Hope Floats

Some times the simplest things can lift your spirits. For me, it was a few words from my friend Kelly, in the middle of our swim session at the Y yesterday evening.

There was no Stroke Improvement Class last night, since we are between sessions. But, since we set Thursday nights aside for class anyway, Kelly emailed me and asked if I wanted to go to the Y and swim. I thought that was a good idea, and I arranged to meet her in the pool around 7:30, after she finished a half hour run upstairs on the track.

I got there a little before 7:30, found the frogman fins in the equipment closet, and did some warm up laps. I swam on New Year's day, but only for 20 minutes, and I was really feeling the post holiday bloat and the two week layoff since the last time I attended swim class. But hey, I was moving.

Kelly came down right on time, and just like always, I was glad to see her, and I felt better because she was there. Since there were 4 or 5 other laps swimmers there, we split a lane.

She said she was a little sore from lifting the day before - she had done a couple of exercises specifically designed to strengthen her the shoulders and lats, muscles you use a lot when you swim. (By the way, today I tried the two exercises she showed me, 15 reps of each with only 5 pound hand weights, compared to the 7 or 8 she was using, and I can understand why she was sore)

As usual, she was quick and smooth and strong in the pool, although when we talked between sets, she was quick to point out the flaw in her right arm movement during her crawl stroke, and her "terrible" backstroke. She only does the backstroke - she said - because Coach Aaron makes it part of our classes. Swears she would never do the stroke on her own, especially not during a tri. In addition to the crawl, back, breast and side strokes, she used a kickboard to isolate her legs, and then she used a pull-buoy http://swimming.about.com/cs/swimequipment/l/aa_swim_gear.htm to isolate her legs. She is almost as graceful in the water as she is when she runs, and that is say, it's a joy to watch her.

I ran through a similar workout, initially just kicking with the fins to isolate my leg muscles, first lying on my front and then on my back, then adding in my arms, doing laps with the crawl, breast and back strokes - but not the side stoke: I hate the side stroke. It was fun to swim with Kelly, but I felt leaden in the water beside her.

And then I started channeling Donna, who in two short 7 week Beginner's Sessions with Coach Aaron and Coach Bob has gone from breathing during the crawl stroke with her head out of the water, swinging it back and forth like Stevie Wonder doing Fingertips, Part 1, to doing beautiful, powerful strokes - with bi-lateral rotary breathing. That is, I decided to work on bi-lateral breathing.

Back and forth I went. It's easy to breathe to the left - for years I have turned my head that way while rotary breathing. The turn to the left has been complemented by my out of water activities, too. Because I play baseball and golf right handed, swinging both a baseball bat and a golf club require strong hip rotation to the left side. This makes left side breathing in the water comfortable and natural. Turning to the right, on the other hand, is hard. Can't seem to get enough hip or head rotation, I'm lifting my neck and head out of the water to breathe, I'm not getting nearly enough air, and more annoying, I am actually swallowing water way too often. I'm feeling pretty frustrated and wondering why I bother.

Kelly's been watching me, and asks me what I'm doing, I tell her. Then she asks why, and I tell her that, too - to try to get stronger on that side to overcome my tendency to drift left while doing the crawl stroke, and to help me sight better in during tri's with open water swims.

I swim another lap and when I get reach the end of the pool where she has been watching me she says, "You are swimming so much better than you were a year ago." No big deal to her, just a casual comment. Very big deal to me. In an instant, I remember that a year ago I could not even swim the crawl for more than a few yards without tiring, that I did all my tri's with the breast stroke. An in an instant, she has buoyed me far more than a thousand laps could ever do.

Because I am energized, and I feel light and strong, I do more laps, concentrating now on snapping my hips to the right, getting my head parallel to the water, and holding that extended arm for just a beat more. And it's working. Pretty amazing for just a few words. Wonder if they can bottle that?

So, Kelly, here's to you: Thanks! You're a great training partner and an even better friend.