Lane Pals

Like most swimmers I enjoy my swim more when swimming with others.  To do this I have joined swim clubs with coached workouts.  What I like about swimming with others is the challenge to keep up, the diversity of the workouts, not just doing the same ole, same ole unimaginative workout I would do on my own, and the friendships I have developed with other devoted swimmers.

Developing friendships with other swimmers is a unique experience.  In a coached workout you are given a number of "sets" to compete with short rests in between.  For example you might do a set of 10 50 yard laps of freestyle on 50 seconds each.  Depending on how quickly you swim you might get 5 to 15 seconds rest in between each.  During the rest period swimmers will often make a short comment or ask a question.  You have 40 seconds durning your next lap to think up your response or ask a question of your own.  Timing is everything so you need to pick your words carefully.  This makes for interesting conversations that are choppy and separated by short intervals of time.  Often one swimmer will start a joke or a riddle over a period of "repeats".  Each swimmer will then tell the next swimmer behind them as they come to the end of the lane before they take off again.  This is not unlike the old game of "telephone" where the message gets unrecognizably garbled by the end.  There is a lot of laughter in our workouts!  

When we do a set that "repeats to failure" the conversations drop off quickly.  In this kind of set you are to swim a designated distance (i.e., 200 yards) each time over a shorter time interval until you can no longer make the time.  In this kind of set you save your conversation for breathing!

Lane wars

This may not be obvious to most people but when swimming in a pool separated by lane markers there is a certain unwritten (sometimes written) etiquette to follow.   If you need to share a lane with another swimmer you must let the other swimmer aware of your intention before entering the lane.  Most swimmers who do flip turns cannot see the ends of the lane and are genuinely unaware of swimmers waiting at the end of the lane.  If you are brave you can jump into the lane and hope the other swimmer sees your legs before they flip right on top of your belly.  This will work about 50% of the time.  The better thing to do is to take a kick board and hold it under water at the end of the lane.  Most swimmers will see this just before they flip and if not they will flip onto the board (not you!) and stop.  If you are really timid or shy you can ask the lifeguard to alert the other swimmer.

When swimming with one other swimmer in the lane you will normally take one side of the lane.  The original swimmer gets to choose.  If you are swimming with two or more other swimmers then you have to do what is called "circle swimming".  This means swimming counterclockwise in the lane.  You swim always on the right side of the lane no matter which direction you are going.  This method of swimming can be very annoying for swimmers who swim at different speeds.  The faster swimmer will need to pass the slower swimmers every so often.  This is accomplished by the faster swimmer lightly touching the toes of the swimmer in front who at the end of the lap should stop and let the faster swimmer pass.

Also when swimming with others you should be considerate when doing butterfly and breaststroke as these strokes take up the whole lane and you will invariably kick someone if you are't careful. Back stroke can be a suicide mission if you can't swim straight and keep your arms close to your body.  Most considerate swimmers will pause or change strokes when passing other swimmers in the lane.

In an ideal world all these rules of etiquette would make for happier swimming but many swimming accidents and confrontations occur.   Over the years I have had a fair number of close encounters... once I was swimming alone in a lane doing backstroke when another swimmer jumped in without notifying me.  I happily swam down the middle of the lane until my head smashed into the head of the other swimmer.  I was quite shaken and had a terrible head ache for the rest of the day.  The other swimmer looked confused so I tried at length to explain the "rules" to her.  At the end of my careful instructions she looked up and said to me, "Je ne parle pas Englais.... je suis francais..." before calmly swimming away.  I found another lane.

Open Water Swimming

Open water swimming is a different kettle of fish, if you will excuse the pun!  When swimming in an open water  race (lake, ocean or pond) you take off with a number of people all at once.  The best strategy for competitive swimmers is to swim immediately at top speed to get ahead of the mayhem and then settle into your pace.

The next problem when swimming in open water is that there is no lane line to view beneath you which keeps you on track.  Instead you must develop a pattern of periodically lifting your head to get your bearings.  Lifting your head is very tiring because it breaks your pace and your streamline position which momentarily slows you  down.  However no matter how straight a line you can swim in a pool you must do these periodic checks in open water.  There are so many variables to swimming straight... the current, tide (in the ocean), waves, wind and weather and other swimmers.

Another problem when swimming outdoors is the glare from the sun.  You need to wear special UV protection sun googles.  I happen to wear these googles even in pools because it cuts down on the glare of the overhead lights as well.

