Love, Life and Laps: Dale and Dave LeClair, EP 224

Speaker 1: 0:01

Welcome to the award-winning champions mojo, hosted by two world record holding athletes. Be inspired as you listen to conversations with champions and now your host, kelly Palace and Maria Parker.

Speaker 2: 0:14

We are on deck for another interview and we're going to talk some couples mojo today with Dale and Dave Leclerc. 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. Maybe just get a little background from each. 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.

Speaker 3: 0:53

Yeah, so I swim high school and in the summertime I worked at a swim center. 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. No, you're 18.

Speaker 2: 1:22

Okay, Dave has some input here. So was it love at first sight For?

Speaker 4: 1:26

me it was. I had to chase her for a while. How long Summer, summer Okay.

Speaker 2: 1:35

All right. So this really was a relationship that started in the water, kind of at the pool. 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? Where did that?

Speaker 3: 1:51

come in. So we got married in 1996 and then started moving across the country. 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. When we moved there. 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. I got to find something different, and he's the one who actually researched master swimming, and so we started swimming in 2000. And I think we went to our first nationals in 2001.

Speaker 4: 2:22

Swimming in the 80s in high school was brutal. I had a really old school coach who used to do. One day we did 13,800 yards. I still remember it. Oh, and when I graduated I said I never want to swim again. I swam club teams on and off for most of college. I didn't swim in college and then I didn't swim at all for 15 years Not even one is true. 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.

Speaker 2: 2:56

You started, you both swam. Did you swim in high school? In college? Just high school, just high school. Okay, where? At what point did you say let's do our first meet.

Speaker 3: 3:08

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. 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.

Speaker 4: 3:23

Yeah, but we went to UGA for the first meet Long course one day meet in Athens, georgia. It was really fun and I look at my time so I'm impressed.

Speaker 2: 3:34

I was fearless as it was.

Speaker 4: 3:36

I didn't know better.

Speaker 2: 3:38

What age was that? 35. 35. Okay, so now you are. How old are you, dale? I'm 53. 55. Okay, 53 and 55. So you met when you were 19. What age did you get married?

Speaker 3: 3:53

I was 26. 28.

Speaker 2: 3:55

You did have to chase her for a while. Yeah, oh, my gosh. All right. So what advice I'd like to hear from both the wife and the husband? 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. 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?

Speaker 3: 4:27

My advice is just to make sure that whatever you're doing, you both enjoy it. 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. 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. But in my opinion, you both have to enjoy it. 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.

Speaker 2: 5:02

Yeah, I love that advice to start with something small. Yeah, mark and I do yoga together and it's really enjoyable. How about you?

Speaker 4: 5:09

Okay, dave, yeah, I think Dale had it on the head. Really, it's something we both love and it creates such a conversation piece for us. Like almost most days were not everything, but a lot of days. We're talking about the workout that day, or what workout should we do now? Dale's writing all workouts for the week and for the season, so we really have a build and taper strategy. That's exciting and it's working. Dale's back was functional today. 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. We did long distance triathlons together for a couple of years and that was fun. You were really good cyclists. You couldn't run.

Speaker 3: 5:55

If I put that, I'm a horrible runner.

Speaker 4: 5:57

Who's?

Speaker 3: 5:58

that First suit mittage.

Speaker 4: 5:59

Then you decided that off-goal bike and they take all this and say you just swam and bike and then you're done. And I would always be jealous because I have 13 miles to run and she'd be done. That was fun too If we got to bike together and you still swam together. Just put them on again.

Speaker 2: 6:14

Yes, I love that. So it is. 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. So those are really best practices, for, hey, let's start something small and then this is something we communicate on. Have you had any trouble like that? 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.

Speaker 3: 6:44

But no, for the most part I think we're on the same wavelength in that regard.

Speaker 4: 6:49

But you've gone to Nationals and I just don't go for it. Yeah, that's all. We don't want to go. I just want them this small go and Wait, tell us about that.

Speaker 2: 6:56

Yeah, so why wouldn't you go to Nationals?

Speaker 4: 6:59

I think I just didn't like the location, wherever it was. I won't say it.

Speaker 2: 7:03

It's a place, I'm just like, oh, now we got to know.

Speaker 4: 7:06

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. You went to worlds.

