Wednesday, January 26, 2011

The Real Deal!

If you know me or have known me as a triathlete, you know I am not a swimmer. I didn't grow up swimming nor was I on a team. This was unfortunate as we had a pool in our backyard which was perfect for swimming. Problem with that is I really much rather float on a raft in the pool or be under the water playing games.




Then I grew up and started really swimming. Now granted, I never had instructions, just conned my buds into doing a triathlon with me. This was in 1996. We were signed up for the Danskin's womens tri in San Jose and we were doing it! We would meet and swim three times a week for that 1/2 mile swim we were doing. That was the beginning.



Fast forward 12 years and now I am in masters when a new coach walks on deck. A big gruff looking guy but obviuosly very well versed walks over to my lane and says "I don't think I have ever met anyone so lazy in the water?" WTF? I'm not lazy?


I got pissed and left immediately. But I never stopped thinking about what he said. I went back to the next practice though and actually started listening to his advice. I paid attention to things he told people and took him up on every offer he gave for instruction/lessons/extra practices. He let me swim at times when nobody else was around and would meet me at 5am on the weekends to give me lessons before I trained for the day.

This morning came my shining moment. After practice, coach said "You are a swimmer now!"" Music to my ears. Tons of hard work to follow of course, the only place to go from here is up. Yep, the real deal!

2 comments:

  1. See- that is cool. That coach challenged you, and you stepped up to the challenge, which made him respect you even more. Praise from a coach like that means a lot more than praise from a coach who gives it freely and maybe a bit more randomly. Nice work.

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  2. I LOVE LOVE reading about athlete's progress with swimming b/c it is such a hard sport to become really good at as an adult...compared to those who grew up in the water! GOOD FOR you and good for that coach! :) great one! Happy laps! Hope you are well !

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