Transcript
WEBVTT
00:00:01.421 --> 00:00:06.267
Welcome to the award-winning champions mojo, hosted by two world record holding athletes.
00:00:06.267 --> 00:00:13.795
Be inspired as you listen to conversations with champions and now your host, kelly Palace and Maria Parker.
00:00:14.541 --> 00:00:22.894
We are on deck for another interview and we're going to talk some couples mojo today with Dale and Dave Leclerc.
00:00:22.894 --> 00:00:38.957
They are a married couple who swim both at high levels and really have a lot of experience with performing at swim meets and swim practices, and we want to know their secret to how this happens.
00:00:38.957 --> 00:00:40.960
Maybe just get a little background from each.
00:00:40.960 --> 00:00:53.973
So, dale, let's go ladies first and tell us like a little bit of your swim history, maybe even how you met Dave and how you started the swimming couplehood together.
00:00:53.993 --> 00:00:59.911
Yeah, so I swim high school and in the summertime I worked at a swim center.
00:00:59.911 --> 00:01:20.000
So I was a swim instructor in the morning and then an on deck coach for the little guys, and Dave was a lifeguard at the same pool, and then he had the next age group up and so we crossed on deck and then he asked me out and been together ever since, and I was 17 and he was 19.
00:01:20.000 --> 00:01:21.406
No, you're 18.
00:01:22.808 --> 00:01:24.000
Okay, Dave has some input here.
00:01:24.000 --> 00:01:26.643
So was it love at first sight For?
00:01:26.683 --> 00:01:27.103
me it was.
00:01:27.103 --> 00:01:30.000
I had to chase her for a while.
00:01:30.000 --> 00:01:33.989
How long Summer, summer Okay.
00:01:35.381 --> 00:01:35.641
All right.
00:01:35.641 --> 00:01:39.712
So this really was a relationship that started in the water, kind of at the pool.
00:01:39.712 --> 00:01:49.959
So then both of you guys are top 10, very strong master swimmers and, like the, what point did you start saying let's do masters?
00:01:49.959 --> 00:01:50.963
Where did that?
00:01:51.004 --> 00:01:51.284
come in.
00:01:51.284 --> 00:01:55.930
So we got married in 1996 and then started moving across the country.
00:01:55.930 --> 00:02:04.433
So we went from Los Angeles to Colorado Springs, was in Colorado Springs for two years and then moved to Atlanta, georgia, and it was in Atlanta.
00:02:04.433 --> 00:02:04.959
When we moved there.
00:02:04.959 --> 00:02:09.000
I just looked at Dave one day and I said, if I go to the gym one more time I'm going to shoot myself.
00:02:09.000 --> 00:02:17.409
I got to find something different, and he's the one who actually researched master swimming, and so we started swimming in 2000.
00:02:17.409 --> 00:02:20.693
And I think we went to our first nationals in 2001.
00:02:22.241 --> 00:02:24.979
Swimming in the 80s in high school was brutal.
00:02:24.979 --> 00:02:27.625
I had a really old school coach who used to do.
00:02:27.625 --> 00:02:30.189
One day we did 13,800 yards.
00:02:30.189 --> 00:02:31.012
I still remember it.
00:02:31.012 --> 00:02:34.000
Oh, and when I graduated I said I never want to swim again.
00:02:34.000 --> 00:02:38.197
I swam club teams on and off for most of college.
00:02:38.197 --> 00:02:42.979
I didn't swim in college and then I didn't swim at all for 15 years Not even one is true.
00:02:42.979 --> 00:02:56.000
We decided to go back and we loved it Absolutely, was passionate about it, and it was so fun that we could go together, get up early in the morning together, and we got better together and it was fun, really fun.
00:02:56.949 --> 00:02:57.979
You started, you both swam.
00:02:57.979 --> 00:02:59.704
Did you swim in high school?
00:02:59.704 --> 00:03:00.145
In college?
00:03:00.145 --> 00:03:01.709
Just high school, just high school.
00:03:01.709 --> 00:03:04.423
Okay, where?