 Probably the biggest obstacle to swimming in open water is the temperature.  Your body is roughly 98.6 degrees and a warm pool temperature is about 82 degrees.  A pool feels cool upon first entering but then you warm up quickly as you swim.  Unless you are swimming in tropical waters, the temperature of the water in New England in the summer can range anywhere from 50 to 72 degrees.  In swimming each degree cooler is significant.  To swim in cooler water (for me anything below 70 degrees) requires additional planning.  You can wear multiple suits, a thermal cap and grease your arms and legs.  Some swimmers wear long suits which resembles scuba gear but is much lighter.

For me, I'll stick to my indoor swimming!

Types of Swimming

There are many reasons why people swim.  Most people swim to stay fit but if you want to be challenged you join a USMS (masters) swim group.  Even within this group people have different goals when swimming.  Some just want a good workout (me), while some are training for a triathlon and still others swim competitively in Master meets.  I am there primarily for a great workout and I just go all out until I drop.  I am more of a sprinter than a distance swimmer and I like changing strokes.  As a sprinter, anything over 200 yards is distance for me.  When you swim for distance as the triathletes do, you swim in a completely different way.  Distance swimmers do not kick for example, saving their legs for the bike and run portion of a triathlon.  They have long graceful strokes, generally breathing bilaterally (on both sides, every third or fifth stroke) at a steady, strong pace.  As I am a sprinter, I kick my heart out, breathe to one side for short fast distances and make a lot of "white water" while careening down the lane.  Sharing a lane with other swimmers with distance goals can be challenging.  The leader of the "set" is generally agreed upon according to the distance to be swum.  It is very interesting watching the different types of swimming styles.

Landlocked...

Well, very soon after I published my first swimming blog I was beached!  What happened was this.... later in the afternoon after my last post, I decided to paint a mural on my family room wall.  I was very excited because though I have done a number of stencils in the past this time I was going to attempt free hand painting for the very first time.  I ordered professional paint brushes, new paint and had practiced on some poster board.  I was very anxious when I started to paint but as I went on and the painting was going smoothly I relaxed.  It was late in the day when I decided to get up on a ladder to paint closer to the cathedral ceiling.  As I was leaning over to put the last touches of red on the highest flower, the ladder tipped over to the left and I went right.  Unfortunately my ankle went left with the ladder.  The good news is that I am fine, the bad news is that I tore some ligaments in my ankle and cannot swim for at least a few weeks....

Swimming!

I was almost born on Lake Ontario one beautiful late summer day.  My parents were out sailing on our old 20 foot Lightning late in the afternoon in what they said was a fair breeze of 10-15 knots (small craft warning range).  My father absolutely loved sailing in squalls and storms and on this day he was in his element.  As the sun sank past the yard arm my mother felt her first contractions.  By the time my father docked the boat and secured the rigging I was determinedly on my way.  According to family lore I was born mere minutes of coming ashore.

I have always attributed the circumstances of my birth for my love of all things water.  I feel so natural in the water...  swimming, sailing, skiing, fishing, you name it.  When I am in the water the world floats away with all it's demands, tensions and stress.  Swimming is my meditation...

I cannot remember learning how to swim.... swimming is as natural to me as breathing.  My mother had worked her summers as a teenager teaching swimming lessons and she said that she taught me to swim by age  2 1/2 years old. If you gave me a choice of running or swimming a marathon I would choose swimming every time.

When I went to high school I joined the swim team.  At that time there wasn't a girl's swim team so I became the first female swimmer on the boys swim team at Nottingham High School.  I mostly swam distance though my favorite strokes are butterfly and free.  My best event is a 200 yd IM (Individual Medley which is a 50 fly, 50 back, 50 breast and 50 free).  I swam and played waterpolo through college and started swimming Masters after graduating.  Masters is a swim program for adults over 21.  The events are judged by age groups each encompassing 5 years.  I love this because as you get older so do the swimmers with whom you compete!  I love it when I "age up"!

Currently I am a New England Master Swimmer and I am a member of two different pools.  Why two pools you might ask... well, Atkinson Pool in Sudbury is close to home and the Beede Center in Concord is on my way to work.  Both pools have a master's program so I can pick and choose what workouts I want to do.

Swimming is my passion, relaxation, meditation and sometimes raison d'etre.