Speaker 2: 7:16

I myself, and this is for you all. Okay, wait a minute. Okay, so this is really cool. So you guys will actually go to meet without the other one. Oh, yeah, yep.

Speaker 4: 7:25

And I would go to Traffons without her.

Speaker 3: 7:27

So it just, he does road races that I don't go to now she does the big ones yeah. The big ones. I'll go to your on, but yeah.

Speaker 4: 7:36

The worlds. I just said I'm not going to sit there. What are we? Yeah, and you swim three times or something. I'm not going to.

Speaker 2: 7:43

Yeah.

Speaker 4: 7:43

I'm not doing that.

Speaker 2: 7:45

I think you guys have hit on. One of the keys to success that you may not even know is that you do give each other that space. Is that like a thread throughout your relationship?

Speaker 3: 7:58

Yeah, I think so.

Speaker 5: 7:59

Yeah absolutely.

Speaker 4: 8:01

Something else that swimming has given us is that we have such a network of friends that are from swimming right. 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. 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. We always try to include them in everything. But it creates a real network of friends and it's fun to watch people change over the years. It's been 20 years. We've been swimming with these people here 15 years, so it's fun watching them. I want to say it but get older but change, and some are getting faster, some are getting slower. I think it's fun when you watch them do the chain. 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. So I think that's the key too. 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. It's really important.

Speaker 3: 9:10

Anything you want to add on that. No, it's all good, you got to keep it interesting, right? If I pecking, feel myself now getting burned out, leading into long course nationals. So I'm already thinking about, okay, what am I going to do this fall? And he'll continue to run. He's going to plan an ultra next year, so he's already on to his next training plan as well. So it's good to mix it up. Make sure you don't get burned out and obviously, support each other in whatever you want to do.

Speaker 4: 9:38

So, go ahead.

Speaker 2: 9:40

What is getting burned out look like for you and if you're, we're a month out from nationals. How do you deal with being burned out going into nationals?

Speaker 3: 9:53

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. He hates the process, but I love the taper process, so that's all. That's all and I but this not being able to swim well this weekend, right now. 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.

Speaker 2: 10:17

Yeah, what does your taper look like from because you're writing your workouts? What does your taper look like Cause? People love to hear about tapers like yeah it's.

Speaker 3: 10:26

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. So this is a experiment for me this time. So we'll see how it goes. 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. But I usually start tapering 10 days out.

Speaker 2: 10:57

Okay, and Dave, you don't like tapering?

Speaker 4: 10:59

And I don't like them. I feel like I all live events are distance and only swim three days a week. So I feel like one of my tapering thumb I need to keep ignoring. But the way you tapered me for her vine was perfect. I didn't feel that laparge and lack of confidence. We swam hard, so just a couple of good days of rest is really good for me. So the five week tapered I've worn not coming.

Speaker 2: 11:25

Yeah, I don't think I worked for any master swimmer. But, david's interesting, you had your best smile in this age group today and you only swim three days a week. Is it cross training, or how much? I believe in the shorter, even for milers like you and I. 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. Obviously you did a great mile today with three days a week.

Speaker 4: 11:55

Yeah, and everything we do is focused on a pace and we swim long. Actually it's 5,000 meters. On Tuesday, 5,000 yards actually, and it's all pace, it's mile pace. 800 days, 400 days, whatever. So it's challenging. And then Thursday I do stroke and then Saturday it's another 5,000. Now it's all in course. Meters it's 4,800, 4,600. And so I'm dealing with significant nardage still. And then Wednesday, friday and Sunday I run about 6 to 10 miles each time. I try to do strength training during the week but I don't get a lot in. I need to do that more. I don't do a lot of weights, but it's all bands and you pull up super shots and band squats and stuff. 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. If I wanted to be better, I need to lift three days a week and probably run less.

Speaker 2: 12:51

No wonder you're so fit with all that stuff. So your pace is at 50s pace, 100s pace, like how can you hold a pace?

Speaker 4: 12:58

We do a lot of repeat 100s or 200s. I think the workout that we didn't do yesterday was 800, 300. Descending intervals, and that would have been a long course. I'm sorry, I'm glad we weren't, there.

Speaker 2: 13:10

And you didn't do it because you had to meet. Yeah, yeah, and so Dale, how about you with your pace when you're doing that?