00:03:04.423 --> 00:03:07.549
At what point did you say let's do our first meet.
00:03:08.450 --> 00:03:16.585
So when we started with Dynamo Masters in Atlanta, the coach was Marty Hamburger and he had a massive team who would like to compete.
00:03:16.585 --> 00:03:23.637
So it was just through the coaching that he said hey, look at Raw, Align the Nationals, it's in Cleveland, I think it was.
00:03:23.931 --> 00:03:30.161
Yeah, but we went to UGA for the first meet Long course one day meet in Athens, georgia.
00:03:30.161 --> 00:03:33.837
It was really fun and I look at my time so I'm impressed.
00:03:34.693 --> 00:03:36.318
I was fearless as it was.
00:03:36.812 --> 00:03:37.555
I didn't know better.
00:03:38.631 --> 00:03:39.334
What age was that?
00:03:39.334 --> 00:03:40.913
35.
00:03:40.913 --> 00:03:42.157
35.
00:03:42.157 --> 00:03:45.239
Okay, so now you are.
00:03:45.239 --> 00:03:46.161
How old are you, dale?
00:03:46.161 --> 00:03:47.099
I'm 53.
00:03:47.099 --> 00:03:47.969
55.
00:03:47.969 --> 00:03:49.497
Okay, 53 and 55.
00:03:49.497 --> 00:03:50.789
So you met when you were 19.
00:03:50.789 --> 00:03:52.034
What age did you get married?
00:03:53.031 --> 00:03:53.713
I was 26.
00:03:53.713 --> 00:03:54.633
28.
00:03:55.631 --> 00:03:57.596
You did have to chase her for a while.
00:03:57.596 --> 00:03:59.100
Yeah, oh, my gosh.
00:03:59.100 --> 00:03:59.711
All right.
00:03:59.711 --> 00:04:05.590
So what advice I'd like to hear from both the wife and the husband?
00:04:05.590 --> 00:04:16.482
What advice would you give couples that are considering, hey, let's do something together, or maybe not even master swimming, but we have a lot of different sports listeners.
00:04:16.482 --> 00:04:25.858
But if they want to, what are the good things you would recommend to make it work like you guys do, and things that you might avoid?
00:04:27.091 --> 00:04:30.500
My advice is just to make sure that whatever you're doing, you both enjoy it.
00:04:30.500 --> 00:04:40.040
Like, dave Runes is a really good runner as well, and it's just something I don't like doing, so that's not something I would connect with him on from that level.
00:04:40.040 --> 00:04:53.677
On the other hand, like even if you start with something like yoga, stretching right, something that really maybe isn't so athletically hard, but something that you can enjoy and then maybe build from there.
00:04:53.677 --> 00:04:56.357
But in my opinion, you both have to enjoy it.
00:04:56.357 --> 00:05:01.824
You can't just pick one thing and say we're going to go, do it and because if you hate it, it's not going to work.
00:05:02.829 --> 00:05:05.057
Yeah, I love that advice to start with something small.
00:05:05.057 --> 00:05:08.778
Yeah, mark and I do yoga together and it's really enjoyable.
00:05:08.778 --> 00:05:09.240
How about you?
00:05:09.360 --> 00:05:11.634
Okay, dave, yeah, I think Dale had it on the head.
00:05:11.634 --> 00:05:17.262
Really, it's something we both love and it creates such a conversation piece for us.
00:05:17.262 --> 00:05:21.362
Like almost most days were not everything, but a lot of days.
00:05:21.362 --> 00:05:25.769
We're talking about the workout that day, or what workout should we do now?
00:05:25.769 --> 00:05:32.677
Dale's writing all workouts for the week and for the season, so we really have a build and taper strategy.
00:05:32.677 --> 00:05:34.783
That's exciting and it's working.
00:05:34.783 --> 00:05:36.516
Dale's back was functional today.
00:05:36.516 --> 00:05:47.560
It would have been a great meet for her as well, so I think that just creates such a if you ever have nothing in common, it's always tried such commonality between us and it's so fun.
