Torpedo Swimtalk Podcast welcomes Jeanette Brits on today's episode, who shares her journey to smashing two masters world records at the recent Australian Masters Nationals. Her story is filled with dedication, unique training routines, and a love for the sport that will leave you motivated. From her beginnings in South Africa to her present home in Sydney, we chat about ocean swims with the Bold and Beautiful group at Manly Beach to structured pool workouts at the Andrew Boy Charlton pool. Jeanette's approach combines camaraderie and discipline for extraordinary results.
With a love for distance swimming and freestyle, Jeanette explains her unique training schedule which has lead to success in her securing world records in the 200m and 800m. She dives into the mental and physical strategies that propelled her to that success, emphasising the importance of perseverance and the adaptability required to thrive in varying training conditions. Her insights are a goldmine for anyone looking to up their swimming game, regardless of age or experience.
Jeanette also shares her personal inspirations and favourite training drills that keep her motivated. Get ready for an episode that offers not just practical swimming tips, but also life lessons on maintaining a healthy work-life balance and cherishing the simple joys of a fulfilling hobby.
Torpedo Swimtalk Podcast welcomes Jeanette Brits on today's episode, who shares her journey to smashing two masters world records at the recent Australian Masters Nationals. Her story is filled with dedication, unique training routines, and a love for the sport that will leave you motivated. From her beginnings in South Africa to her present home in Sydney, we chat about ocean swims with the Bold and Beautiful group at Manly Beach to structured pool workouts at the Andrew Boy Charlton pool. Jeanette's approach combines camaraderie and discipline for extraordinary results.
With a love for distance swimming and freestyle, Jeanette explains her unique training schedule which has lead to success in her securing world records in the 200m and 800m. She dives into the mental and physical strategies that propelled her to that success, emphasising the importance of perseverance and the adaptability required to thrive in varying training conditions. Her insights are a goldmine for anyone looking to up their swimming game, regardless of age or experience.
Jeanette also shares her personal inspirations and favourite training drills that keep her motivated. Get ready for an episode that offers not just practical swimming tips, but also life lessons on maintaining a healthy work-life balance and cherishing the simple joys of a fulfilling hobby.
Hello swimmers and welcome to another episode of Torpedo Swim Talk podcast. I'm your host, Danielle Spurling, and each week we chat to a master swimmer from around the world about their swimming journey. My guest today is Jeanette Brits, from South Africa, via Sydney, A australia. She's only been competing in Masters for a few years, but at her first Australian Masters Nationals last month in Darwin, she broke two world records in the 2 and 800 freestyle and narrowly missed the 400. When you hear some of the training sets she does, you won't be surprised as to why she broke these records so early on in her career. Let's hear from Jeanette now. Hi, J jeanette, welcome to the podcast.
Jeanette Brits:
Thanks, Danielle. Thanks so much for chatting with me today.
Danielle Spurling:
Oh, it's such a pleasure to have you here. Where are you coming to us from today? From?
Jeanette Brits:
Balgola Heights in Sydney, actually just near Manly, up the hill from Manly. So in Sydney, yes, Lovely.
Danielle Spurling:
And when did you get your last swim in?
Jeanette Brits:
I was swimming down at the beach this morning. Actually it was a beautiful clear morning and the water was as flat as a pool and we had a gorgeous clear swim. It was lovely.
Danielle Spurling:
Oh lovely Is that with the bold and beautiful swimmers.
Jeanette Brits:
Yeah, there's a fabulous group that goes in half an hour earlier called the Drinks Express and they swim at 6.30 every single day of the year and they swim across to shelly beach and then race back and pretty much the only thing that holds the swim at all are a few jellyfish or jimbals or if they see something astonishing, but otherwise, yeah, it's full steam ahead. So great, great fun and and keeps you honest definitely keeps you honest on the way back yes, yes, I bet.
Danielle Spurling:
Is that um? Do you swim with wetsuits at this time of the year, or is it just babies?
