Welcome to the Vermont Student Assistance Corporation Web Site

Welcome to the Vermont Student Assistance Corporation Web Site

It is with great relief and humble excitemtent that I received today in the mail a letter from VSAC, the main college lender in Vermont. I started my college loan repayments in December of 2001, and thanks to focused repayment and a new plan that my beloved, Lena, came up with a few years ago, I am now student loan dept free!

We were able to pay off the loan well before we were scheduled to (in under ten years, I might add), and I praise God for his providing for my education and also the repayment thereof.

Final Results: 2011 Metrowest YMCA Valentine's Love To Swim Master' Classic

This was a great meet in Framingham, MA. I swam with the the Bennington Masters in the morning, an 1800 yard workout, then drove the 2 hours to Framingham with my son Preston for the afternoon meet. I ran into Jim from Cape Cod, and while in the stands a guy asked me which Marauders I was from. After a short talk, we realized that I used to coach Matt when he was 10 years old and living the Bennington area! How cool is
that?

The meet went quickly, and Matt swam the push-pull race with me, in which he grabbed my ankles and kicked as I pulled the first length, then we traded spots on the way back.  We had the winning time and got ribbons and some treats.

My results are below - it felt good to get below one minute in the 100yard Backstroke, which was my goal for the day.  The two freestyle events felt really quick, too - overall a great time, and it was nice to be able to drive home that evening and avoid paying any hotel charges.  I plan to head back again next year to this competitive but fun meet..


MetroWest YMCA Masters Meet (2/19/11)

Men's Results:          Seed       Finals

Men 30-34 50 Yard Freestyle
  1  Leake, Michael      26.30       24.37

Men 30-34 100 Yard Freestyle
  1  Leake, Michael      58.95       53.45

Men 30-34 100 Yard Backstroke
  1  Leake, Michael    1:02.90       59.45

Men 30-34 100 Yard Individual Medley
  1  Leake, Michael    1:07.10     1:04.06   

I can finally see again in the water!

After two years of actively getting back into the pool, I have decided to buy some more equipment to help with my training.  I picked up a pair of pull buoys since the pair I use at the Rec Center are often taken, and I also bought some more tubing to replace my worn out ones for my hand paddles.

I also made some apparel purchases as well.  I had finally given up on the old Speedo Bikini trunks when I started back and moved to the square-leg style suits.  My trusty green mesh have seen me through many laps and still has held on to its color, but I made the splash to a pair of jammers (think bicycle shorts for swimmers).  Actually two pairs.  The main one that I will be using is made by Dolphin and has a special chlorine blocking material to help it hold up to the chemicals I jump into three to four times weekly.  I also picked up a suit by Speedo that will be used for competitions - not a tech suit but also not made from polyester like the Dolphin.

The coolest thing that I got was the pair of goggles below.  I have two pairs that work fine, but since I do not have my glasses on in the water I am practically blind!  I am always asking for the workout details or what time on the clock we need to leave for the next set.  I have tossed the idea around of getting a pair from the local glasses shop, but the cost is over $100 for individualized glasses.  It just so happened that I came across these need specs from Kiefer that allow me to see again!  They cost under $20, and you have to get the same strength on both sides - although me left eye is a bit worse than my right, the -4.5 diopter pair allows me to see again in the water!  I can now look at the workout board for the next set without disturbing my lane mates, and stun them by leaving on the correct intervals!

The one downside that I am getting used to is the fact that I see a little too well when I approach the wall for flip turns.  The last 2-3 yards get blurry so I have been working to time my turns better.  I am still deciding if I will use the optical goggles in meets or just for practices.  I used the "mint madness" goggles my twiny Jillsey gifted to me a few years ago - I will try out the possibilities when I swim again in the middle of February.  Other than that, I can now mean it when I say I will see you at the pool soon!

Click here to see what allows me to now see!