Swam with EMU two days in a row

Oct
24

Swam with EMU two days in a row

Posted by Kevin Doak on Saturday at: 8:39pm (October 24th, 2009)
I had a chance to hop in with EMU on Friday and swam for an hour and a half. Unfortunately had to get out early for an appointment, I would have loved to stay in for the sprint set they were doing. Today I woke up early to join their Saturday morning practice. It was around 5,000 yards followed by 4x100's MAX on the 12:00. The team was relieved to see 4x100's instead of the typical 6x100's!

It's interesting to practice with the college team I used to be a part of. I have a few different feelings about it. The most overwhelming feeling is simply pride. I'm proud that I'm 7-10 years older than these guys and I can still hang with them. I was actually leading my lane both days so I know I'm doing pretty well compared to them. I feel good that I can handle a job and life, yet still be competitive with these athletes "in their prime". I notice a sense of both confusion and comrodery when I'm on deck. Some wonder who I am, others are just happy and entertained to see me. I get handshakes and warm welcomes most times. I notice that I add something to the practice, sometimes it's smiles, as the swimmers notice an Alumni swimming in their practice. Sometimes it's a laugh... either me laughing at them, or them laughing at me, or both. Sometimes they simply say "look at that old guy swimming". Sometimes they're amazed at how fast I still swim. Yet then there's the times when I feel pathetic that I'm still training with college kids. It's at that point that I realize that the college swimmers are the only group around here that can challenge me. Which brings me full circle, feeling pride in my ability, determination and dedication to my sport. I love swimming and it shows.

The main series today was the 4x100's @12:00 min I mentioned earlier. I wish I could say I swam better, but it was still faster than any of the backstrokers swam today at practice:

52.54
56.63
57.61
56.71

I was holding back on the first one, but I don't train for these sets. My time significantly dropped off after the first one and I lacked the endurance to get through the set. Overall it was a blast training with EMU again, I'll probably drop in on them periodically to give myself a challenge. Until then, I'll keep swimming on my own.