Lynn Fahey - Los Angeles, USA
Name: Lynn Fahey Lives in Los Angeles, California, USA Age 33
Occupation: College Professor and Consultant - Sociology and Social Statistics
Connect with Lynn: IG
Lynn, how many times a week do you swim?
It depends on my work schedule which can be hectic since I have 2 jobs. My class schedule is pretty predictable but my consulting practice has a very unusual schedule and requires a lot of travel. When I’m in LA at “home pools” I like to swim everyday Monday-Saturday and take Sunday off to have brunch with my husband at the local diner, and just relax.
On “travel weeks” I am at the mercy of the local pools in the area. When I travel to rural areas, this sometimes means tethering to a pole in a small hotel pool or even some modified aqua aerobics and sculling in the shallow kiddie sized pool!
Often I am fortunate enough to find a lap pool within a 20-minute drive of my field work site and I can swim for 45 minutes or so daily. Early in my swimming ‘comeback’ I found this unpredictability and instability to be a hinderance to my training. But now I see it as an advantage – it keeps the pool experience feeling fresh, it makes me grateful for days I have the “luxury” of a long hard practice, and it has helped me meet swimmers and triathletes from many different cities.
Lynn, tell us more about your swimming ‘comeback’
During the pandemic I began to feel inspired to try swimming again. I’m not sure if it was a sense that now was a good of time as any to get my lungs in shape or maybe just that after a year of relative isolation the idea of just doing something outside the home with my day felt attractive – but I did it. It started off slowly because I could only get 40-minute pool appointments three days a week. During those early swims, it was hard to complete even 1,000 yards. Now, I am swimming 5,000+ yards with ease on a regular basis. I don’t know where this is heading, but I hope to be a part of Masters swimming for many years to come.
Why do you swim Lynn?
Because it makes me happy and it helps me feel connected to a part of myself that I thought I lost when I stopped swimming in my late teens. I sort of thought that when I ‘quit’ I ‘gave up’ being able to call myself a ‘swimmer’ – but coming back to the water as an adult I’ve realized the joy I had forgotten about and I learned that there is room for everyone in the swimming community: slow, fast, beginner, expert – and there’s a lot of beauty in that for me.
Share an overview of one of your regular workouts.
I try to swim workouts that vary between 60 minutes and 110 minutes. A lot of this depends on my work schedule and what is realistic given the pool access, especially with COVID protocols being so different in different places.
Do you have a favourite training set?
The fire I was forged in is repeat 100s and 200s so I always find a sense of satisfaction doing those.
For example, I love doing a set like 10 X 100s freestyle on the 2:00 and seeing how fast I can do each, with extra rest as my reward. I also enjoy doing repeat 100s where I decrease the rest after a certain point. For example, I might do 4 X 100 on 1:25, 3 X 100 on 1:20, and 2 x 100 on 1:15.
The 200 freestyle is one of my favorite distances and when I raced all the time in my youth, I would race it in a build pattern. I use that same logic to get me through long repeat sets.
Who do you swim with?
Most of the time I swim by myself. I have access to a pool frequently swimming in my own lane and I enjoy the solitude. Often there are few older women at the pool for aquaerobics and I consider them my swim companions. We talk a lot before and after swim sessions about life, our families, and how grateful we are for the water – I look forward to seeing them at the pool.
And I make friends with people in different cities I travel to. Sometimes, I have a short trip and I swim with people only once. Other times, I am in a city for many weeks and I make semi-permanent lane mate friends for the month with the folks who train the same hours I do.
I am a member of a masters team in LA who I work out with when my schedule permits – but lately its been difficult to make it happen.
This is one of the reasons I’ve been so drawn to the online community of swimmers I’ve discovered via social media. Some of my ‘teammates’ in this effort are folks I only really know virtually or via their handle. But with each like or comment we are building a rapport and a system of support. It’s remarkable actually!
Where do you swim?