00:05:47.560 --> 00:05:52.322
We did long distance triathlons together for a couple of years and that was fun.
00:05:52.322 --> 00:05:53.574
You were really good cyclists.
00:05:53.574 --> 00:05:54.351
You couldn't run.
00:05:55.790 --> 00:05:57.557
If I put that, I'm a horrible runner.
00:05:57.637 --> 00:05:58.019
Who's?
00:05:58.038 --> 00:05:59.021
that First suit mittage.
00:05:59.209 --> 00:06:03.600
Then you decided that off-goal bike and they take all this and say you just swam and bike and then you're done.
00:06:03.600 --> 00:06:08.038
And I would always be jealous because I have 13 miles to run and she'd be done.
00:06:08.038 --> 00:06:11.555
That was fun too If we got to bike together and you still swam together.
00:06:11.555 --> 00:06:13.077
Just put them on again.
00:06:14.180 --> 00:06:15.062
Yes, I love that.
00:06:15.062 --> 00:06:15.571
So it is.
00:06:15.571 --> 00:06:22.444
It's like some couples don't have a lot to talk about, but you can always talk about what needs coming up or what practice you're doing All right.
00:06:22.444 --> 00:06:29.004
So those are really best practices, for, hey, let's start something small and then this is something we communicate on.
00:06:29.004 --> 00:06:32.394
Have you had any trouble like that?
00:06:32.394 --> 00:06:44.281
You're so connected and you're so doing the same sports, like you're competitive against each other, or somebody wants to go, or something, not somebody doesn't, or yeah, sometimes I'm up for something and he's not, and vice versa.
00:06:44.790 --> 00:06:48.589
But no, for the most part I think we're on the same wavelength in that regard.
00:06:49.151 --> 00:06:51.677
But you've gone to Nationals and I just don't go for it.
00:06:51.677 --> 00:06:52.399
Yeah, that's all.
00:06:52.399 --> 00:06:53.081
We don't want to go.
00:06:53.081 --> 00:06:56.468
I just want them this small go and Wait, tell us about that.
00:06:56.509 --> 00:06:58.589
Yeah, so why wouldn't you go to Nationals?
00:06:59.132 --> 00:07:01.619
I think I just didn't like the location, wherever it was.
00:07:01.619 --> 00:07:02.480
I won't say it.
00:07:03.552 --> 00:07:05.980
It's a place, I'm just like, oh, now we got to know.
00:07:06.651 --> 00:07:13.860
But then so I just said I don't want to go and I just she knew Wayne advanced and she knew the team was going, so she'd have people to talk to.
00:07:13.860 --> 00:07:15.262
You went to worlds.
00:07:16.144 --> 00:07:17.565
I myself, and this is for you all.
00:07:17.565 --> 00:07:18.427
Okay, wait a minute.
00:07:18.427 --> 00:07:19.569
Okay, so this is really cool.
00:07:19.569 --> 00:07:23.550
So you guys will actually go to meet without the other one.
00:07:23.550 --> 00:07:25.055
Oh, yeah, yep.
00:07:25.990 --> 00:07:27.755
And I would go to Traffons without her.
00:07:27.855 --> 00:07:33.480
So it just, he does road races that I don't go to now she does the big ones yeah.
00:07:33.480 --> 00:07:35.276
The big ones.
00:07:35.276 --> 00:07:36.468
I'll go to your on, but yeah.
00:07:36.971 --> 00:07:37.430
The worlds.
00:07:37.430 --> 00:07:38.874
I just said I'm not going to sit there.
00:07:38.874 --> 00:07:40.076
What are we?
00:07:40.076 --> 00:07:42.139
Yeah, and you swim three times or something.
00:07:42.139 --> 00:07:42.779
I'm not going to.
00:07:43.021 --> 00:07:43.240
Yeah.
00:07:43.440 --> 00:07:44.744
I'm not doing that.
00:07:45.589 --> 00:07:47.110
I think you guys have hit on.
00:07:47.110 --> 00:07:53.295
One of the keys to success that you may not even know is that you do give each other that space.
