Year Seven

For seven years I have swum with the Rochester Area Masters, and coached by Lorie Rick. We swim on Wednesday and Friday mornings from 5:45-7:15, and it's one hell of a group. I am in the stud lane, not by ability but by choice. Frequent;y my mornings consist of "rest" intervals which are a touch to the wall, a breath and go. But that's fine with me. To get faster and stay faster I have to be the slowest in the fastest lane. And the stud lanes are filled with a great cast of characters.

Mark. Mark is a former swimmer from somewhere and I believe he swam in the 96 Olympic trials. He's got a beautiful swimmer wife names Julie and 3 darling boys. When we do 50's Mark does 75's. When we do 100's, Mark does 150's. The greatest thing about Mark is that he will not allow you to stop for him to pass. He passes you. Like a snake he will wave between 2 oncoming swimmers before you ever knew he was there. Mark also can not slide into the pool. He must walk to the center and dive in. We all have our rituals.

Dr. Les. Dr. Les and I met on the Lake Ontario Parkway, during the Hamlin Beach triathlon. He didn't like me for 3 seconds because I passed him. Then we became friends. When we were in a horrific bike accident 3 years ago, I was holding his head in the middle of the road while his shoulder and hip layed in unnatural positions. At the same time I was screaming at him to stay awake I called his wife. "Hi, this is Mary. Les is still breathing." I told her. Way to go Mary, I had forgotten to tell her we all crashed. Unfortunately that crash ended Dr. Les' cycling career, but he still swims like a freak. And his collection of suits? Unmatchable.

Dana. Dana is the first to enter the water most days and has a work ethic to die for. She's a very talented athlete not only in the pool but is an amazing runner as well. As she gains comfort on the bike she will become quite a threat in the triathlon world as well. Dana's suit and goggles and cap... they always match.

Bill. Bill has lost 30 pounds and even on his self proclaimed slow days is still damn fast. He might be the kindest person in the world and is always good for a smile or a sarcastic comment on how hard the set is. I have been promising him a "Mary's cup of coffee" for quite some time now.

Maureen. Maureen is another talented swimmer and she can run as well. Another kind soul she is full of encouragement and is always smiling. She's one of those people whom you just love to swim with and don't mind if she laps you a hundred times.

Erik. Erik Grimm has somewhere earned the nickname Kong. And if you can associate any visual picture with the word Kong.... that's how Erik swims. He still roasts me in the pool and each practice we lock arms, or I earn some sort of horrid hit from him. I have already warned him that this season my paddles are bigger and sharper. Erik and I are the pure triathletes of the group (we are winning over Dana and Ken however) and we race breaststroke. Imagine the 2 worst breaststrokers you have ever seen.. that's us. Hammering each other for the win of 25 yards. I am determined to take him this season.

Ken. Ken is my favorite. I have to start off with my botched attempt at getting Ken signed up for Ironman Lake Placid. I waited in line for 3 hours for my spot. Then I waited another 3 for his. As the woman was writing his name on the voucher.... Graham Fraser himself came onto the scene and declared that from this point on no one signs up anyone but themselves. I almost cried. They would not let me finish Ken's voucher. With that said I feel indebted to Ken now. Ken is a super fast swimmer who has a strangely timed stroke (again he is much faster than I). I swear there are days when Ken wants to kill me ... for whatever reason.... and then he will crack a smile. It is my goal this season to not be lapped by Ken during a 200. Good luck on that one.

There are so many more faces on this amazing team whom I have grown to love seeing at 5:45 am. None more so than my amazing coach. Coach Lorie has a swimming background that makes your head spin. She's tough, she's direct, and she's damn honest. She also gives me cupcake and cookie recipes that make me the hero of first graders. I hope I never have to swim for anyone other than Coach Lorie. She knows me, she knows hot I function. The first week I learned never to mention that I had ran of cycled already.... there are no excuses in our pool. That's what I need and that's what I love.

So here is to year #7. I can't wait till the morning and I can see my lane mates smiling faces. And Grimm.... watch out because I am taking you on that 25 yards breaststroke!

:-) mary