Jeanette Brits:
it's quite a mix. I'm a bit of a baby, so as soon as it gets um sort of 18 degrees or less, I'll pull on the wetsuit. I love the wetsuit, and there are a lot of brave souls who go right through the year um just in bathers, but um, I actually love a wetsuit swim. I really feel comfortable in that. So, yep, the wetsuits on by the stage.
Danielle Spurling:
Yes yeah, it's lovely. Yeah, I've never got to swim with the group at manly, but I I believe that it you have quite a lot of swimmers there all year round yeah, there's a.
Jeanette Brits:
There's a decent sized group, and they're different groups, as I say that, going at different times, but you must definitely let us know when you're up this way, because we'll definitely take you for a glorious swim.
Danielle Spurling:
Yeah yes, do you see many? Uh, have you come across any sharks or anything like that in those swims?
Jeanette Brits:
um twins. There are a lot of sort of little baby whaler sharks and also sort of duskies, and then the grey nurse shark is one of the bigger ones that occasionally uses cabbage tree bay as her nursery, so they're definitely a couple around a lot of wabigongs andjs, um so port jackson shark.
Danielle Spurling:
So just an absolute treat on our doorstep do you do all your training in the ocean or do you do a lot in the pool as well?
Jeanette Brits:
yeah, good question. Actually about four years ago, when I was just sort of getting back into my swimming, I was doing all my swimming in the ocean, um, and then I had a of a in-service or sort of a bit of a you know lesson with a couple of the really good youngsters and I posed the question to them where they did all their training and they've just gone no, you've got to get that fitness in the pool. So that sort of got me thinking and now probably do about a 40-30 split. So four days in the pool now and about three in the ocean, and my ocean swims are probably more for pleasure, although it's still a good solid race back from Shelley. But yeah, the hard work now gets done in the pool.
Jeanette Brits:
Danielle, and that was a real. I was always a pool swimmer as a youngster, but that really got sort of gave me that reality check with the clock not stopping, you know, and you've got to be accountable and honest to yourself with what you're doing. So that was, yeah, it's probably been a three, four year slow build up and slow improvement and just having to be constant and maintain that sort of continual effort. I guess yes yes what, what?
Danielle Spurling:
pool. Do you swim out of?
Jeanette Brits:
so I'm out of Manly, the Andrew Boy Charlton pool at Manly, and I do a squad once a week in the small 25-metre pool and then there's a fabulous group of chaps who swim a lot of the channel swims, catalina, rottnest Island and a whole sort of mixed group and mixed experience and ages and we swim informally a couple of times a week and we get some really hard sets done together and they've been just such a fantastic group to swim with, as well as the ocean group, so I'm very lucky to have that mix.
Danielle Spurling:
Yes, so you just write your own programs as an informal group we do on the informal days.
Jeanette Brits:
And then I love my squat in the 25 meter pool, but the the 50 meter is probably my preference in the pools. Just in terms of that it's a bit harder and and the sets are quite a bit different.
Danielle Spurling:
Yes, so what's a typical set that you would do with the group at Andrew Boyd, charlton Hall?
Jeanette Brits:
Generally about 500 warm up and then we might do five ones on 130, launch into possibly a few 300s on sort of around 415, four minutes, and then probably have a main set after that with um twos and ones and then finish up with a bit of hypoxic and 50s and a few sprints and and maybe some kick on the end if we've got anything left in the tank sounds like a hard workout yeah, probably about um ranging between four and a half to five and a half Ks on those mornings, yeah, and then a couple of sets on a Saturday.
Jeanette Brits:
When Rottnest sort of gets a little bit closer December and January they would try and get a couple of eight or 10, 10 K sets in. I'll start definitely flagging after five Ks might pull the fins out to join them for a few more. But yeah, so I probably don't often go over five, five and a half Ks ever. Yes.
Danielle Spurling:
Yeah, that's, and your shoulders are all okay with that. You don't have any shoulder problems.
