Olympic Gold to Masters Joy: Ryan Held's Love of Swimming Shines, EP 318

From Pressure To Pure Fun

SPEAKER_02 0:00

It's no longer about money or making teams and times. It's just people who enjoy the sport of swimming and they love being a part of it. And it's a really refreshing environment to be in, is where I was three years ago, where it was pressure, make meets. And if you don't make meets, then you don't make money. And you gotta think about how you're gonna train for next year. And so being a part of this kind of have fun, carefree, we're swimming because we love it.

Welcome To Champions Mojo

SPEAKER_00 0:27

Hello, friends. Welcome to the Champions Mojo podcast, where we bring you interviews and topics to help you live well and swim well, conversations especially meaningful for master swimmers and anyone striving to perform better in the water or in life. We're here to champion you. And now your host, Kelly Pallas.

Life Update And New Training Rhythm

SPEAKER_01 0:52

I am at the Pegasus Masters Meet in Dallas, Texas, and doing an on-deck interview with Ryan Held. This is Ryan's second time on Champions Mojo. And of course, most everyone knows Ryan as an Olympic champion,

The 200 IM And The Timing Glitch

SPEAKER_01 1:06

but also a longtime friend for me and inspiration from NC State, the Wolfpack. So welcome to Champions Mojo for your second time.

SPEAKER_02 1:14

Oh, thank you. Thank you for having me.

SPEAKER_01 1:15

Just want to do this as kind of a catch-up to where you are because you're in a very different place in your life. And give us your hometown now, where you are, what team you might be swimming for, what your training regimen is, and just that for right now.

SPEAKER_02 1:31

So I currently live in Prosper, Texas, which is a suburb of Dallas, Texas. And I'm swimming at the Prosper Aquatic Club. And I train about three times a week for about an hour-ish. Much different than when I was training in college.

SPEAKER_01 1:46

And so I got to swim you see you swim yesterday and today. And it looks like you did some sprint events, but today you did a 200 IM. Tell us about that.

SPEAKER_02 1:55

Yeah. So the two IM always sounds like a good idea. It's a fun race. I never got to swim in college. And it sounds like a great idea until the day of, and then it's uh, oh man, I'm always thinking this is gonna hurt so bad. But um, it was a fun race. I like swimming the 2 im. It's kind of a unique event for me. And yeah, it was it was uh it was fun. I think I was I think there was a board malfunction, so I'll have to see what my true time was, but it's overall it's just a fun race.

SPEAKER_01 2:24

Yeah, I will talk about the board malfunction because when Reinheld steps up on the blocks, a lot of people are watching. And um, so we saw you. There were like a whole bunch of people filming your race, and we were watching your time, your split on the 50, literally 50 fly. We looked up, it was 20.9. And I was like, uh, I think that's well under the world record.

SPEAKER_02 2:45

So yeah, that's under the world, that's pretty much a world record freestyle. And uh, I was breathing every other stroke. So yeah, I don't think that was right. Yeah.

Why Masters Meets Feel Different

SPEAKER_01 2:53

Um, so let's go back just a little bit to your training because you are training differently. Um, what is so three days a week for an hour? And what is what does that look like?

SPEAKER_02 3:04

Um it's pretty much a lot of short sprints, um, but also pretty much it to aim about 3K a practice, and it'll be a thousand, 1500 warm-up and then some drills, and then some short sprints to just maintain, get faster, get faster, and then some dives, technique work, and then cooldown.

SPEAKER_01 3:30

And um, you're entering a few masters meets nowadays, or what what is the purpose of doing master's meets for you right now?

SPEAKER_02 3:39

Um A to surround myself with a pretty fun community, people who just love to swim. They it's no longer about money or making teams and times. It's just people who enjoy the sport of swimming and they love being a part of it. And it's a really refreshing environment to be in, is where I was three years ago, where it was pressure, make meets. And if you don't make meets, then you don't make money. And then you gotta think about how you're gonna train for next year. And so being a part of this kind of have fun, carefree, we're swimming because we love it. Environment's

Olympic Trials Talk And Simple Goals

SPEAKER_02 4:12

been really fun.

SPEAKER_01 4:12

Yeah, it's a really unique community. So I should know this, but have you made the Olympic trial cuts for 2028?

SPEAKER_02 4:20

Uh I don't know because they haven't they'll release them in 20, they'll release them in January or December. But I'm guessing it's gonna be a little bit faster than 2024. Actually, I I don't know if I've been kind of chewing on this. I don't know if they'd make them faster because I know just it's trials and everything's getting so inflation, everyone's getting faster. Or a little bit. So yeah, no, or if they're if they're gonna make it slower so they get more people to swim at the meet, and more fans will be at Lucas Oil. So I I can't decide which way if they wanna wanna go because it's gonna be a home game. They probably want as many people on deck and at the meet, you know, once in a lifetime opportunity. So I I'm trying to I don't know what they'll be. So I'm uh I'm guessing. But I'm I think I should be I shouldn't be fine.

SPEAKER_01 5:10

Yeah, do you have any goals around the trials?

SPEAKER_02 5:13

Um honestly just have fun. Maybe there is no C finals, but aim for what would be a C final. Yeah, that'll be it.

New Dad Energy And Learning To Cook

SPEAKER_01 5:24

That's awesome. So um one of the things we ask is is there a fun fact about Ryan Held that we may not have uncovered at this point in your life? Anything new that's going on?

SPEAKER_02 5:35

Anything new besides being a new dad? Um that's been fun. But other thing new, I've really gotten into cooking, really big into cooking. Um, and all sorts of cooking. So um grilling, Asian, Latin American. Like I went on a really big salt heat acid, um, like that book, and then like James or Aaron Franklin's barbecuing, and then Anthony Oprah Dane's books. And I've gotten, yeah, just experiencing different foods and cultures and how do they eat, why do they eat this, and kind of getting a glimpse into that culture. Uh, it's been really fun.

SPEAKER_01 6:18

What what is your very favorite thing to cook right now?

SPEAKER_02 6:21

Um, probably like peanut peanut noodles with tempo, that's a really good, that's a favorite. Or like sweet potato quinoa chili, that's really good. Or like beef empanadas, that's also like those are my kind of three favorite ones.

SPEAKER_01 6:37

Wow, wow. Well, Ryan, I know you want to get home to your four-month-old. Is there anything that I have not asked you that you want to share with the listeners?

SPEAKER_02 6:46

Um, hmm.

Try Masters Swimming And Final Ask

SPEAKER_02 6:48

Just if you're if you're thinking about going out for master swimming, just do it. It's fun. Um, great community, set goals, incremental goals, and just enjoy it. Enjoy the ride.

SPEAKER_01 7:01

Thank you so much. Yep.

SPEAKER_02 7:02

Thank you. Thank you for having me.

SPEAKER_00 7:05

Thank you for listening to the Champions Mojo podcast. Would you consider leaving us a five star review on Apple? That's like getting a best time for us. Kelly and our team would be so grateful. See you next week for another boost of mojo.