swim lanes

i was on my way to my daughters swim meet the other day. it was early morning and i was out of the house early, as i drove i checked email and found the meet was an hour later than i thought, so i decided to go to starbucks and have a coffee to kill time. i found a comfy chair and sat down with a book (internet is not free in starbucks in the us, one more reason i like to be in asia). a woman walked up and asked to sit in the chair next to me, we started to talk and when i told her i was on my way to a swim meet she smiled and told me she i was swim coach.

there is something about swimmers, once you are one you can sense others as you move though life. most of the girls i dated in high school and college also swam. swimming is a passion, it’s not a surprise that i passed this onto my kids, the oldest two are swimmers and lifeguards, the youngest wants to be a coast guard rescue swimmer. as we sat and talked about life, travel and other random things it was swimming that was the core connection that we seemed to have. does it seem funny to you that a sport where you are unable to talk to anyone one else while you are doing it helps people to find the ability to talk easily when out of the water?

i got to the meet and sat next to a woman i love. we spent the next 4 hours sitting, talking and watching kids swim in the first meet of the year. we watched our daughter stress out until the heat she was swimming butterfly was over, and then we watched her relax and simply swim for the fun of it.

as the time passed, as i watched kids swim up and down the pool, i realized swimming really is a good sport for kids. we place them into a environment which they learn to glide effortlessly though, one that terrifies others who have not learned the techniques they have to control their bodies, their breathing and their level of effort to allow them finish the race and come up with a smile. swimming more than any other sport is one of technique, it’s what separates those who can swim and those that don’t.

but there is more to swimming, during practice and warm ups, swimmers share a lane, they pace themselves to move in unison, to not bump into the swimmer in front of them and to stop from having the girl doing a flip turn from smashing into them at full speed as they prepare to do their down flip turn and avoid the guy behind them. they also learn to find the right lane, to swim with those who move at about the same pace and to move themselves up or down a lane as the other swimmers become to fast or slow for them.

swim lanes are subject of pride. our daughter was just telling me that she was embarrassed that on the new team she was still in lane 4, she felt she should be in lane 5, with the faster kids, but that on her new team she was not good enough for that. as we talked, i could tell she both accepted the situation and was ready to change it. there is no avoiding the fact that you are getting lapped, and that people are literally tapping you on the foot to tell you that you need to move faster or allow them to pass you. it’s not something you can hide from yourself or anyone else and you only have yourself to motivate to improve.

swim lanes during a meet are singular. each lane only has one swimmer in it at a time. as each swimmer touches the wall a new swimmer may go in relay, only one is swimming at any given moment. this singularity is balanced by the team work of the relay, four people working to finish one distance. the hardest part of this for new swimmers is to wait for the tone telling them to go, or the swimmer in front of them to touch. if anyone goes too quickly, they are dqed (disqualified) and the entire team loses.

swim lanes also allow the fastest swimmer to finish their times, and to allow the other swimmers to finish their own. one of the best elements of swimming is that no one leaves the pool until all the swimmers have finished. the slowest swimmer is congratulated by the swimmers around them for finishing the race, they are never left in the pool alone. that would be a major breach of swimmer etiquette. everyone is cheered, even when they are the slowest person in the pool.

we watched our daughter and her team compete that day. i realized we are now swimming in different lanes. we are no longer a relay team, trying to finish the same race together, but have moved to swim solo, or on other teams. our lanes separate us and keep us safe from bumping into each other. the waves are suppressed by the lanes and the distance between them. these are all positive things; they allow us to be safe and to stop people from bumping into each other. but it also comes at a price, you get used to swimming with people over time, you get used to the rhythms and movements, you miss it when you are swimming alone.

swimming does help you as you go through life. you know you are cold, but that a shower is waiting for you when you get out of the pool. you know you are thirsty, and the water around you is not the solution to that thirst. you know you are in pain, but that recovery will be fast because you are practiced dealing with this pain. you know the workout is long, but that you can finish it.

you also know that sometimes you are alone in the pool, but that means the water is clean and placid. it’s a way to not have to tap the foot in front of you, or to feel the tap on your foot. you get used to having your own lane and to building your own work outs. you get used to needing to breathe on both sides and to learning to flip turn so you don’t lose too much time as you change direction.

swimming in your own lane is great, but swimming with others really is the best part. even when its crowded, you can just watch the bubbles in front of you and know that the end of the lap is coming when the water stops churning in front of you.