Courtesy of Majamas Earth 41 ju l y- au gu st 20 19 ECO-FRIENDLY ENTREPRENEUR Russell Curry is a former varsity water polo player and swimmer at Loyola University of Chicago. After graduating in 1981, he began swim- ming with the Chicago Masters Swim Club while competing in Masters meets and open water swims. Curry and his wife have two adult children and operate Majamas Earth, an eco-fashion company that produces en- vironmentally sustainable clothing with American materials and labor. In 1990, Curry suffered a severe spinal contusion when he hit his head on a wooden beam in his basement. He was advised by a neu- rologist to avoid physical activity, including swimming, because he risked nerve damage. It would be about six years and 40 pounds later before he was cleared to swim without restriction. He got back in the water on a regular basis with his old club, Chicago Masters, in 2005, but then suffered overtrain- ing ailments, including shoulder injuries, arthritis, and a torn meniscus. In 2012, Curry committed to a steady routine with his Masters club. For the past seven years, he has averaged about 3,000 to 4,000 meters per day three to four times a week during morning workouts. Different tactics work for different people. Our panel of busy swimmers identified five strategies that keep them motivated. • • Commit to a schedule in order to eliminate the daily de- bate about whether to get out of bed or leave work on time for your workout. • • Join a group. Fellow swimmers keep you motivated to be consistent and on time. • • Organize your swim bag the night before and keep your things in the same spot every day. • • Cherish the invigorated, satisfied feeling you take away af- ter a workout and remember that sensation whenever your drive is in question. • • Enjoy the benefits of health and well-being and don’t for- get to have fun. —T.N. FIVE WAYS TO MAKE TIME FOR MASTERS SWIMMING On days he swims, he uses a gradual-light alarm clock rather than a jarring audio alarm, and wakes up at 4:45 a.m. He lets his dog out, does a few household chores, and hops in the car by 5:30 for the 20-minute drive to the University of Illinois–Chicago pool, where the group’s organized workout runs from 6 to 7:30. He re- turns home around 8, has breakfast, heads to the office, and works until about 6 p.m. He unwinds in the evening and gets to bed by 10 p.m. For Curry, 60, working out in the morning is the foundation for ev- erything else he wants to accomplish. It relieves stress and helps him concentrate on what he needs to get done in the day ahead. “It keeps you on a regimen,” he says. “It keeps me focused. I feel like I can tackle anything.” An unlikely tool Curry uses to his advantage is regret. Occasion- ally, he’ll turn off his alarm. He tries not to beat himself up about it, because “rest is really important; I don’t fight it. But in my mind, I feel a little guilt, like ‘I should be doing this. I should just get up. I need this.’” More often than not, he gets up and out the door. For Curry, business travel can be an obstacle to maintaining a consistent swimming schedule. Whenever possible, he turns it into a positive. He uses Club Finder on U.S. Masters Swimming’s website to locate groups where he can drop in and work out. “It’s great,” he says. “I meet people from all over the country and compete with them.” He doesn’t get overly concerned if business commitments cause him to miss a workout or two—or even a week. As long as the layoff isn’t much longer than that, he treats the break as a de facto taper, and he comes back refreshed and energized. Finally, Curry advises fellow swimmers simply to get into a rou- tine. Take it one workout at a time. Each time you go, it gets a little bit easier. “When you first start, it’s hard,” he says. “But once you start doing it, and it becomes a habit, it’s much simpler. Once you start doing it, it becomes infectious.” Thomas Neumann is a Florida-based journalist. He is a former writer and editor at ESPN and The San Diego Union-Tribune. Illinois Masters member Russell Curry owns Majamas Earth, an eco-fashion company, and finds time to swim 3,000 to 4,000 meters three or four times a week.