Master Bits

I am planning on writing a FULL report on my very first Master's Swim, however to devote the time it takes to write the post that I want - I'll simply fall asleep at the computer.

So yeah, I'm tired.

4:30 am wake-up call tired.

(Yawn)

However, here are a few fub highlights from my very first session. :)

-I started in the second slowest lane, and then kept moving to the right. From one lane to the next. Until I was in the third fastest lane. At which point I was (stifled laugh) assigned to be the Lane Leader. Ha! And I thought it would be easy - but now I was forced to count my laps. (Horror of horrors!) As I loose count all the time... Now I was respnosible not only for myself, but for all my fellow lane buddies. Yikes!

-The oldest person at the swim practice was 82. And she gets the most points for the team... because she's the only one entered in the evets. I was so surprised at the range of ages. It was incredibly motivating to see people my parent's age (and older) lining up at 5:20 am. It gives you hope... (And now I know how I'll win my AG in Hawaii...by attrition...when I'm 82. :)

-The predicted morning thunderstorms never materialized, but the sky was a greenish orangeish hue near the end of our practice. An indication of the second coming? Nope - just me diving off the blocks (for the first time!)

-I have never done so much butterfly in my life. Ever. A whole, whopping 150 yards total with everything combined. I lasted pretty well for about, oh, 18 yards. The final 7 are more "butter flop" than anything else. But I'm working...

-The water was warmer than the pool at UWF

-And no - not because I peed.

-I didn't pee. Honestly! Apparently I'm fine on my own. But when I'm surrounded by 20 or 30 other swimmers, I can't go. Never a problem at a race - but at the pool this morning no go.

-Diving off the blocks for the first time was way different than I thought. I actually understood how Elizabeth's husband could do a knee flop. Pow! The thought crossed my mind more than once - luckily I didn't embarass myself too much. I wobbled a little on top of the blocks (wow - the view of the pool from the top is a lot higher than it appears from the pool...) The sound of my legs slapping the water on the first dive was priceless - but I did't loose my goggles. Or get too much water up my nose.

-I made my lane buddies annoyed by my cheerful quip (before every set), "Okay - here we go! Have fun!"

On our last set of pulls, Kathy remarked, "I know I know - we'll try to have fun. You have fun."

-Listening to the older folks talk about open water swimming and how much they enjoyed it was very moving. They didn't care about the cold, going fast, racing. They just wanted to swim in the beautiful water. And it was contagous. (I may have told Coach about this - knowing how enthusiastic about Open Water swimming she is... I have a feeling I'll be doing more and more...)

And if I get eaten by a shark - well - I'll just push someone else infront of me and swim like hell the other way. :)

-I finally GOT what everyone else is raving about.

Master's is fun. It was a blast! I still have a lot to figure out, where to place myself - but gosh darn it, the other swimmers are good folks, enthusiastic about the water, and happy-go-lucky at 0530.

What more could you ask for?

Now if you'll excuse me, it's 9:22 pm. I'm beat. I'm tired. And I can barely keep my eyes open. Let me guess - my 82 year-old new found friend is probably up, chipper, and raring to go! I'm about half way through my actual blog about Masters - but it'll have to wait. So I just wrote a few bits in the meantime.

I never realized that swimming could be so much fun. Huh. You go through your life doing one thing one way...and then when it's different, it's like the world itslef looks different. I feel like before my adventure this morning I was swimming in black-and-white.

And now my swimming world is filled with beautiful and vibrant colors. To be continued (in color).