Jeanette Brits:
No, I actually used to do a lot of gymnastics as a young girl and I think that's kept me fairly strong. Danielle, I used to do a lot of, and I've got older brothers and a sister, but I was 10 years after them so I used to entertain myself swimming on the you know, swinging on the clothesline, probably strengthening up the shoulders a lot line, probably strengthening up the shoulders a lot, just to entertain myself out, you know, up in our backyard in the afternoon. So, um, touch wood, haven't had any shoulder sort of problems to date. But I do have to be a little bit careful because I can feel when I do those um, yeah, especially long sets, I can feel a little bit crunchy and a bit gristly in there now.
Danielle Spurling:
So I will have to keep an eye on that and those sets that you do outdoors in the 50. How is that different from the training you do in the 25 meter pool once a week?
Jeanette Brits:
Yeah, the 25 meter pool is run by Narelle Simpson and she's had heaps of experience and and brought many, many swimmers through and still has a lot of swimmers on their go and um, they far more probably I'd call them intense and also really good cross training. She's got a lot of surf lifesavers who swim with her and um just complete sort of um variation in terms of drills and dolphin dives and far more intense in terms of a lot of 50s on 40 seconds and, uh yeah, short, sharp, intense sets and some of them not so short either. So, um, yeah, a lot of fun, but but um, just a different intensity and a different sort of um cross training almost activity to the to the longer pool.
Danielle Spurling:
Yeah, yeah, that's that sounds really interesting. Do you do you do most of your training freestyle or do you have another? Do you have a form stroke that you use?
Jeanette Brits:
um, no, I mainly stick with freestyle. I used to be a butterfly swimmer when I was young freestyle in butterfly, but I actually, to be honest, when I first came back and got myself training again about four years ago, I could almost hardly lift my arms out the water for butterfly. So that's been a bit of a work in progress. I can do fly again now, no problem. But because we swim with with a lot of the ocean swimmers and the surf club swimmers and so on, it's mainly freestyle.
Danielle Spurling:
I would say 90 of our workouts freestyle, yeah well, talking about your freestyle, you've had some really recent um fantastic results, with two world records at the oz masters nationals in darwin, which was last month, in the two and the 800 freestyle. Can you talk us through how you raced those races and did they go to the plan that you'd set yourself beforehand?
Jeanette Brits:
I'm going to be brutally honest, danielle, it was a little bit of um potluck. I honestly hadn't swum my 800 in probably 45 years okay, um, even close to 50 years. Uh, what the reason for that? When I was growing up as a pool swimmer, I grew up in a small, fabulous town called east london. It was right between durban and cape town but we didn't have winter facilities. So our season was short and we trained initially in an outdoor ocean pool. So we literally had six months to get fit for nationals and go and compete against the rest of South Africa.
Jeanette Brits:
There simply wasn't time, although it was the age of doing a lot of distance and in our Christmas holidays while we were, you know, at school, having Christmas holidays, high altitude. So to do those sort of four and eight hundreds were really difficult. If you didn't live up then you weren't acclimatized to that sort of racing. So I probably should have been a four and eight hundred swimmer. I simply don't have the, the height really to be a decent 50 and 100 meter swimmer. But um, we used to probably focus around the 200 more just because we didn't have that all-year training and the altitude and so on. So the the odds were sort of stacked against us really from doing really long distance events, but probably four and eight would have, should have, should have been my mark, um.
Jeanette Brits:
So for this 800 I'd been um swimming quite hard and um putting in the base work, but I actually hadn't really given myself a little taper before or actually had the chance to have some practice doing some 800. So I'd done a time trial back in November and I did a fairly decent time was about 10 and a half minutes. So I thought if I could get close to that I'd be really, really happy. And the 800 was on the first day, so I was probably really fresh and I took off and probably definitely went out a bit fast. And then I could see the folk in my heat and I thought, oh my gosh, I can't start fading now halfway.
Jeanette Brits:
So I was trying to employ all sorts of strategies, just holding the stroke, imagining I was dragging off the guys I normally train with all sorts of things. I was dragging off the guys I normally train with all sorts of things because, um, yeah, to be honest, the second half of the race, especially every inch of it, was a bit of a punish it it was. Yeah, I had to. I had to try all the tricks in the book I could headwise to get myself mentally just to keep pushing along. Um, and I was quite surprised with the time I was. I was really happy and, to be honest, it was unexpected.
