Images courtesy of Ann Senn. Photography by Erika McCauley of Erika McCauley Photographers
Read Chasing the Masters World Championships: The story of Life Time Fitness member Ann Senn (Part I)
For most amateur athletes, competing in national and international events for a couple years would hold enough memories to last a lifetime.
But that just isn’t the case for 51-year-old masters swimmer Ann Senn.
After competing in the 2008 FINA Masters World Championships in Australia, Senn ended last year by becoming the national champion in the 50-meter freestyle event at the U.S. Masters Swimming Long Course Meters Nationals in Oregon.
Until this summer, Senn had qualified for the national and international competitions by training by herself in the Life Time Fitness pool in Chanhassen and at other clubs.
In mid-June, Senn met Life Time Fitness instructor Barb Folsom while she was working with a Masters Swim group at the Chanhassen club.
“When you’re a swimmer, you know a coach when you see one,” Senn said. “You know somebody who is standing on dock who knows what they’re doing.”
In short time, Folsom was helping Senn prepare for the 2009 USMS Long Course Nationals in Indianapolis. But she did find a flaw in Senn’s training.
“I noticed she lost her oomph, for lack of a better word, before the warm-up was even done and I was very confused by that,” Barb Folsom said. “So my next investigation was into nutrition.”
Both Senn and Folsom said that Senn had to pace a 50-meter race (a sprinting distance) because she didn’t have the staying power to go max speed the whole distance.
“Typically what you tell someone in the 50-meter is ‘Get out there. Don’t think, just go,’” Folsom said. “If (Senn) went fast too early, then she couldn’t finish and she’d lose her legs.”
To combat this concern, Folsom sent Senn to Melanie Mertes, a nutrition coach for Life Time Fitness in Chanhassen, and found out Senn wasn’t eating enough to give her energy for swimming. “She was working in her lean muscle mass.”
Senn said Mertes’ tests concluded she wasn’t getting nearly enough protein in her diet, hence the quick fatigue while swimming.
Once Senn’s nutrition was sorted out, Folsom said she thought they would see some quicker times at nationals in Indianapolis but Senn didn’t compete as well as she hoped. Despite her own opinon, Senn still managed to qualify for the FINA World Championships that wil be in Sweden in August 2010.
However, the trip to nationals wasn’t in vain because Senn had the chance to have a stroke assessment and lactate test (scientific procedure that determine how quickly a person’s muscles fatigue) done by the head of science and technology for the Olympic training camp.
Suprisingly, the test concluded that Senn wasn’t as fit as she thought, despite her performance level.
“He said ‘Either you’re really tired or really out of shape,’” Senn said.
This was puzzling to Senn because she exercised nearly every day of the week, even in spite of traveling a lot as the chief strategy officer for Deloitte Consulting LLP in Minneapolis. Senn’s family also keeps her on the move as her two sons, Delaney and Zachery, compete in USA Swimming group events and her husband, Mark Ambrosen, competes in triathlons.
When Senn returned home, Folsom was a little confused by the test results.
“It made sense to me,” Folsom said. “But I was still trying to figure out how someone who did that much, could have no aerobic base.”
So Folsom then sent Senn to Jeff Rosga, the department head of personal training for Life Time Fitness in Chanhassen, to complete a MAP test that would determine her body’s use of oxygen. The test showed similar results as the lactate test, indicating that while Senn was in shape, she wasn't aerobically fit.
After the test, Senn said she remembers Folsom approaching her, giving her one look and glumly saying “Hey, sorry about your MAP test.”
Since the test results, Rosga has Senn following a 12-week dry land program to build her aerobic base, and she is also swimming middle length distance three times a week. Senn and Folsom will dive into the technique of her strokes before retesting her fitness level and beginning training for the World Championships in August.
But why all the testing and training for an international competition she fared so well in on her own? Although Senn has qualified for the Worlds, she has another big goal in mind.
She won’t talk about it, but she hopes to break the world record for her age group in the 50-meter freestyle at the international competition in 2010.
“I believe with every fiber of my being that (Senn) will get this world record in Sweden if we do this right,” said Folsom, who has worked for Woodlands Swimming, a reputable program in Houston that sends 15 to 20 swimmers to Olympic trials every four years.
The world record for the 50-meter freestyle for Senn’s age group is 28.44 seconds. In April, Senn set a lifetime best time of 28.85 seconds in the event in April, which marked the best time in the nation for 2009. “We’re not talking a lot,” Folsom said about the time difference.
Folsom said Senn has quite the training team now too since Mertes is helping with nutrition and Rosga with workout routines. Folsom said Senn has always been coachable and “is looking for information” to get better.
However, for the most part, Folsom said Senn’s quest at the international level will be mostly about her “god-given talent” and drive to reach her goals.
“She has a phenomenal talent and she’s willing to work for it,” Folsom said.
“She has this goal that she doesn’t want to let go of even though she has the stresses of everyday work and a family and all of that. She’s still able to carve out this niche to get it done.”
