On Becoming An Athlete at 52, swimming in my first USA Swimming meet, Day 2

Today is the day.  I am swimming in my first USA swimming meet, the 3^rd meet I have done in my new career as an athlete.  I feel pretty good during warm-ups and I am getting a handle on how to flip with all the bodies in front of me.  I even start analyzing the strokes of my age group swimmers as I see the underwater portion of their stroke, up close and personal. 

 

A man waiting to be a timer offers this advice after seeing me struggle to get up on deck. He says, “There are ladders built into the side of the pool, the handles are removed, but maybe the steps will help.”  It does help, but I still can’t do it alone. 

 

As I prepare to do some practice starts, I stand on the custom made blocks at the north end of the pool in lane 4 where I have seen Jenny Thompson start the 50 free.  I grasp the bars on the side that are built into the block.  There is enough room on this block to put my back foot pretty far back.  It feels comfortable.  First start, I get water in my goggles and I am too deep.  Second start, I smack my thighs on the water, but goggles are clear and start is not too deep.

 

I still feel tight, but I have a small window of about 3 minutes to get a little more swimming in before my first race.  After I swim a 100 in the warm up pool, I go to my lane for the race.  I am swimming in the same heat with 2 of my swimmers.  I know they will finish way before me.  That is not important.  I hope to break 4 minutes.  I dive in and feel pretty good, although I am deep and come up about halfway down the pool.  I feel high in the water and I feel strong.  Wham, on the 2^nd 50, I feel like lead and I have 150 yards to go.  I think about keeping my stroke rate up and remind myself to finish my stroke and kick.  Flip turns feel like a holding-my-breath contest.  At the end, I try and sprint as much as I can, I really want to break that 4 minute mark.  I look at the scoreboard-4:03.  I will have to break 4 minutes the next time.  I hear my swimmer’s parents applauding and cheering.  I swim over to the ladder and the meet ref asks me to wait for the start of the next heat.  They start and she leans over, “ Good swim.” 

 

I get out and watch the rest of the next heat since some of my swimmers are in it. 

 

I really want to warm down, everything is tight again.  I can get in only 200 before I need to get out and coach again.

 

The 50 free will be right after the 200 back and I will not have time to warm up again.

 

In the 50 free I am swimming again with 2 of my swimmers.  When we step up to the blocks, we look at each other and give each other a thumbs up and grin.  The girls say, “  Good luck, Kay Lynne.”  I say, “ Have fun.” 

 

I dive in and kick really hard underwater.  I come up and start moving my arms as fast as I can.  Wow, this is fun.  I feel incredible.    I can’t believe how fast I feel and I look up a little and I see the wall.  That came up much faster than I expected.  The turn is a little close but not bad.  I keep sprinting and about 7 yards from the end, it becomes difficult.  I say to myself, “ Keep going, move it!” And then my trainers voice pops into my head, “it’s the end of the 400.”  Of course it is not, but that is what he always says when I am pushing my body to move when it starts to get hard.   I breathe once in the last 5 yards.  I hit the wall hard and turn to look for the time.  I hear whooping and hollering from the stands.  I wanted to get a 43 and I get a 44.  But I am happy; in fact, I want to swim this race again.  That is the most concentrated dose of pure exhilaration I have had in a long time. 

 

In the locker room, an official who is there with her daughter asks me if I swam with the children.  I say yes, I swam 2 races.  She is surprised and asks how long I have been swimming and I reply since this summer.  She tells me my arms are buff.  I have never been told that I am buff before. 

 

When I get on the bus, the parents applaud.  This is nice.