Speaker 3: 13:19

Yeah. 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? So you just start to get a feel for what does that pace feel like? And then it moves into longer 150s, 200s or broken swims. So we a couple of weeks ago we did broken 400s and I think that worked out really well. It really helped understand what you need to do and what it's going to feel like over and over again. But no, we think, I think I mostly focus on 200, 400 and 800 pace this season. Not a lot of sprinting built that in in the last six weeks of the season. So we'll see how it goes. But we didn't do any sprint practices leading up to Irvine and I felt it. So the relays really hurt. I wasn't prepared for a simple 50. But yet had a great 1650. I saw that and it's hard to juggle everything, but it's important to just get it in when you can.

Speaker 4: 14:22

Yeah, we have been swimming on teams here in Florida and over time it changes. So the coach that we swam at originally he's changed to be more geared towards fitness swimmers. It's a very nice group, good group, but it's not. We're not getting focused training for an event and he doesn't. 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. I think he's a little disengaged. And then we have a group in the town we live in and that is totally. It's just lapsed women. Essentially they give a workout, but it's terrible. I told Dale I go, I'm marathoning. You know when you're just running a marathon you can. There's a thousand training plans you do and it's every time, three times a week, I'm running marathon pace. You're running, and when you go to run the marathon, you know exactly what it's going to feel like. There's no surprise and I said so. It's got to be the same for swimming. There's got to be a buildup to it and then a taper. And that's what she started this year. She found some stuff online so she's writing all our workouts like she described, but it's always like today. That's why I jump in. I know exactly what a 100 pace feels like, an 800 pace feels like, and before I'd be, I'm just swinging it. 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.

Speaker 2: 15:45

Oh, I love to hear this because I really feel like master swimmers need to focus more on pace. They just don't. You want to swim up this 400 or this 200 or this mile, absolutely For this all right, 50s.

Speaker 4: 15:56

Like you said, you train for one another.

Speaker 2: 15:57

I think you can't train for a 50, honestly, no, no way, I don't think people can train for the 50s and hundreds you need to be in one group and then maybe even two, four in another group and eight and a mile in a different group, but it's definitely all knowing that pace. So I love it. This has been just wonderful stuff. So the last question we always ask is there anything that you have not shared with us today, that you want to share Either how to get along?

Speaker 3: 16:26

or anything. No, I just think it's interesting having a significant under who enjoys the same things you do. It certainly makes life more interesting and the conversations more interesting. I don't know if you know this, but Dave and I are actually in the same industry as well for our jobs, and we rarely talk about work but we almost always talk about swimming. So I think it's a bigger connection and I think some people will give it credit for it.

Speaker 2: 16:52

I love that. And what industry is that?

Speaker 3: 16:54

Because, people are in aerospace, aerospace, okay.

Speaker 2: 16:56

So people are what industry Okay.

Speaker 4: 16:59

That's funny. People got to realize. People say what are you doing this weekend? I'm going to swim. They're like oh, that sounds awful.

Speaker 1: 17:04

And I go.

Speaker 4: 17:05

Actually, it's a lot of fun where. Here we are in beautiful St Petersburg, florida. We had a great dinner Friday night. We had a real nice time yesterday with the team Another nice dinner we had a few years. It's not like we're Olympic athletes. You're going to just lay in the room and not do anything. We actually make it really fun Go to the museums, go watch the sightseeing, do something fun. But that's what we make all these sets. I didn't want to go to that one meet. I'm like what are we going to do there? But there's always something to do and that's what makes a lot of this so much more fun than just going to the swimming.

Speaker 2: 17:37

Yeah, that is what Master's is all about. I love it. Thanks so much, guys. I'm a big fan of you and it's great to get to spend this time together. Yeah, thank you so much for talking to us.

Speaker 4: 17:46

Thank you very much.

Speaker 1: 17:47

Stay tuned for the takeaways.

Speaker 2: 17:50

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Speaker 1: 18:29

And now the takeaways.

Speaker 2: 18:31

Okay, maria Dale and Dave LeClaire two awesome swimmers, athletes Just they're such a Like, a force of nature as a couple. Yeah, so I'm so glad you got to listen to the interview all the way through, and what was your first takeaway? Let's do two each.

