Wednesday, October 7, 2009

Swimmers, Take Your Mark!

Whoa.  Those are four words I haven’t heard in a really long time!  And, I didn’t know I’d be hearing them today, either!  I arrived at workout to discover that we would be doing relays following our warm-up.  Cool!  I haven’t swam a relay in, well, a long time.  So after warm-up, coach split us into 3 teams.  There were only 11 of us, however, and I ended up on the team with only 3 swimmers (of course!).  So for each relay one of us had to do 2 legs of the relay instead of just 1. 

We started off with a 100m MR.  I swam back and free.  We did alright, but my backstroke start totally sucked!  I had about a half second to process the fact that I had to do a backstroke start before hearing the infamous “Swimmers, take your mark!”!  Wow.  Hearing those words was kind of weird!  It was definitely an “Oh Crap” kind of moment.  As in, Oh Crap, I really am doing this!

After the 100m MR, we did a 100m relay of each stroke.  In total we did 5 relays and in 2 of them I swam twice.  All of us that were there today have varying abilities and are at different places, so on some of the races coach gave different teams a head start, to make it fair. 

I had forgotten how much fun relays are!  We were cheering for each other and giving thumbs up and high fives just like we were 12 years old again.  It was awesome!  To top it off, our team won!  We earned points for 1st, 2nd, 3rd place and our team was the top scoring team!  Wowzer! 

And thank god I went to Big 5 on my way to practice to pick up a new suit.  If I had worn my old, stretched out and faded suit that I had been wearing, it would have ended up around my ankles after diving off the blocks!  I found a Nike suit that will be good for practice.  And, it didn’t end up at my ankles when I dove in.  Bonus! 

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8 comments:

  1. Carin, I am so glad I found your blog. I am a 55 y/o who recently returned to lap swimming after escaping from my runner friends and returning to my watery roots. I never swam comptetively, having grown up before title 9, but learned to swim before I could walk and lifeguarded my way through college. The part about your suit in your last blog made me spew red wine on my laptop! Thanks for sharing your experiences.

    Lisa Blum who swims at Arne Hannah Aquatic Center in Bellingham WA

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  2. Hi Lisa! Wow, I'm so glad you found my blog, too! It's nice to know another PNW swimmer. I've never been to your pool, but have heard how great it is. I'd like to get up there someday!!

    P.S. I tried to be a runner, too, and it's just not for me. I know exactly what you mean about escaping your runner friends! lol! :-D

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  3. wow Caren scary and thrilling
    also good your costume stayed on!
    (what is title 9?)

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  4. Yes, good thing!! LOL!
    Title 9 is a law the US enacted in the 70's that required equal access and opportunity to sports (in addition to other things) for girls. Prior to Title 9 girl's sports were typically not funded.

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  5. P.S. It's also one of my favorite shopping websites! ;-) www.titlenine.com

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  6. Caren - I love relays too! (not that I actually take part in many - I enjoy capturing the enthusiasm with my camera.) Swimming is a solitary event with lots of meditation time during those workouts. It's so cool when you put it all together in a team effort. Congrats.

    -tracyb
    MastersSwimmersBlog.com

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  7. Very cool...how long is it again until your first meet?

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  8. First meet is November 22nd! Thank goodness I still have time to prepare... :)

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