Jeanette Brits:
I had not had any benchmark of that type of a swim in a long, long while. So that that was. That was really exciting and and really pleasing. And, um, look, I don't see myself as especially talented and I know I've got to work hard. When I was growing up, my competitors were all much taller and much stronger than than I was and my only, my only little trick in the book that I had over them was I just had to work harder than them. So that's, that's kind of my strategy and I just stick to it and I know I have to work hard to to get good results. And I've put in hard work for quite a while now and gave myself a little rest and I was very lucky that things aligned on the day and I was well and I could swim well.
Jeanette Brits:
So very grateful for that, because things don't always align either you know, they don't always line up so, yeah, very grateful to be able to have put in a in a decent performance yes, yes, yes.
Danielle Spurling:
And how about the 200 free?
Jeanette Brits:
because you also broke that world record yeah, it was quite a challenge up in Darwin because the weather was extremely hot. I had a sarong, which was my best tool. Honestly, I had it wet the whole day over my shoulders and I was literally pouring iced water over my neck, because you actually start to feel a little bit ill from the heat, um, and I just um, yeah, the strategy was there was a little bit of pressure that I put on myself just because I'd been about within a second or two of of the time, but I'm not one to chase times. I try and push it out of my because it sits on your shoulder. You never quite get there if you, if you're just too dogmatic on trying to get a particular time.
Jeanette Brits:
So just trying to focus on getting a good start again and then holding back a little bit so I could push the second 100 a bit more, and also just try and smooth up my turns a little bit, because in your 60s, anything gets shabby quite easily. 60s, anything gets shabby quite easily. So, yeah, just trying to stay technically sound and keeping a little bit back. Yeah for that second hundred, but again, yeah, every inch of it was tough and yeah, just squeaked in by the real skin on my teeth.
Danielle Spurling:
Do you find it hard to hold back in that first hundred?
Jeanette Brits:
I know when I'm doing 200s I find it very hard to hold back yeah, I do and then, there's quite a bit of regret, sort of cursing yourself, but um, yeah, I tend to zoom out and I always have, and probably to my sort of it's it's not the best race plan, and I've coached through the years as well and I've, um, tried to sort of it's it's not the best race plan and and I've coached through the years as well and I've tried to sort of get my swimmers to hold back and and have that measure of the petrol in the tank. But yeah, to be honest, I do. I bounce out like a bit of a bunny and then I pay the price definitely are you?
Danielle Spurling:
are you a good turner?
Jeanette Brits:
I'd say I'm average my turns. Um, that's one of my little goals to get better. Um, so I'm probably right in the middle. I'm not a brilliant turner, but it's not a real, real weak point either. But I find the longer distance I tend to stay quite near the top and pop out a bit too quickly. But that's definitely a goal. I want to get better on the turns, I want to get my legs a bit fitter and, yeah, all of the above. So always lots of things to work on too.
Danielle Spurling:
Yes, do you change your your kick rate between the two and the 800, or do you just hold the same one?
Jeanette Brits:
yeah, I actually did, danielle. I bounce out quite fast with a bit of kick and then I tend to almost go to a two or three sort of beat kick, especially in the middle of the eight. I know I did, I definitely went to a two and then I do a bit of a three, four and then, as I'm getting back to the end, I try and put in, put in the legs to save me a bit, and I could feel, in fact the 400 was in between the two and the eight and I really I got into the third lap of the 400 and I thought, oh, I'm in a bit of trouble here, I can. My legs felt like lead. I'd probably used them in the eight more than I thought I had actually.
Danielle Spurling:
How about your breathing pattern? What? What do you hold in the 200?
Jeanette Brits:
Probably every four, but as I'm tiring, I definitely go to every two. I'm a left hand breather. I can do bilateral, but I'm not efficient on it. Yes, be honest, I'm a. I'm a straight left hand breather. I used to. When I was little, I used to breathe right and then I actually hurt my neck for a little bit and stayed breathing, and it was probably just back in the day. You didn't go and get things sorted as readily as you do these days and obviously it came good and I hadn't done anything. But by then I was breathing more comfortably to my left side and I've stayed that side here.
Danielle Spurling:
Yes well, the great Ariane Titmuss only breathes to. She does breathe to two sides, but mainly on one side, and she, she does the four-two breathing. So you're following in great footsteps.
Jeanette Brits:
Yeah, I was watching that swim last night and stroke perfection honestly.
Danielle Spurling:
Yeah, she has a beautiful technique, doesn't she? She catches the water so evenly on both sides. And just, I was really noticing the difference between her and lani palester, who obviously is a little bit more 800, 1500, and the difference in their stroke and their kick rate. It's just it's very interesting to watch. Yeah, we're in such a treat this week, having the um, the olympic trials, on absolutely, absolutely, yes, glued to our televisions, I think definitely yeah, and do you um put any strength work, dry land strength work into your schedule, or is it all just swimming?
Jeanette Brits:
mostly just swimming, danielle, but I do find, um, I don't do loose weights I'm not accomplished enough and I know what I'm doing enough to do that but I I do do a few pulleys, which helped me, I think, just maintain a bit of strength. So I do rely on those and I try and do them sort of regularly and just consistency has definitely been my benchmark, just because I've got into a habit of things and I feel a bit guilty and I just start the day off. Um, the day just goes better if you, if you start off on the right foot, doing a bit of exercise and and sticking to your schedule. So I'm a bit of a stickler for for a schedule and for having a pattern in things yes, so in your, in your schedule, you're swimming every day, basically the ocean and in the pool basically swimming every day.
Jeanette Brits:
yes, I, yes, I do have easy days where I just have an enjoyment swim, and Sunday I always have a sleep in and then just go and catch a wave or have a very, very easy swim. But the other days I prefer to get up and have a bit of a session.
Danielle Spurling:
Yes, yes, oh, it's a great. It is a great start to the day and it sets you up. If you're used to that and you're a morning exerciser, it does really get your day going.
Jeanette Brits:
It certainly does. It's a good mental health sort of boost. It's a good social boost. It's not that you know you're too chatty in the water, but afterwards it's great to catch up with people and honestly you feel so blessed mixing with such positive people and different backgrounds and interesting you know professions and so on.
Danielle Spurling:
it's you learn something every day as well yes, yes, absolutely, and you broke those two world records. But I know, when we were talking prior to coming on air, you were you said that you haven't been to a Masters World Championships yet. What's the reason behind that, and are you planning on going maybe next year to singapore?
Jeanette Brits:
yeah, I'm definitely thinking of singapore and, um, it would definitely give me that sort of spurt of motivation. There's no particular reason, um, that I haven't been to one in particular. I just felt like I was still getting myself back into shape and back into only started pool racing again last year again, and I found it really exhausting and I actually found that I didn't feel I was accomplished enough just in terms of dives and turns and knowing what I was doing in a race, to actually put myself really on that real stage just yet. So I'm getting there, um, with work to do, but, yeah, that was probably more the reason. I just felt like I needed to be more polished because the last sort of the years before then were just sort of all work and seeing to family and things like that.
Jeanette Brits:
So I've only really been back in the pool for the last couple of years, and five years ago my husband became ill and we went through a whole sort of little journey with that and he's fine, thank goodness and yeah, but that sort of made you reassess everything and really a positive outcome from that, because I feel like I must grasp every day a little bit more now as well, and you feel just sort of, you know, starting off the day swimming, you feel more alive and you feel more vital and you just feel that I suppose just more grateful. I suppose just more grateful, whereas before I think I was just rushing through life and getting through the working day and that sort of thing. So I think you sort of toss these things sometimes to re-evaluate what you're doing and what you're up to.
Danielle Spurling:
Yes, and are you still working full-time or part-time or at all?
