted me up about swimming all the time. Then again it was a very sports oriented office so along with talks about the Dodgers and Redsox we talked about Michael Phelps.

How about swimming advocacy? Have you helped run or start a team? Are you involved with your LMSC? Do you have a blog or swimming website you’d like to share?

I consider myself a swimming advocate chatting it up with my friends who bike, run and do tri’s. My blog of course is my biggest outlet for my advocacy. My blog started just to be a record of my workouts and training but has evolved to cover anything that is related to swimming and fitness in general. Over the last two years I served on my swim teams board and before that a subcommittee. That was an experience that I recommend to anyone who participates in any sport. Run for your teams Board of Governance Group. You’ll never complain about anything related to the team ever again. Adults whine more than 10 year old kids!

Anything else that you want to share? Have a great swimming story? Are you a record holder in your age group? Swimming tips?

I can’t think of any great swimming story but I am really inspired by so many of my team mates. We have one swimmer in the 60+ age group who swims the most beautiful 200 butterfly. We have people who never had any proper instruction growing up who give 100% at every workout. It’s odd that I look at the guys and gals in the fast lane and although I respect them for who they are the swimmers that inspire me are those in the slow and medium lanes. They are the ones who show up to workout after workout, week after week and are the first one’s in the pool and the last one’s out. Those swimmers are the one’s who keep me coming back and keep me inspired to swim.

Swimming Tips from me? I take it you’ve never seen me swim. Remember I swim like a squirrel on crack.

**A big thank you to Joel from the 17th man swim blog, which is excellent by the way, I encourage you to check it out.

If you want to have a swimmer profile on the blog check out the details here.

I thought it would be a cool idea to learn more about the individuals that make up masters swimming and share their stories with the blog.

I’m opening this up to any masters swimmer anywhere in the world. It doesn’t matter if you’re fast or slow, and it doesn’t matter if you compete or only swim for fitness. It just matters that you’re a masters swimmer and you’d like to share a little bit about yourself with my website. If you would like to be featured answer the questions below and mail them to rob@robaquatics.com. I also encourage you to send me a picture or two of yourself swimming or at the pool if you have some.

Please feel free to forward this to your swimming friends, I’m curious to hear their stories too! I set up a dedicated page for this project here, and these profiles will be in the blog as well. If you have any questions for me or have a good question to add to my list, send them to rob@robaquatics.com

Thank you! – Rob D.

Masters Swimmer Profile Questions: