Jessica asked about my swim background so I thought I'd devote a little time to it! I don't know how early I was in the pool, but I know as a child, at least by age 4, my mom always took us swimming. I remember being scared of the holes in the wall. They still kind of freak me out.
I started swimming on a team when I was 6 and swam competitively all through high school. I was really good when I was 9 in winter swimming, and when I was 12 in the summer swimming. After that, it all kind of went downhill, and I was a mediocre swimmer but never awesome.
In high school I swam the 200 free, 200 IM and 500 free. The team at my school wasn't very good, so I was one of the top 4 swimmers on the team. I've always been a long distance swimmer. I did backstroke in the summers and I've done the mile in a couple of meets.
I kept up swimming every now and then during college, and picked up Masters swimming a couple of years ago. The best thing was that it was right at my high school that I teach at, so I could do it right before work (5:30-6:30) and then go to work! I swam with the fast people and continued in the summers at an outdoor pool - this was great! They are rebuilding the pool @ my high school so this fall/winter I swam with another team which wasn't as fun, mostly swimming alone. Right now, I'm just swimming on my own! The masters program at the Y starts at 5:30 but Nick gets up between 5:30-6:30 right now, so this hasn't worked for me yet. I hope soon.
My sister is a really good swimmer and swam in college at Delaware. My brother swam up until he had to wear a speedo, and then he quit.
The biggest thing for me was the drains in the pool. Some drains still scare me. I don't know what it is about them - are they going to suck me down? On all of my meet programs I have the drain lanes written on the front page ("drain lanes 1 and 5.") If I happened to be racing in a drain lane, the anxiety was awful!! I think I kept my eyes closed and went crooked. When I brought Nick swimming and stepped on a drain by accident, I still was kind of freaked out! It's so weird!
I think that Nick will like the water too. So far, he enjoys it!
Monday's board workout was ENDURANCE. It was mostly 400s and 3 and 200s. To me, that is easy. I don't like doing fast 100s. Today's workout was a bunch of fast free. I feel like a slacker but to motivate myself to go fast somedays, I need to be swimming with someone in the lane next to me!
In other news, I had my first GREEN smoothie (aka green monster) yesterday. Spinach, banana, almond milk and some protein powder. Not bad. You can taste the spinach (I used frozen).
And I'm working on some healthy breakfast muffins.
I wish I had gotten in to swimming more when I was younger. But, I was all about soccer, softball and basketball, which I guess wasn't that bad since soccer paid for college. However, now that my playing days are over and I have tri on the mind, I should have fit swmming in.
ReplyDeleteFunny about your brother stopping when he had to wear a speedo.
Sounds like you a a true fish at heart, and I am sure Nick will be as well!
ReplyDeleteThere was a very sad incident in MN a couple years ago involving pool drains and a little girl. They can be scary.
Thanks for answering my little question! I'm always envious of people who swam as kids, as it seems those thousands of laps actually pay off and the technical skills remain in adulthood (as opposed to say, spending thousands of hours studying classical ballet -- totally useless, and in fact detrimental to my adult athletic pursuits ;)
ReplyDeleteOh, and if it makes you feel any better about the drains, a bill passed last year to require that public pool drains are safer. You can google "pool drain safety bill," but don't read the story of how the bill came to be -- it won't help your worries.
I too was in the water as a young one,a nd I think it's imprtant to get kids in there and used to it as early as possible so they never fear it.
ReplyDeleteI love green smoothies! I make mine with berries though, but with bananas sounds good too!
I always took swimming lessons but I was never very good. I am sure Nick will like the water!
ReplyDeleteNeat story! Its cool to learn about other's and their past with sports.
ReplyDeleteI'm not a swimmer. My mom was though. She was a life guard and taught swimming lessons. She can swim lap after lap. I seriously start doggie paddling and would probably drown. FAIL hahaha
I bet nick will love to be a swimmer if you keep him with it!
Interesting swimming history. I hope Nick makes a life of it too.
ReplyDeleteBummer you didn't love the green smoothie. I'd suggest fruit with a little bolder flavor. Raspberries or pomagranate juice. It masks the spinach flavor better.
Swimming saved my life from an early age - it was the only way to channel all my energy as a kid!
ReplyDeleteVery interesting. I think it is so important to learn to swim at an early age, or else you can never quite understand it the same way. I always say it's like learning a language! As someone who didn't learn proper freesytle technique until age 26, I am very jealous of you! THat's great you are getting Nick in the water now.
ReplyDeleteeww frozen spinach..blech.
ReplyDeletei love swimming, I did swim team for years! not sure why I'm so hesitant to get back at it now!
I am scared of the drains and wholes in the wall as well. I have no idea why. I always avoided them as a kid.
ReplyDeleteI'll take your word for it that your smoothie tastes good. I think I'll stick my green tea smoothie before I go experimenting with spinach.
I just came across your blog and I love your stories about swimming. I am trying to get into swimming (attempting to train for a sprint triathlon). I have a couple of swimming questions for you. #1- do you wear ear plugs in the water? sometimes my ears get water in them and then hurt later- I really don't wanna get swimmers ear. #2- how did you join the masters swimming team? there is one at the Y near me but I don't think its really affiliated with the Y- did you just talk to the coach? I'm scared because I can't do the full work outs yet, and I haven't done any stroke but freestyle in like 10 years.
ReplyDelete