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| Photo Courtesy of Glenn Mills from www.goswim.tv |
Since returning to the pool last summer, completely inspired by the Olympic games and amazing stories of success from members of Team USA, particularly Michael Phelps, Ryan Lochte and Missy Franklin. But it was the story of AGUA's Lia Neal and Rachel Stratton-Mills that made me truly open my eyes to the real value of my Asphalt Green membership and made me proud to be able to achieve my fitness goals in the same facility as an Olympian!
When I returned to the pool last year, swimming was going to be the channel that got me to my fitness goals. I then realized that being in the water and swimming is something I have always loved to do, and an interest I shared with my parents who have swum for fitness for years. I remembered being in the water was the one place I felt safe and FAST!
Soon swimming then shifted into my stress relief, and suddenly I was consumed not just about my work in the pool but stories of people involved in every aspect of the sport. After all I am a marketer at heart and I always love learning about people's stories, perhaps I was also looking for inspiration given the stress I was experiencing in my career. So I found myself reading books written by people in the sport - Michael Phelps, Debbie Phelps, Dara Torres, Amanda Beard, Janet Evans and following USA Swim Team and personalities over Twitter and Facebook. The more I read, the more I was inspired to return to the pool.
I was swimming at least 6 days a week, starting with workouts recommended by Speedo Pace Club, which I later found out were written by Rachel Stratton-Mills, the head coach at AGUA. Then I started doing Janet Evans sets as prescribed in her book - just wanting to build my endurance, improve my strokes and build speed. The classical musician in me loved the repetition, the feeling of satisfaction of completing a set and meeting the interval marks and times. Precision in execution is a classical musician's drug! Classical musicians also understand the value of drilling scales and various exercises to improve technique. Most won't admit it, but I actually love scales and exercises, so it's no surprise that I love swimming drills!!!
Consumed with wanting to know more and becoming better... I started researching about AGUA and the coaching staff, looking for resources that could help make me better. I knew AGUA Masters was a goal, but I wanted to make sure I had locked down my basic technique and have endurance to keep up with the workouts. Honestly, I started to get intimidated by the caliber of people running the programs and thought there was no way I could possibly be up to that standard of swimming!
Glenn Mills was one of the AGUA coaches, and he taught the noon masters. I knew his list of accomplishments - US Olympic Team Member, Congressional Gold Medal Recipient, NCAA Breaststroke record holder and proprietor of www.goswim.tv I also know that Glenn is a respected authority on swimming technique and drills. I often visited Glenn's site to find drill ideas that I could use to better my strokes. One day, I took one of the sets he used at masters practice, trying to gauge how I would do, and all I remember was dying in the pool - the intervals were fast and the sets were LONG! If this was a typical workout, I don't think I could possibly survive a practice!
So I decided to try it out anyway... My first day of practice I was a ball of nerves. I made sure I had an adequate breakfast to get through the workout and even got to the pool 15 minutes before practice to warm up - ready to face anything Glenn Mills would throw my way. BUT this was the holidays and instead of the usual Short Course Yards, the holiday schedule meant Long Course Meters the entire week! The difference between 25 yards and 50 meters is definitely significant, and I am used to the short course. Definitely a new physical challenge during my first practice... Oh dear!
I jumped into Lane 2 - medium speed, the usual lane I swim on my own. I was keeping up pretty well, but these folks were fast and had incredible endurance. I should also add that this day was all freestyle - another new challenge since I usually love and do IM workouts in the pool! Glenn was great - gave me a few tips to improve my stroke and I kept up pretty well and actually enjoyed practice. He's actually a really nice and approachable coach, who supports you at every level of your swimming, and is more than happy to help each swimmer attain their goals. I should also mention that he tailors the sets based on the level and speed of the swimmers in each lane. The workout I read and downloaded was meant for super advanced swimmers - the really FAST lane, where some of the Olympic hopefuls train! That said I ran home paid my dues to US Masters and committed to AGUA Masters swimming. I came back the next day!
My second day of masters was quite memorable - I got hit in the face by a swimmer in my lane who was swimming the opposite direction. I got so winded that I couldn't find my breath and my right jaw was swelling as practice went on. I tried to keep up as much as I could but was begging for ice as soon as it was over. One of my lifeguard buddies came to my aid, when he asked what happened and asked me to point to the swimmer that hit me - he laughed and said "You mean Seabiscuit?" As I learned in the locker room "Seabiscuit" has quite a reputation for pool incidents with other swimmers, and clearly even the lifeguards have a nickname for him! Now I know - stay away from Seabiscuit!
My first week of masters was all Long Course Meters - yes, 50 Meters!!! I figured if I can get through that challenge, it should just get easier. But now I don't quite care if it's the Short Course or Long Course... I'm quite comfortable either way, I just swim!
I'm proud to say I haven't missed a day of practice, and I am starting to feel the difference the month has made after joining Masters. More so, I'm making new friends and being welcomed into a community of people who share the same love for the sport and just want to get better with each stroke. Competition is definitely on my mind and I'm very excited at this new adventure in my life. I don't know what it is about swimming but somehow in the water I can hear myself and gain great clarity in other areas in my life.
So here's to one month and the exciting adventure ahead!
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