Jeanette Brits:
No, I haven't worked the last couple of years now, danielle, so that's also allowed me to stick to the schedule. Before then it was very difficult because it was sort of a little bit of a dive into everything wholeheartedly. So it was work, work, work from morning till night, and so I have found the shift. And when I first stopped working you lose a lot of confidence actually, because a lot of times your job defines you. And then that's probably why I had sort of jumped back into the pool and thought what did I used to love doing and what am I okay at?
Jeanette Brits:
And you sort of go back to those things and I think it's important for someone to have that, and I really admire the folk who get a good work-life balance, because it's really important and I'd encourage everyone to hold on to that.
Danielle Spurling:
Yes yes, it's. It is hard to do, and particularly when you've got kids and you're bringing them up and you're working as well and and they're playing their sport and you're always sort of the bottom of the list of you know things to do, aren't you?
I was a teacher and I ended up being a learning support coordinator. So still a lot of teaching in the classroom but also assessing and programming for a whole lot of different learning disabilities within a very large boys high school. So, okay, that kept one very busy and incredibly interesting and incredibly tough, but rewarding as well. So it was a full-on job and exceptionally busy school days at this point in time.
Danielle Spurling:
Yes, yes. Likewise I'm also a teacher and just retired in the last year or two, but also I was a PE or sport teacher, so spent lots of my days very early in the morning being there for the swimming squad and then obviously working teaching classes and after school sport and all those kind of things, and then coming home and having your own family. It doesn't leave a lot of time for your own exercise. So it's been lovely for me too to have this time to really get back into my swimming too.
Jeanette Brits:
Yeah, fantastic, yeah, absolutely fantastic. Me too to have this time to really get back into my swimming too.
Danielle Spurling:
Yeah, fantastic, yeah, absolutely fantastic. I hear what you're saying and I think it's yeah, it's great that you're doing that have you got um anything that you're particularly focused on, danielle? Well, I'd like to go to Singapore next year. Um, I've had a bit of a bad run with injuries over the last year or two, but hopefully touch wood, yeah, it'll give me a bit of time to get fit again and yeah, I'd love to go there next year. So fingers crossed.
Jeanette Brits:
Yes, it sounds exciting. A couple of the chaps at Bunmington, swinworth have been over to a lot of them and then a lot of the Manly masters who were up in darwin have been to many world champs and, um, yeah, I'm just in awe of the older folk who swim and head off on all these trips and, yeah, just unbelievable yes, now let's have a little bit of a chat about your open water swimming, because you also race in the open water like the cold classic and things like that.
Danielle Spurling:
Is that mainly just over summer and you're doing those sort of shorter 1k to 1.2 kilometer races, or are you sort of expanding out to rottenness distances?
Jeanette Brits:
um, I think. Um, yeah, it's definitely a more a summer thing. Rottenest, I think is definitely too long for me, daniel, I don't think I would cope or last the distance. The longest ocean race I've done is 5Ks and I did one. I have done a 10K but as a duo before and I love the ocean I'm probably better in the ocean. I found the pool incredibly tough. I found the ocean. There's time to settle, time to get your stroke really long and strong and then deal with it. And I grew up at quite a. It was a beautiful beach but it had a lot of surf. It was Nahoon Beach in the Eastern Cape. So I'm quite greatest respect for the ocean and the waves, but I'm quite comfortable if the wave, if the surf, is quite big. So I love the ocean swimming um and um.
Jeanette Brits:
I started off just doing ocean races without having any sort of idea of getting back to the pool whatsoever. I found the mix quite exciting. Now I think once you do pool for a while and then you get back in the ocean, you really enjoy that and vice versa. But I'm probably better in the ocean. 5k is definitely my upper limit, though I prefer probably 2k roundabout there, 2 to three maybe, or even one and a half, is good. And then I've done the surf lifesaving again this year for the first time in a long time and and the race around the cans. It's almost fractionally too short for me, but I love that as well, so that's been a nice difference as well. Just to embrace something totally different again. My brother, my eldest brother, competed for South Africa against Australia a few times in the surf life saving and I took this year to to take on everything and see which one I love the most and focus on that. And, to be honest, I haven't decided and can't decide.
