Pat Hunter Mayer - Florida, USA.
Name: Patricia Hunter Mayer Known as: Pat Hunter
Lives in Lake Worth Beach Florida USA Age: 56
Occupation: Singer Connect with Pat: Twitter FB IG Web
Tell us about your swimming Pat
Most weeks I swim three to four times at The North Palm Beach country club, which as a glorious 50m pool, or the Wellington Aquatic Complex.
I generally swim solo, ideally for 60 minutes mixing my laps across breaststroke, freestyle, and butterfly. I average 100 laps which I swim non-stop or on occasions I will take short breaks.
I also invented a stroke, a combination of my breaststroke, butterfly and my doggy paddle. This stroke emphasises the upper body, which gives me a demanding strength and cardiovascular workout. . . I am developing awesome looking shoulders, deltoids, biceps, and triceps 😉
I also love to wear equipment when swimming.
1. Headphones . . . listening to my friend Mem Nahadr whose music takes me to another universe.
2. A snorkel . . . in my opinion helps me breathe deeper
3. My Apple watch . . . I am now addicted to this device. On the rare time I forget to take it to the pool my whole swim experience changes for the worse. I am obsessed with tracking and logging my data onto my fitness app profile
4. My DMC swim fins . . . I love them!
Why do you swim Pat?
I have very serious health issues: Multiple Sclerosis, Rheumatoid Arthritis, Osteoarthritis, and COPD (Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease) which all affect my lifestyle.
Challenged by these health conditions, swimming helps me keep moving, physically, in my mind, and my spirit. My swimming regime helps to keep my aliments on hold.
For my COPD, my oxygen levels are now normal. My MS is in remission.
Although the arthritis is an ongoing challenge, overall, I am feeling very positive about my myself and my health.
My most recent routine of swimming started in November 2020 when I was attending Aquacise classes. Feeling I needed more, I started swimming laps after each class.
Initially six laps were a struggle. But before I knew it, my lap count was growing every week. Soon 60, then 100, then 120 to 130. Although I loved building the number of laps, I was losing too much weight. I needed to be sensible and agree 100 laps was enough.
On occasions I include a set of triceps dips at one end of the pool. I will swim two lengths, position myself on the pool ledge to perform 15 to 20 dips, before dropping back in again for two more lengths of swimming. And repeat.
Where is the best place you’ve swum Pat?
The North Palm Beach country club.
My swimming wasn’t always at a pool. When I first moved to Florida I lived on the water and often my swimming was in the nearby canal.
On other occasions I would kayak from home to Biscayne Bay and for hours explore the uninhabited islands swimming and snorkelling.
Do you have a swimming current goal?
Remaining healthy and agile are front and centre these days, but sometime in the future I would like to join the local masters swim team or compete in a competition for people with disabilities.
Do you have a wish-list of places you would like to swim?
Devils Den. Although not an actual swimming spot, it is a natural spring; a water attraction I have on my to-visit list.
Located in Williston, Florida, the spring is for scuba divers and snorkellers only. You enter via a staircase to be greeted by a blue water pool of 50 feet (16m) depth with no shallow platforms. Fish and turtles are common sights in the hole, which has a water temperature of 72 degrees Fahrenheit (22 Celsius) all year round.
Share your proudest swimming achievements Pat.
First is the day I swam 3000 yards in under an hour. This never seemed possible when I first started swimming laps.
Second is when I was managing to swim 6000 yards. Over a five-month period I progressed from the initial 6-laps routine to achieve the 6000 yards.
Both are significant milestones to me as I never thought I would achieve such totals due to my, at the time, deteriorating health.
Swimming and my life
Swimming has greatly changed my life in so many ways. Health wise I am so much stronger than 12-months ago.
My swimming has also lifted my mental health and provides structure in my life which has positively spilled over into other areas. Swimming has given me a discipline I never had previously.
I am a singer who was pretty much retired for a couple of years due to declining health. I was very limited in what I could perform at the time, but I am now back performing and aiming to be so for many more years to come.
Editor – watch Pat performing at The Hive, Lantana, Florida earlier this year.
Tell us a little about your early years of swimming.
I have always loved the water, but when growing up we did not have a pool in my community. Aged about eight I recall my mother and aunt arranging access to a neighbouring town swimming pool.
Aunt Marie owned a set of encyclopedias. It was from these where we first read about how you swim. Following the encyclopedia instructions, and copying other pool users, my early lessons were self-taught. I can clearly remember accomplishing the dead man's float.
Then, when I could swim, pretty much everyone in the family turned to me for help to learn to swim.
And one more share Pat?
I am lucky to have friends who regularly gift me swimwear and swim gear. These wonderful parcels arrive with the intention of keeping me motivated to continue my swimming and stay healthy . . . it works!
