FLORIDA, Dec. 3, 2022
It was great connecting with old friends and making a few new ones at the Chris Jackson Memorial SCM meet held December 3rd-4th in Coral Springs, Florida.
We enjoyed great weather, the meet was well run and it was just the right size so everyone had a lot of fun!
Not unexpectedly, my times were off due to lack of training from my recent skin cancer treatment. So instead, I shifted my focus to watching and listening to the stores shared to my fellow U.S. Masters swimmers at the meet.
The common theme was that no matter what’s happening in your life, sometimes you just need to show up.
“I swam that 400m free to see where I was at…and it’s not good.”
“I’m still dropping time. Not bad for a 66-year old!”
“Why not do the 800m free?”
“I have to be careful to not warm or cool down too much as it will exceed the amount of yardage I do in training.”
“The recent hurricane took out our pool. I haven’t been able to train for five weeks. But I’m here anyway.”
“My times would have been better if I had remembered to bring my Fast Pants.”
“I missed the wall in backstroke. I guess I should have listened to my coach as he reminded me to check the flags in warm up.”
“I love swimming the 200m fly!”
“I just put both my parents in a nursing home with early dementia. I don’t feel like I’ve slept for a month.”
“It doesn’t matter how old you are, we still want faster.”
“I’m recovering from a recent surgery. I showed up anyway. I might care about my times, but the water doesn’t. The water says…just swim!”
The bottom line is that as we age our bodies change and are VERY different from when we were younger.. Recovery time will take longer. Times most likely will slow down. We will have major and minor health issues to deal with and life will throw some curve balls at us.
However, the water doesn’t mind if you are slower, older, injured and certainly has no idea of your weight!
Instead, the water INVITES you in with the one promise that she will make you feel better. Better about yourself. Better about your body. Better as a friend, spouse or parent. Just plain BETTER.
So just show up to the “blocks of life” and dive in. You will never know what you could have accomplished if you don’t show up.
