The Race

Two hundred yards. Two teams. Two swimmers per team. Two laps per swimmer, each swimmer alternating laps.

We were almost to the end of our last Stroke Improvement class, and this was Coach Aaron's final gift to us - a relay race. We were tired from the usual gamut of drills, and it was late, but this was a good idea, right? After all, we were all triathletes, and triathlons are races. So, let's figure out the teams and get to it!

Kelly and Sally are swimming without fins and they are the fastest - they can't be on the same team. Carol is swimming with long frogman fins and I am swimming with blue zoomers - we are the slower swimmers so we can't be on the same team. Carol is faster than me, and Kelly is faster than everyone else, so the teams should be Carol and Sally, and me and Kelly.

I want to be on Kelly's team - she's the best, and years of high school gym classes and neighborhood pickup games have taught me to size up the players and covet being on the team with the best. When you have been "blessed" with no talent and fewer skills, it's the only way to have a shot at winning.

Only this time, I am having second thoughts. I've been a triathlete all right, and I have competed in 8 tri's so far. But, because I am so slow, the only one I am ever competing with is myself, and no one else much cares whether I win or lose the competition with myself.

Kelly, on the other hand, is an athlete - a superb, competitive athlete, and she goes into races wanting to win, and she often does. Suppose I am on her team and we lose? Because of me? Kelly will say, "You did your best!" and "Good effort!", but she'll be disappointed. I'll decide that I'll risk it - I want to be on Kelly's team.

Kelly is faster than Sally. Carol is faster than me. Should be a good race.

Carol and I lead off. She is a bit a head of me, as I thought she would be. I am sloppy off the wall - no flip turns for either of us - and that ensures that I can't catch her coming back in, and she touches her partner first. I am not far behind and as soon as I touch her hand, Kelly drives off the wall and down the pool. She is really, really fast and she catches Sally, and has the lead on the way back in.

I swam my lap hard and I am standing in the shallow end of the pool, watching Kelly and gasping. Then it sinks in - in class, I always swim my "melt downs" - repetitive sprints - at a one-to-one ratio. That is, I sprint a lap in 45 seconds and then I rest for at least 45 seconds before sprinting again. Kelly always finishes her sprints in under 35 seconds. I am not going to be able to catch my breath by the time she comes in.

I am terrified of going hard into the deep end of the pool out of breath. I can't do it - won't try it. I tell Aaron I can't go. Gees, one lap in and I've screwed it up.

But Aaron asks Kelly if she can go again, and as soon as she figures out what's going on, she does! By this time, Carol is yards ahead of her, and kicking furiously. She beats Kelly back in, and touches. Sally knifes forward, arms churning.

By the time I start, Sally is five yards ahead. I'm pretty sure I can't catch her, but Kelly has swum her guts out and I go hard. I am sloppy off the wall - my suit has started to slip down my hips - and by the time I am around and kicking off, Sally is still five yards ahead. I hear Kelly cheering.

I picture Kelly's swift arm stoking in my head and I try to imitate her, cycling faster and faster. I shorten my kicks, and make them tight and strong, keeping my legs together. I am going faster, but my suit is starting to slide. I don't dare reach down to pull it up.

And then, a miracle - the five yards between me and Sally is down to three! By the middle of the pool I think, "I can catch her!" I put my face in the water and keep it there - breathing be damned. My lungs are screaming, but it's ok - I've done this in practice before and I know I can make it. I see the "T" at the end of the lane line, and then I am past Sally. I touch the wall and we've won!

I flop my arms over the edge of the pool, lean over and suck in the air. As soon as I can stand upright, I turn to Kelly and she high fives me. I tell her about almost losing my suit, and she tells her boys, who are watching, that there's almost been a full moon in the pool. They laugh - I guess it is pretty funny. I don't care, though - we've won.

I can tell from her expression and her exuberance and the sound of her voice that Kelly is very happy we have won. I feel like I have just taken a powerful narcotic. I can't believe how good I feel.

As soon as I catch my breath, Aaron has us all swimming cool down laps. He tells me I don't have to do them - he knows how tired I was after the race - but I'm on a high and there's no way I'm going to quit before I finish the workout.

As I climb out of the pool at the end of the laps, Kelly's husband Craig, who had been watching the class with their boys, comes over and says, "You were very strong in the pool tonight." This, from a superb athlete, who routinely wins races and triathlons. I am touched and the narcotics kick in again.

On this night, the stars and the planets aligned, and with the help of my friend and team mate Kelly the Quick, for one brief,ecstatic moment, I know what it is like to be and feel like a winner. It's amazing!

See you out there.