Jeanette Brits:
And maybe I'll just keep the mix, because I do like all of it and I like training with the ocean swimmers and I like training with the group who train for Rottnest. So possibly as a duo or possibly in a team, but definitely too far as a solo for me.
Danielle Spurling:
Yes, 20K is a long way, isn't it?
Jeanette Brits:
It's a long, long way. I went over a couple of years ago and we did that relay from Lanai to Maui and also the Waikiki rough water and that was beautiful as well. That was great, but that was a sort of a 4k swim and that was, yeah, a long swim with the rips and tides and so on.
Danielle Spurling:
so, um, I do like them, um and the, but then the pool something completely different yeah, well, it's nice to have that mix, as you say, and we're very lucky in australia that we have got those ocean races in summer and then we can go back into the pool um, you know, as as summer sort of ends and have all that swimming so that's really where we're very, very lucky we are extremely lucky they've got a really comprehensive program for those who just want to do ocean swims and it's.
Danielle Spurling:
They're all really well run and, honestly they do a grand job, so it's fantastic yes they do have an open water swim at the world masters as well yes, so 3k so yeah yeah, um, I'd definitely be keen to take. Give that a try yeah, absolutely yes, and luckily the waters around singapore are pretty nice, so that'd probably be quite a nice place to swim.
Jeanette Brits:
I'd definitely be getting some advice from the chaps who've been over a few times before.
Danielle Spurling:
Yeah, yeah, absolutely. And what do you most enjoy about master swimming?
Jeanette Brits:
To be honest, I think it was for me almost the reconnection with everyone around the pool. I met so many fabulous people. At the end of the day, it's just you racing against yourself as well. You've got other folk who could be any age in your heat, all with different goals and sort of different little aspirations they're trying to sort of achieve and tick off the lighthearted banter around the pool and the friendship.
Jeanette Brits:
I think that's such a pleasure and I met some fabulous girls who'd been to Aussie Surf Lifesaving, who then turned up at the pool and it was just wonderful to make new connections and you sort of get into your 60s and you think almost through your working life, forgotten about all these extra connections that are sitting out there, and that was just wonderful and listening to everyone chatting and just enjoying themselves just incorporated it as part of their lifestyle. So really, really good and and honestly, the, the pressure is just the pressure you put on yourself and what you want to achieve and no one's really uh well, I didn't think that it was just great because I didn't think anyone else was too fussed about what anyone was doing and you just got in there and did what you could and then that was that, you know.
Danielle Spurling:
So, yeah, marvelous yes, and was that the first nationals, nationals that you'd been to? Yes yes, okay, yes, well, you did well at your first nationals two world records yes, and next year. Actually they're in melbourne.
Jeanette Brits:
I've got a little hiccup coming up with Melbourne because my son's probably getting married round about that date. Oh, okay, I don't know if I'm going to be able to juggle that one. So we'll have to see if I can fit in a day or two or not. But yeah, I think I'll definitely be sold on the idea, Even if I have a bit of a hiccup. Then I look forward to nationals further ahead in time. Yes, yes.
Danielle Spurling:
Now everyone that comes on the podcast. I like to ask them five deep questions about this for me. So the first thing that pops into your head what is your favourite pool that you've ever swum in?
Jeanette Brits:
Definitely the manly boy. Charlton pool, I love it. Yes, is it salt water? No, fresh water fresh water just got a beautiful feel that outdoor pool.
Danielle Spurling:
Yes, it looks beautiful. I've never swum there, but it's definitely on my list. What's your favorite pre-race meal?
Jeanette Brits:
ah, I don't like to swim with too much in the tub, so probably sounds a bit odd, but I probably, if I've got quite a few hours that I have to wait, I'd probably have an egg of some description and then just make sure I'm well hydrated and I don't ever go anywhere without having a cup of tea in the morning.
Danielle Spurling:
Very nice.
