It has been over four years since I last swam in a
competitive swim meet. That was the Mid-American Conference Championship meet
in 2009 when I was a senior at the University at Buffalo. I had been swimming
for 12 years by then. Nine of those were year round. Four were in high school
competing at a highly competitive level and the final four were in college. I
remember those last four being extremely challenging and rewarding. But
ultimately they were physically, mentally, and emotionally draining on me. By
the time, I finished the MAC championships my senior year I had accomplished
nearly all my goals. I had broken the 50 second barrier in the 100 yard
butterfly (and set a school record in the process), earned various titles and
set a few team records, and even came close to qualifying for the US Olympic
Trials in 2008. Walking away from that meet, I simply had nothing left to give
to swimming.
Or so I thought. Eventually I found my way to triathlon
which obviously includes a swimming segment. However, I still didn’t qualify
this as swimming. While swimming 1 to 2.5 miles is certainly challenging in its
own right, the nerves of knowing you cannot afford mistake in a race that is
less than 25 seconds, going into oxygen debt in every race, swimming 10 times a
week and doing 60,000 yards a week begins to break you down. By comparison,
swimming 3 times a week is nothing. So when my girlfriend who is a US Masters
swim coach, asked me to swim in a meet I was hesitant.
After some deliberation, I decided to give it a shot. I
figured I would combine my triathlon pension for long distances in addition to
my usual sprint events that were my forte all through my swimming career. I
signed up to swim the 800m free, 400m free, 50m butterfly, 100m free, 200m
free, 100m IM, 50m free, and the 100m fly. In addition, I swam relays and all
the events were spread out over 3 days. (I’ve got to plug my nutrition sponsor
here Amrita Health Foods. Swimming 6 times over the course of the day doesn’t
really allow for eating so these energy bars were the bet to help me
refuel.)
The first was the 800. I went into the meet with high
expectations of being close to where I was during my swimming days so when I
went a 9:53, I was slightly disappointed. However, I did not swim it well and I
went out too fast in the first 400 split. This ended up costing me for the rest
of the race. The 400m free the following day was the same song and dance. This
was getting frustrating.
As I was waiting for my next event, I was talking to some of
my team mates on Great Bay Masters and they told me that I need to forget about
what I USED to swim and just enjoy the race. This is when things seemed to turn
a corner. I started swimming like I did during my days when I swam for the
Titans (some of my best days in swimming). No, I was not swimming as fast as I
used to but I was happy. Happy that with every stroke I felt powerful, that I
felt like the water was my domain once again. The closest I can compare it to
is that part in Chariots of Fire when
Eric said when he runs fast he can feel God’s joy.
Next up was the 50 butterfly. The butterfly is my favorite
stroke. I think I was destined to become a butterfly ever since I watched the 1996 Olympics when I tried to imitate it
on the living room floor in front of the TV (hey I was 8). The race went great
and I ended up earning second in my age group. I was really starting to feel
like my old self. My other events also went well and I was happy to see I was
only marginally slower than I was in one of my marquis events, the 50 free.
Another highlight was winning the 100m butterfly. This is the individual event
that I get most excited about. Even if I’m not swimming it, it’s my favorite to
watch and when they show it during the Olympics, the world stops for me. So
winning this event was really special to me.
So my individual events went well but I think the best races
were from the relays. This is when you truly get to experience a team during
swimming. It’s you and 3 of your team mates and the crowd always gets into it
and they are without a doubt the thing I missed most about swimming.
Overall, my first meet back was a lot of fun. I really enjoy
swimming with a Masters team and I highly recommend it to anyone. The best part
of Masters is, it is whatever you want it to be: Want to swim fast and shoot
for records? Want to get fit (and get a jump on those New Year’s resolutions)? Do
you want to improve your swimming for triathlons? Looking for a group to work
out with? US Masters swimming can be any of these things. Register here!
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