00:07:53.295 --> 00:07:57.625
Is that like a thread throughout your relationship?
00:07:58.175 --> 00:07:58.817
Yeah, I think so.
00:07:59.379 --> 00:08:00.142
Yeah absolutely.
00:08:01.776 --> 00:08:07.749
Something else that swimming has given us is that we have such a network of friends that are from swimming right.
00:08:07.749 --> 00:08:13.875
So it's not that we hang out with nothing but swimmers, but it sure gives you something to talk about at a party or something.
00:08:13.875 --> 00:08:25.098
And we have this cooking group where we all go to different houses and we all cook together and it's turned into four couples and three of them are swimmers and one more couple's not, and they're just like.
00:08:25.098 --> 00:08:27.949
We always try to include them in everything.
00:08:27.949 --> 00:08:32.875
But it creates a real network of friends and it's fun to watch people change over the years.
00:08:32.875 --> 00:08:34.302
It's been 20 years.
00:08:34.302 --> 00:08:39.105
We've been swimming with these people here 15 years, so it's fun watching them.
00:08:39.105 --> 00:08:42.855
I want to say it but get older but change, and some are getting faster, some are getting slower.
00:08:44.097 --> 00:08:46.345
I think it's fun when you watch them do the chain.
00:08:46.345 --> 00:08:59.999
And we take in breaks too, like we've you used to do, where you would swim to a long course and then take the fall off, take it completely off, do something totally different, like biking or yoga or nothing, just walking.
00:08:59.999 --> 00:09:01.683
So I think that's the key too.
00:09:01.683 --> 00:09:07.703
It's a long, it's a year in it to enjoy it, and if you don't physically need a break, you should need to do that.
00:09:07.703 --> 00:09:09.025
It's really important.
00:09:10.500 --> 00:09:11.875
Anything you want to add on that.
00:09:11.875 --> 00:09:14.677
No, it's all good, you got to keep it interesting, right?
00:09:14.677 --> 00:09:20.488
If I pecking, feel myself now getting burned out, leading into long course nationals.
00:09:20.488 --> 00:09:24.404
So I'm already thinking about, okay, what am I going to do this fall?
00:09:24.404 --> 00:09:26.241
And he'll continue to run.
00:09:26.241 --> 00:09:32.875
He's going to plan an ultra next year, so he's already on to his next training plan as well.
00:09:32.875 --> 00:09:35.203
So it's good to mix it up.
00:09:35.203 --> 00:09:37.855
Make sure you don't get burned out and obviously, support each other in whatever you want to do.
00:09:38.557 --> 00:09:39.542
So, go ahead.
00:09:40.498 --> 00:09:47.681
What is getting burned out look like for you and if you're, we're a month out from nationals.
00:09:47.681 --> 00:09:51.427
How do you deal with being burned out going into nationals?
00:09:53.115 --> 00:09:59.855
I know it's just three weeks away, okay, and I know it's two more hard weeks of practice and then I can start to taper, which I love.
00:09:59.855 --> 00:10:03.697
He hates the process, but I love the taper process, so that's all.
00:10:03.697 --> 00:10:08.947
That's all and I but this not being able to swim well this weekend, right now.
00:10:08.947 --> 00:10:17.506
I'm just got to be sure I take care of that, and so I've got some things to focus on to make sure I can do as best as I can when nationals comes around.
00:10:17.975 --> 00:10:21.644
Yeah, what does your taper look like from because you're writing your workouts?
00:10:21.644 --> 00:10:22.995
What does your taper look like Cause?
00:10:22.995 --> 00:10:25.081
People love to hear about tapers like yeah it's.
00:10:26.427 --> 00:10:32.875
I've tried so many different kinds and getting older, I'm not sure my taper that I used to do works for me anymore.
00:10:32.875 --> 00:10:37.971
So this is a experiment for me this time.
00:10:37.971 --> 00:10:38.835
So we'll see how it goes.
