Phillips fueled by change in lifestyle
By Mike Tymn
Special to The Advertiser
After being a state champion and record-breaking freestyle swimmer at Kailua High School in the mid-1970s and then a Big Ten champion at the University of Wisconsin, Brett Phillips gave up the active life for nearly two decades.
"I tried different things, bought a Nordic Track and all that, but about the only thing I did consistently was drink beer," Phillips admitted.
"There wasn't much in the way of competition for swimmers out of college then. ... Besides, I had to get on with a career and a family."
But after gaining about 50 pounds and seeing his cholesterol count shoot up to a risky 270, Phillips got motivated again.
That was all it took.
A year after starting his comeback, the 43-year-old Phillips is setting records and winning titles.
On Saturday, Phillips won the Eyecatcher North Shore Swim Series.
The series consisted of four ocean swims, beginning with the Raging Isle Sprint on June 24 and culminating with the Surf 'n' Sea 1.2-mile event on Saturday.
In finishing second to national 10K champion John Flanagan, Phillips won the series by having the fastest cumulative time for the four races.
During June, Phillips won the national championship for his 40-44 age group at 1000 yards in the pool in Santa Clara, Calif.
In the past year he has broken 21 Hawai'i masters (pool) records in his age division and is looking forward to more national titles in the long-course national championships in Seattle, Aug. 16-19.
He's also looking ahead to the Waikiki Roughwater Swim on Labor Day. He is a three-time winner of the prestigious event (1974, '75, '79).
What the 6-foot-5 Phillips seems most proud of relative to his comeback, however, are his weight, which has dropped from 262 to 225, and his cholesterol count, which he has lowered from 270 to 140.
"On top of that, my blood pressure was way up and I was on medication for both," he said. "I'm still carrying about 10 to 15 pounds too much."
After Phillips' wife and a neighbor started the Body for Life program last year, he decided to join them.
"As I searched for a cardio routine, I quickly learned that I didn't like doing anything non-aquatic," he said. "As our kids were both swimming each afternoon from 5 to 7, joining them became a natural. After several months, the desire to compete grew. æ
"Initially, I set a goal to go 10:20 in the 1000 (yards) and thought that I could take a shot at some (age-class) American or world record prior to turning 45."
Phillips has already done 9:45 for the 1000. His best in college was 9:20.
"It's a heck of a lot closer than I thought I'd ever be, especially after only a year. Hopefully, next year at UH (in the short-course nationals), I'll be under 9:30."
A typical day of training these days calls for 3,000 to 5,000 yards of swimming in the morning four times a week, and 5,000 to 6,000 yards in the evening five days a week.
"My bosses have been very good to me and support my swimming," said Phillips, who is an estimator and marketing representative for Allied Builders System. "They understand that I sprint to work after my morning workout to get there by 7 a.m. and leave at 4 p.m. to get to my afternoon workout."
The biggest challenge for Phillips these days is the longer and inconsistent recovery times during training.
"Sometimes, one good workout can hurt for a week," he mused. "I have two bad discs in my neck that give me a constant sore neck and shoulder. It's not bad enough for surgery, but they are not going away. I'm going to try a few weeks off in September and some cortisone injections to see if I can knock out some of the aggravation."
In the short-course (yards) nationals at Santa Clara, Phillips had time for only one event because he was on a business trip. However, in the long course (meters) nationals in Seattle, he plans to compete in the 200, 400 and 800 freestyle; the 200 and 400 individual medley; and the 200 backstroke.
"No, it doesn't surprise me," said Chris Moore, another former Waikiki Roughwater Swim champion (1985 and '87), referring to Phillips' recent success.
"He's right at the borderline of age where it is tough to do, but if anyone can do it it would be him. He was so good when he was younger. The thing with swimming is that once you develop those muscles it takes a long time to lose them. Obviously you are going to lose some muscle mass in 20 years, but Brett still has the techniques that a normal swimmer is probably never going to get."
Moore, 37, said Phillips' comeback has inspired him, and that he is giving some thought to also making a comeback when his children are older and require less time.
Flanagan, 26, also mentioned Phillips' inspiration, feeling now that he has many more years of high-level competition ahead of him. æææ
"There's definitely room for more improvement," Phillips said. "I've just got to find the fine line between working as hard as I can and injuring myself. It's the fine line between training enough to go under 9:30 (for 1000 yards) and training too much for being 43 or 44."