I swim at the school where I teach which has a five-lane 25 yard lap pool, any of the city of Los Angeles pools (when I can get a lane reservation), hotel pools, YMCAs, and just about any other place you can think of. If there is a pool, I can hardly resist.
Do you have a swimming current goal or a swimming bucket list?
I’ve made a series of several small goals:
· start swimming a few times a week
· join a group workout with a master’s team
· create a swim program that is sustainable with my jobs
· enter a swim meet and compete
· qualify for US Masters Nationals
Now that I have completed those, my next big goal is to beat my current times at the Masters Nationals meet. Perhaps, one day, if my body can still do it, I’d like to be able to swim a lifetime best time. But I’m being patient and enjoying the process for now!
What’s the best place (or two) you’ve swum?
I’ve had the privilege of swimming in so many amazing pools in my life:
Perhaps the coolest is the natural pool at Barton Springs in Austin, Texas and perhaps the ‘fastest’ competition pool is the facility at Texas A&M University.
I have fond memories of childhood competitions and swim camps at Texas A&M.
I have also set a goal to swim in all 50 states of USA. So far, I have achieved 9 of the 50: Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Hawaii, Nevada, Ohio, Oregon, Texas!
Tell us about some of your proudest swimming moments.
Right now, I am incredibly proud of the recent Masters swim meet I did at Arizona State University. After 14 years out of the water, I decided to suit back up – and there were a lot of nerves and emotions that came with this process.
Would I be satisfied with times that were ‘slower’ than my life time best?
What if I became too tired to complete the races I entered?
Was it foolish for me to take a hobby so seriously when there are so many other things going on in the world?
But when the time of my first race came, all of those doubts were far from my mind and I just had fun.
I am so proud that I have even put myself out there and chosen to create a happy life for myself. It was a bonus to this huge emotional achievement that I qualified for Masters Nationals in every event I swam.
In my youth, I had a lot of proud swim moments. Perhaps my favorites are:
1. I was the butterfly swimmer when I was five years old on a medley relay which broke a local summer league record– that record still stands today.
2. 10 years later in high school I was part of the 400-freestyle relay team which broke a school record which still stands today.
3. 14 years later I entered my first master’s swim meet and the possibilities feel absolutely endless!
Lynn, where swimming fits into your life?
Rediscovering the joy of swimming has pulled me out of the cloud that the pandemic caused in my life. I have something to look forward to, something to challenge me, and that ‘spark’ is back. I feel so proud each day that I go to the pool and so excited to see what my progress will be. I enjoyed swimming when I was young and I am so pleasantly surprised to discover that I enjoy it even more now.
What is one, or two, key stroke technique points you often reference when swimming?
I always, always, always, think about distance per stroke. If I’m tired in a race, I try to just pull more water. If I want to make a faster interval in practice, I try to reach out in front of me as far as I can. The taller and longer I can make myself in the water the better! Which is funny because I am already 6 feet tall!
Tell us a little about your early years of swimming.
I have always loved the water. I learned to swim when my mother taught me probably at age three when we were living in Canada.
I did summer league swimming when I was a young child and as I mentioned, I broke league records starting at age 5. I began swimming year-round for a club team in the 6th grade and really began to drop time and see myself as a serious swimmer with big aspirations to swim in college and compete internationally.
I loved swimming in high school and played varsity water polo as well. I was recruited and joined a Division-1 college team but left the sport in my freshman year to focus on my academics which I kept until I had completed a PhD before my 30th birthday.
Tell us a fun fact, or two, about yourself?
1. I love spicy foods and have tried and enjoyed some of the hottest peppers around, such as the Naga Viper and the Carolina Reaper. My favorite peppers are Ghost Peppers and Jalapenos.
2. I can remember the words to songs that I’ve heard only once.
Editor: Big thanks Lynn, we will enjoy following your swimming journey.
Images below: Young Lynn - Tethered training when travelling, and working her underwaters