00:10:38.835 --> 00:10:53.761
But I think it'll be very similar to a gradual decrease in yardage and then every workout the block of what you do hard get shorter and shorter and you're getting longer and longer rest in between those blocks and that's we'll see how it goes.
00:10:53.761 --> 00:10:55.902
But I usually start tapering 10 days out.
00:10:57.456 --> 00:10:59.504
Okay, and Dave, you don't like tapering?
00:10:59.975 --> 00:11:00.736
And I don't like them.
00:11:00.736 --> 00:11:04.828
I feel like I all live events are distance and only swim three days a week.
00:11:04.828 --> 00:11:08.924
So I feel like one of my tapering thumb I need to keep ignoring.
00:11:08.924 --> 00:11:12.855
But the way you tapered me for her vine was perfect.
00:11:12.855 --> 00:11:16.171
I didn't feel that laparge and lack of confidence.
00:11:16.171 --> 00:11:20.645
We swam hard, so just a couple of good days of rest is really good for me.
00:11:20.645 --> 00:11:24.562
So the five week tapered I've worn not coming.
00:11:25.922 --> 00:11:27.855
Yeah, I don't think I worked for any master swimmer.
00:11:27.855 --> 00:11:35.354
But, david's interesting, you had your best smile in this age group today and you only swim three days a week.
00:11:35.354 --> 00:11:38.342
Is it cross training, or how much?
00:11:38.342 --> 00:11:43.815
I believe in the shorter, even for milers like you and I.
00:11:43.815 --> 00:11:51.667
So tell us a little bit about that mileage for three days a week and then if you're cross training or why you think you can carry off a mile as you do.
00:11:51.667 --> 00:11:54.705
Obviously you did a great mile today with three days a week.
00:11:55.600 --> 00:11:59.633
Yeah, and everything we do is focused on a pace and we swim long.
00:11:59.633 --> 00:12:01.442
Actually it's 5,000 meters.
00:12:01.442 --> 00:12:06.820
On Tuesday, 5,000 yards actually, and it's all pace, it's mile pace.
00:12:06.820 --> 00:12:08.789
800 days, 400 days, whatever.
00:12:08.789 --> 00:12:09.794
So it's challenging.
00:12:09.794 --> 00:12:13.693
And then Thursday I do stroke and then Saturday it's another 5,000.
00:12:13.693 --> 00:12:15.260
Now it's all in course.
00:12:15.260 --> 00:12:17.229
Meters it's 4,800, 4,600.
00:12:17.229 --> 00:12:20.815
And so I'm dealing with significant nardage still.
00:12:20.815 --> 00:12:26.794
And then Wednesday, friday and Sunday I run about 6 to 10 miles each time.
00:12:26.794 --> 00:12:30.815
I try to do strength training during the week but I don't get a lot in.
00:12:30.815 --> 00:12:32.400
I need to do that more.
00:12:32.400 --> 00:12:38.774
I don't do a lot of weights, but it's all bands and you pull up super shots and band squats and stuff.
00:12:38.774 --> 00:12:44.648
So it's not at my age I know, and I lose muscle so quick that I need to lift weights a lot more than I do.
00:12:44.648 --> 00:12:50.246
If I wanted to be better, I need to lift three days a week and probably run less.
00:12:51.259 --> 00:12:52.815
No wonder you're so fit with all that stuff.
00:12:52.815 --> 00:12:58.443
So your pace is at 50s pace, 100s pace, like how can you hold a pace?
00:12:58.916 --> 00:13:00.815
We do a lot of repeat 100s or 200s.
00:13:00.815 --> 00:13:04.815
I think the workout that we didn't do yesterday was 800, 300.
00:13:04.815 --> 00:13:08.408
Descending intervals, and that would have been a long course.
00:13:08.408 --> 00:13:09.815
I'm sorry, I'm glad we weren't, there.
00:13:10.857 --> 00:13:12.221
And you didn't do it because you had to meet.
00:13:12.221 --> 00:13:18.424
Yeah, yeah, and so Dale, how about you with your pace when you're doing that?
00:13:19.147 --> 00:13:19.488
Yeah.
