That's Our Girl

This chick is becoming my new idol. Long after she should have been out of competitive waters, she is still doing her thang. Check this out. http://sports.yahoo.com/top/news?slug=ap-torresreturn&prov=ap&type=lgns

Can't Wait

....For this. Okay, so maybe some background info is needed here. About 2 years ago, my squishy self decided I wanted to make my great return to the pool since almost a decade earlier. At first it was terrible, providing me a heart-wrenching blow to my ego. We all relive our glory days, knowing, just knowing, that, should we choose to return to our sport, we could pick up right where we left off. But I did return, only to find that I could barely swim 25M without looking like I was drowning. Thanks to a lifeguard at the YMCA, I kept up and by last summer, I was swimming over 70 laps, sometimes twice a day. I didn't lose weight, but I sure felt better.
I kept swimming anywhere I could...The YMCA lap lanes, the community pool. Some of it was comical. Picture me in full garb: competition suit, cap, goggles, force gloves. Surrounded by senior citizens who do not want their hair to get wet and small children with their mommies. I will never, ever forget the old man who said to me "Nice rack, sweetheart" as I waited for him to quit floating in my lap lane.
So this link, the one I provided at the start of this post, is the University of Cincinnati Recreation Center's pools. Yes, the plural was intentional. And they shall be mine, all mine because access is free to students. I have the greatest intentions. I can see swimming laps after class before heading home. Add this to my work routine and study schedule, but do not ask me when I plan on sleeping. I haven't figured that part out yet. You can add that one to the Questions-Not-To-Be-Asked List, right along with this one: Andrea, where are you going to get the courage to parade around in a swimsuit amidst 18-22 year old girls??? I don't want to think of that one either, as I have no answer other than that the sweats and tee will stay on all the way until I am completely submerged.
But in the meantime, this all shall be mine. All 50 sparkling meters of chlorinated excellence. In the words of my hubby: "OooooRAHHHHHH!"

Wednesday, September 17, 2008: I Miss the Water

When we suddenly got poor right before our Summer of Hell, and the family YMCA membership ceased to exist, I used the complex pool to swim my laps everyday. Sometimes several times a day. Reclaiming our right to use the Y was low on the rebuilding-our-life totem pole because John could run without a treadmill, and I didn’t have to have a heated indoor pool. But then Labor Day happened and the pool closed. Then we moved. Dammit, I am going back to the Y this week. Over the past couple of weeks, I could feel my energy drain, feel my muscles tighten. I need to get back to it.

OMG

First of all, I am typing this as I sit with my left shoulder on ice. Force gloves are wonderful....when you are in shape, that is. I, well---I am not in shape. So My shoulder feels like it is trying to detach itself from my body at the moment, and I am still sitting here typing this. How's that for dedication?

I am also multi-tasking like only a mother can. In other words, there is a load of laundry going in the washer, and in the dryer. I have meat for dinner defrosting, sauce cooking. Nah, I don't deserve a cookie for this. In all honesty, I would be loafing if my child were not screaming that he is going to starve to death. I assure you he is not. He still has that toddler Buddha belly at the age of almost-7. It is more than likely that his "I'm starving!" is more like the equivalent of "I am no longer full from lunch." How do you explain the difference to a little boy? And so I am cooking.

My child is also the source of a big ol' gross-out today. I am sorting through laundry, when I stumble across denim with a glop of brown muck on it. I didn't delve into the pile to see whose jeans they were, but instead yelled for John. I made him smell the mystery substance and from the look on his face, deduced that it was indeed dog poop. But here is the enigma. It was in the middle of the back of the leg. Not by the ankle or the hem. By the knee. And they were my beloved child's jeans. WTF? How did he do that? So the imagery pops into my head of what he would have had to have done to get that there. My original theory I had as a little girl in kindergarten was bang-on, it seems. Boys ARE yucky!

I Cried

He did it. John and I were sitting together, watching the 4 x 100 Medley Relay last night. Well, actually, John was sitting. I was somewhere in between a sit, a kneel, and a stand, screaming "Pull! Pull! Pull!" at the television as if they could hear me. Somewhere in the middle of the last 50, I got a little teary-eyed as I saw Lezak moving in on the wall, knowing that they were doing it. Michael Phelps has been my hero for a long time. I suspect that he has become a household name associated with greatness now. It is my hope that his performance will help elevate swimming to the level of other forms of athletic competition. It is not easy. Let me rephrase that: If it seems easy, you're doing it wrong. If your arms do not feel like Jell-O when you get out of the water, then you did not leave it all in the pool.

So last night, I watched. And cheered. And Screamed. And yes, I cried. And I was proud that this young guy who was the first to motivate me back into the pool after many years was the one who gave the performance that will go down in history. I'm proud that he is a swimmer-- not a runner or some volleyball player. And I knew I was witnessing history. After all of the clips they showed of Mark Spitz in a time when I had yet to be born, I knew that when they show these clips of Phelps as the years pass, I can say I was watching.

Inspiration

This is the man. John and I have been watching the Olympics since they started, and being a swimmer, is it any wonder what my favorite event category is? But Michael Phelps! Whew. The guy was my hero long before the Olympics started, and I am sure that he has gained some new followers with his performance in Beijing. I am in no manner comparing myself to him, but watching reminded me of what I was once capable of in the water. I have found myself wanting to step it up in the pool recently and have been swimming as much as 70 laps a day. Not much, but considering I haven't really swam competitively since high school, I think it is a great start. I need to work out the upper body though. I have found that my stroke is not as powerful as it once was, so I went and bought some force gloves, and we will see what that does. The kick is still good. I cannot wait to try them out in the morning.