US Masters kicked off the New Year with a fun competition, sponsored by Speedo (my favorite swim brand!), called the One Hour Postal Swim. The whole idea is to swim as many laps within an hour, while someone times your 50 yard splits. There are no rules as to what strokes to use - just swim for an hour, but if you're trying to break records it's probably smart to do all freestyle. The competition duration was for the entire month of January and today is the last day the AGUA team is logging in hours. In fact I'm helping time other swimmers tonight and very much looking forward to the celebration afterwards! I did my timed submission on January 1st, and was one of the first people on the AGUA Masters team to complete and log the hour swim. I didn't really understand the concept when I swam, since the instruction I received was just to swim the entire hour and that someone would be timing my splits. I wish someone clearly explained the concept of swimming as many yards in an hour, I would've approached this "free swim" with better strategy! So for the first 30 minutes I was sprinting like a mad fool in the pool, thinking the objective was to get a good idea of where my splits are for each stroke. On a little catch break, I looked around the other lanes and saw the other swimmers pacing. So I released the gas pedal and paced myself for the last 30 minutes...
But my head was in a whirlwind! Swim for an hour without a prescribed workout or set? I'm used to my workout sheets having a plan of attach each time I get into the pool, so I wasn't prepared for this part of the "free swim." (Yes, in addition to missing the whole point of the Hour Postal Swim from the go whistle!) I found my brain going on hyper drive thinking about what other strokes to do, or combinations just to get through an hour of non-stop swimming. The result was - I became the crazy chic doing the One Hour Postal Swim using all four strokes - including several combinations of IM - yes, including butterfly! When the hour was over - people were telling me how impressed they were that I decided to do varied strokes, since I was the only one in the pool doing them! My teammates and coaches were congratulating me on such a great effort, and for completing my first 10 days of Masters! I did pretty well, considering I swam IM, logging in about 2400 yards during a time when my body was overloaded from my first 10 days of masters, and when my strokes were not as fine tuned as they are now. I'll be trying this again next year for sure and I'll be better prepared!
The AGUA Masters record to beat right now is 5,050 yards in one hour - the guy who completed it is an open-water swimmer. He swam the entire event in freestyle, and he did this with a 5 second break to sip some diet coke he had ready on the pool deck!
I learned a lot of things about myself and my swimming during the hour. I learned that I am fully in control of my success, and am fully accountable for showing up, getting in the pool and putting in the effort to become better. I learned that beyond the physical benefits, swimming also exercises your mental strength - you have to learn how to adjust your perspective, improvise, execute promptly and be truly present.
Swimming is not your typical team sport - say basketball, baseball, soccer and even football. On many levels, swimming is actually very individual in nature and can be quite an antisocial sport. The team practices together, but it's quite impossible to gossip when your face is in the water. The coach helps you with drills and technique, and gives you guidelines to help push yourself, but at at the end of the day, you are accountable to deliver, to bring your best effort, to push your mental capacity and your limits. Being better is about going within you and dealing with yourself.
I know and have met people who can not tolerate the void silent moments bring. They are constant chatterboxes and the thought of asking them to sit in silence for an hour, would be considered a form of suicide. Facing your thoughts and your inner self, being aware and asking to live in the present moment is a scary concept for many people. There is power in silence, in the ability to still your mind - it allows you to awaken and be completely aware and present... In this space you are in control and have the ability to achieve the impossible.
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