00:13:19.488 --> 00:13:28.505
So I kind of start kind of the season with the ultra short race pace type of things, right, and you start to think about what pace do you want to hold eventually, right?
00:13:28.505 --> 00:13:31.583
So you just start to get a feel for what does that pace feel like?
00:13:31.583 --> 00:13:37.528
And then it moves into longer 150s, 200s or broken swims.
00:13:37.528 --> 00:13:42.734
So we a couple of weeks ago we did broken 400s and I think that worked out really well.
00:13:42.734 --> 00:13:48.346
It really helped understand what you need to do and what it's going to feel like over and over again.
00:13:48.346 --> 00:13:54.407
But no, we think, I think I mostly focus on 200, 400 and 800 pace this season.
00:13:54.407 --> 00:13:59.365
Not a lot of sprinting built that in in the last six weeks of the season.
00:13:59.365 --> 00:14:01.080
So we'll see how it goes.
00:14:01.080 --> 00:14:07.047
But we didn't do any sprint practices leading up to Irvine and I felt it.
00:14:07.047 --> 00:14:09.693
So the relays really hurt.
00:14:09.693 --> 00:14:12.384
I wasn't prepared for a simple 50.
00:14:12.384 --> 00:14:15.488
But yet had a great 1650.
00:14:15.509 --> 00:14:20.807
I saw that and it's hard to juggle everything, but it's important to just get it in when you can.
00:14:22.556 --> 00:14:28.013
Yeah, we have been swimming on teams here in Florida and over time it changes.
00:14:28.013 --> 00:14:34.025
So the coach that we swam at originally he's changed to be more geared towards fitness swimmers.
00:14:34.025 --> 00:14:37.903
It's a very nice group, good group, but it's not.
00:14:37.903 --> 00:14:41.155
We're not getting focused training for an event and he doesn't.
00:14:41.155 --> 00:14:48.783
He used to do it almost naturally, right, like he would just know and me just coming up and he'd know what to do exactly, but he doesn't.
00:14:48.783 --> 00:14:50.653
I think he's a little disengaged.
00:14:50.653 --> 00:14:54.666
And then we have a group in the town we live in and that is totally.
00:14:54.666 --> 00:14:57.133
It's just lapsed women.
00:14:57.133 --> 00:14:59.384
Essentially they give a workout, but it's terrible.
00:14:59.544 --> 00:15:00.851
I told Dale I go, I'm marathoning.
00:15:00.851 --> 00:15:02.999
You know when you're just running a marathon you can.
00:15:02.999 --> 00:15:09.225
There's a thousand training plans you do and it's every time, three times a week, I'm running marathon pace.
00:15:09.225 --> 00:15:13.243
You're running, and when you go to run the marathon, you know exactly what it's going to feel like.
00:15:13.243 --> 00:15:15.573
There's no surprise and I said so.
00:15:15.573 --> 00:15:16.938
It's got to be the same for swimming.
00:15:16.938 --> 00:15:19.890
There's got to be a buildup to it and then a taper.
00:15:19.890 --> 00:15:21.817
And that's what she started this year.
00:15:21.817 --> 00:15:28.261
She found some stuff online so she's writing all our workouts like she described, but it's always like today.
00:15:28.261 --> 00:15:29.325
That's why I jump in.
00:15:29.325 --> 00:15:35.352
I know exactly what a 100 pace feels like, an 800 pace feels like, and before I'd be, I'm just swinging it.
00:15:35.352 --> 00:15:44.605
I have no idea what I'm doing and I feel a lot more confident too, just because we're putting in the mileage, and I just know that it's going to feel a lot better than it did before.
00:15:45.836 --> 00:15:50.748
Oh, I love to hear this because I really feel like master swimmers need to focus more on pace.
00:15:50.748 --> 00:15:51.498
They just don't.
00:15:51.498 --> 00:15:56.160
You want to swim up this 400 or this 200 or this mile, absolutely For this all right, 50s.
00:15:56.201 --> 00:15:57.889
Like you said, you train for one another.