In my last blog I was just finishing up my course of antibiotics so by now my two OWS had given me some type of bug and symptoms that were eerily similar to SIPE (Swimming Induced Pulmonary Edema). About this time I was starting to swim at the gym again on a regular basis. However two different times in a row I showed up and they were having Master's Swim which I was too scared to join, and irritated that the gym couldn't post the swim schedule changes. The second time I showed up when they were having Master's Swim there was still an open lane so I jumped in and started hammering away at my swim. After the third or fourth lap I pulled up to catch my breath and I hear "Pete"? I looked over and there was a couple buddies from college, John and Paul, in Master's Swim. On this particular day, they were the only two there. We had a brief conversation about Master's and they convinced me that I should give it a shot. Well from that day on I started swimming on Tuesday Master's Swim. Well for a couple weeks anyway. The Tuesday Master's Swim class was dwindling and several days in a row I was the only one to show up. Eventually we got it figured out and for some time I was getting one-on-one instruction which was awesome. It really helped me with my swim technique and get accustomed to doing some drills in the pool rather than randomly swimming whatever I felt like that day.
Addition to Master's Swim (Jan 1, 2014)
Master's Swim has been a wonderful additional to my training program. While I can't say it's done magic and made me into a swimmer, I can say it has provided the constant motivation to continue to work on my swimming. Once winter started the Master's group grew tremendously and some days we are swimming three to four people per lane. And I am almost consistently the slowest but I am getting faster. Today, at a fundraising event at the YMCA we had a timed mile swim and I am proud to say I completed it in 35:12. My goal was 36:00 or under so I am happy. When I got into the pool I noticed one of the better swimmers from Master's was next to me and I realized he would be lapping me quite frequently. What I didn't realize until into the swim a little ways, was that he would be doing it swimming the backstroke. Yep, I was lapped multiple times by someone swimming the backstroke. But that's okay, last years there were swimmers who swam faster using both the breast stroke and the fly....so it could have been worse!
The other good news is that my 1000 yard split was 19:02 which was 1:15 faster than my 1000 yard swim at the Queen City Triathlon back in June. I am improving, even if only a little.
Addition to Master's Swim (Jan 1, 2014)
Master's Swim has been a wonderful additional to my training program. While I can't say it's done magic and made me into a swimmer, I can say it has provided the constant motivation to continue to work on my swimming. Once winter started the Master's group grew tremendously and some days we are swimming three to four people per lane. And I am almost consistently the slowest but I am getting faster. Today, at a fundraising event at the YMCA we had a timed mile swim and I am proud to say I completed it in 35:12. My goal was 36:00 or under so I am happy. When I got into the pool I noticed one of the better swimmers from Master's was next to me and I realized he would be lapping me quite frequently. What I didn't realize until into the swim a little ways, was that he would be doing it swimming the backstroke. Yep, I was lapped multiple times by someone swimming the backstroke. But that's okay, last years there were swimmers who swam faster using both the breast stroke and the fly....so it could have been worse!
The other good news is that my 1000 yard split was 19:02 which was 1:15 faster than my 1000 yard swim at the Queen City Triathlon back in June. I am improving, even if only a little.