The Bismarck tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, N.D.) 1916-current, 1929-06-08
Ray Ruddy, Olympic Team
Baby, Says Long Swims
Are Second Nature
SLEEPING TOO LONG
Never Starts Swimming Until
at Least Three Tours
After His Meal
EY RAY RUDDY

Written for NEA Service and
The Tribune BY arrangement with
Swimmer Maxazinc.l
Long distance swimming seems to
u In my family. From father down
to little brother Don. we all cherish 1t
as our fayorite hobby.
In school I started studying the
sport thoroughly. and after practicins
conscientiously. found myself improv-
ing daily. BY watching my strokes
carefully. I found myself more adapt
able to the longer distances. With
this knowledge in mind I set out TO
follow in the footsteps OF my dad.
who is an oldtimcr in the game. What
he has taught me I follow closely
daily.
I swim a crawl stroke using four
beats in all my long distance swims.
My kick makes my stroke look like a
double trudgeon crawl. l get 80 per
cent o. my speed out Of my arms.
IS Strokes ! Minute
In swimming anything from a mile
to 10 miles. l try to average IS strokes
to the minute throughout. In sprint
Ing. which I very seldom do. I swim
a sixbeat crawl keeping my body per-
fectly flat, my arms taking the water
a little in front Of the head but out
at the side and forced down to the
point just beneath the thigh: there
they are lifted with a relaxing of the
muscles in the elbow and brought for
ward with q distinct shoulder &C.
ton.
The kick is a good thrash with a
loose knee snap. l try to make the
kick SO that it is perfectly balanced,
each leg doing its share and at no
time are my legs over six inches apart.
I find it best at all times to take a
breath on every stroke, inhaling over
either shoulder through the mouth
and exhaling through the nose in the
water as you turn your head.
Start With Speed
When swimming a mile or over I
step right out at the start with the
idea of doing my first hundred
straightaway In a minute flat and /
try to keep up my average Of As
strokes a minute throughout the en-
tire race, saving enough strength for
a strong finish the last 200 yards. /
find I can pick up on my speed by
changing my breathing from the left
to the right side. I make sure to
keep relaxed at all times. In this
way. I never seem to feel tired. OF
course. my preliminary training has
quite q lot to do with this.
= +
When training for long distance
races, I rise about six O'Clock in the
morning and go through q few deep
breathing exercises in the fresh air
every morning. l take a long walk
through the park or cross country,
inhaling through the nose on four
steps and exhaling through the mouth
on the next four.
I return in about an hour, take a
bath and a towel rub and then have
my breakfast, consisting of fresh fruit,
cereal, whole wheat bread or toast
and milk. After breakfast. ! rest for
about an hour, reading the papers or
e good book; then I go out for an
other short walk.
About three hours after breakfast,
I take to the water, swimming all the
way from half q mile to two miles
at an easy pace. being careful to see
that my form is perfect. After this
! get a light rub and by this time l
have a very good appetite for din
ner.
Rest Before Eating
OF course, ] always rest a bit be-
fore eating, never putting food into
my stomach when / am tired. My dim
ner consists of lean beef Or lamb or
other wholesome meats; If I have
dessert. 1t Is Of simple nature. per-
haps rice pudding or custard.
am very careful to avoid starchy
foods and I give preference to apple
sauce, prunes, etc.
rest for another hour, reading:
then take another short walk and
about halt past three or four o'clock
I go back to the water again and try
a few sprints of 100 or 200 yards for
speed. Then I wind up by swimming
anything from 500 yards to a half
mile at a fairly good pace.
I always go to bed about nine
o'clock In the evening and make sure
to have At least eight hours Of sleep
and allow nothing to interrupt me
when ono in bed.
=
As the time for the a approaches,
my training is increased in severity
until a few days before the big event.
After that nothing but the lightest
kind Of work is done. ! make every
effort to prevent myself from going
stale and that is why my work In the
water and on land is Of so varied q
nature.
! try to keep my mind occupied by
thoughts Of other things than my
self and the approaching contest.
In between my training intervals,
! play handball, baseball. go fishing,
or to a good show at q nearby the
ater and do a score Of other diyerting