Jeanette Brits:
Yeah, and also big believer in hydration. So that was one of the things that I noticed A lot of folk weren't drinking before they swam. So that was sort of, if I can pass on any advice, when you wake up in the morning, have at least two mugs of water, which I do Then I have my tea and then I think about going off to swim. So definitely my tea, definitely my water, and if I've got some time that I have to wait, I'd have an egg of some description for sure.
Danielle Spurling:
How about your favorite training drill? Oh?
Jeanette Brits:
If it's a drill, it's probably just a finger. Drag up past the ribs and through, and often there's that hold there as well, just for a second or two to get that stretch happening.
Danielle Spurling:
How about your favorite training set?
Jeanette Brits:
That's a tricky one because I think, think favorites too much of an enjoyable word. I'm gonna just, I'm gonna just go with satisfying okay, and I'll never forget it because, yeah, the, the chaps, uh, on a saturday morning will often do 10 400s and I was absolutely petrified. They do it on a descending scale. Yes, and I was absolutely petrified to attempt it and I've done lots of them now, but I'll say it's not my favorite, but it's the most satisfying once you've done it.
Danielle Spurling:
Wow, what time cycle is that on?
Jeanette Brits:
We'd start on six and then end up 5, 5, 30 or 5, 15?
Danielle Spurling:
if we can, so bringing the 10 down to that, descending as we go very nice.
Jeanette Brits:
So, yeah, definitely a satisfying set. Satisfying, yeah, that's a tough one, not favorite, understood.
Danielle Spurling:
And how about the swimmer you most admire?
Jeanette Brits:
currently in the water. Definitely, arianne, I would say. Um, look, michael phelps was phenomenal. And then um. Growing up, my absolute childhood idol was my coach's son, johnty skinner, who was one of the first men to go under 50 seconds. So we were, even though we grew up in an extremely small town in South Africa. His dad used to coach us and he used to work all day and come and coach us at five in the evening and at five in the morning and he was so technically brilliant I used to swim terribly, terribly. I was the worst looking swimmer you ever saw and he just kept at it till I was so sick of him bellowing on the side of the pool that we, we kind of fixed everything. But um, definitely his name was Doug Skinner and um, he set me up for life and his son, john T Skinner, was the technical director in the states for many years of the Olympic team and so on, and he was definitely my idol growing up.
Danielle Spurling:
Yeah, that's a sad story for him, isn't it? Because he was one of the fastest 100 meter freestylers in the world and obviously because of apartheid, south Africa didn't compete for such a long time apartheid, south africa didn't compete for such a long time.
Jeanette Brits:
Yes, oh, incredibly heartbreaking, daniel, and and I think the world missed out, not only in swimming, but in in cricket and many other sports, because, yeah, there was that restraint and and and it took away a lot of motivation. To be honest, yes, yes it would have.
Danielle Spurling:
But on a positive note, now South Africa are fully involved in the Olympics and hopefully have a great Olympics coming up in Paris.
Jeanette Brits:
Yeah, absolutely. And you know, I think every athlete, no matter what country you're from, have your ups and downs and has your story. So you've got to just sort of embrace what life dishes out and and make make your pathway as positive as possible, I guess.
Danielle Spurling:
Yes, absolutely well, jeanette. Thank you so much for joining us on the podcast today. It's been a delight speaking with you and hearing all about your swimming journey, and I'm sure everyone's going to be really interested and enthralled to hear about it as well.
Jeanette Brits:
Thanks so much for having a chat, danielle, and good luck with your swimming and hopefully we we catch up in person. Yes, and you're on the side of the swimming pool too. Yes, exactly, fantastic. Okay take care.
Danielle Spurling:
Thanks so much, okay, bye thanks for listening into the podcast today. I hope you enjoyed learning from jeanette and take away some lessons from today's episode that you can use in your own swimming. Don't forget to follow us on instagram and facebook under torpedo swim talk podcast. We often post training sets there and if you want to keep up to date with those, that's the best place to see them. Till next time, happy swimming and bye for now.