Speaker 5: 18:51

Okay, at first of all, I love the interview because, like them, jim and I do a lot together. Of course, we do a lot of cycling together. This year we did three triathlons together. So I completely agree With I guess they both said it that this shared enjoyment of a hobby brings them together and it gives them something to talk about. It gives what did you say? Shared interest, shared passion, just something other than work or whatever, or the daily, the daily kind of partnership, things that you do together. This is something that they're both interested in. It's a hobby, and it helps bind them together. So I think that's to me that's a great takeaway. It's something that I've Already noticed, but it was nice to hear them articulate it so beautifully.

Speaker 2: 19:34

Yes, and Mark and I are the same way. We never run out of things to talk about when you're your training partner or your right partner. You're running partner. It's really one of the joys. So my first one, and one of the reasons why we wanted to focus on some Couples that are really doing it well we're informally calling it couples mojo was. Yeah, how do you get your partner or your spouse if you're not already like Dale and Dave and you and Jim and Mark and I? How do you get your partner Like, what do you do if you're already like an elite, maybe runner, and your partner's a couch potato, or you're an elite swimmer or Avid swimmer and your partner's a couch potato? And I loved I think it was Dale that said start small, just start with something that's yoga or Walking. Just start something together. And maybe I'm gonna add to this maybe not the sport that you're most interested in.

Speaker 5: 20:29

I Think that's so good. You and I used to talk remember a long time ago, many years ago. We would say we fall in love with our workout partners, and so it's really so. If you have a long-standing relationship with somebody, it is nice to exercise together. Those good feelings and I agree, not necessarily my sport, not necessarily your sport, or not necessarily my thing or your thing, but let's try something new together. So this Jim and I doing these triathlons together We've never done triathlons together has been super fun and bonding for us and I've made me fall in love and appreciate him all over again. So I think it's a great. It's a great thing. And starting small yes, start small. Don't necessarily hope that your partner is gonna start doing 12-hour bike Braids because you like them. That's probably never gonna happen.

Speaker 2: 21:15

Yeah, I think that's great advice yeah. I'm worried. Okay, what was your second? Okay?

Speaker 5: 21:20

This was so encouraging to me. Thank you, dale. Dale said or I guess Dave said about Dale that she went online to find their workouts and the workouts seemed to be really working for them because they're performing really well, and that was very encouraging to me, because if you're a master swimmer and you don't you're not lucky enough to have a great team around, or maybe you're traveling, like I've been, and you have to swim in different pools all the time to. To know that there's some nice workouts out there that you can do three days a week, that you know are online and if you follow them you're gonna improve, was very encouraging to me. So that's not necessarily about couples, but what I liked was that Dave let her find the workouts and then he did them, which I think you know it's great.

Speaker 2: 22:03

He was appreciative of them and I can even extrapolate that how it would work for couples, because if you can't agree on what to do for the workout, you could find something online. And then it's not just here do this because I say to do it, it's do this because this is what's online, so you can find anything online. So I like that All right. My my second one is that they make their Event trips. So if there's a race, a running race or a swimming race or a national championships, they will make it. If they go together. Of course, they all, like I said, they don't have to go together, but if they do go together, they make it fun, they make it a vacation. That's another thing that if you get into you know, exercising, fitness, sporting events with your spouse, you can turn those into both a vacation and an event that you do together.

Speaker 5: 22:55

That is so true, jim, and I have done so many things like that and had such fun, because it isn't always just about the event and usually there's run-up and then post. So yeah, that's so true, I really agree.

Speaker 2: 23:08

Yeah, I like it. Dave said we're professional athletes.

Speaker 5: 23:12

We're not swimmers just sitting in our Olympians, just in our hotel room all day. We're going out with friends around good time.

Speaker 2: 23:17

Okay, yeah, okay, maria, another one in the books. Thank you.

Speaker 5: 23:22

Thank you, kelly, love you so much.

Speaker 2: 23:24

See you soon, alrighty, bye, bye.

Speaker 1: 23:27

Bye. Thank you for listening to the champions mojo podcast. Did you enjoy the show? We'd be grateful if you would leave us a five-star review on iTunes to help others find us, and we'd also love to hear from you. We're on all social media platforms or you can reach us at champions mojocom.