Warrior Word

by Ruth Retta

Let’s say it’s your first day on the Edmonds-Woodway Girls Swim Team. Let’s see what’s in store for you this week! You joined the team on a Monday. Specifically, it is the week of October 20th and the Edmonds-Woodway Girls Swim Team has practice scheduled on Monday at the Lynnwood Recreation Center from 2:30-4:00 P.M. As soon as you enter the pool, a humid gust of chlorine hits your face and you see the swimmers crowd the pool deck. Some are adjusting goggles, some eating food, others pulling on their caps as people converse with one another, discussing their school day. The sounds of the water splashing echo throughout the building. Everybody is aware that practice will start soon but we still sit on the bench waiting for our coach to arrive and write down the workout.

To begin with, our team splits the six lanes with other schools. We jump into the pool and the waters freezing for the first few laps before our bodies warm up.  Our typical warm up looks like this: a 300 yard swim, six laps back and forth, a 200 yard kick, and a 100 yard swim using a pull buoy. Although this set gets repetitive after a while, it’s a classic. Most swimmers do a kick-pull set with different variations. This familiar warm-up heats up our bodies and puts us in the zone for our workout.

Later, Michael, our coach, re-orders our lanes so that our speeds’ match up with the send off attached to each lane. Meaning everyone does the same set but some lanes can go on a faster or slower interval.  Our main set consists of 4×200’s freestyle at 2:40. Our coach tells us that it’s fine if all the swimmers don’t make it this time. When I finish my first set, I can already tell how difficult it is going to be. Everybody is doing an all-out swim! By the second 200 the others and I hang onto the wall in agony, with dread-ridden faces. We are too tired to talk so we communicate through facial expressions. One girl calls out “I’m done!” implying that she was sitting out the next repetition and everyone laughs under their breath since it is the week before the Northwest District. Even though this set is difficult it is moments like these, when everyone is exhausted, that the team feels closest.

Next, we do two other sets: one set focused on dolphin kick, specifically 12×25’s of underwater dolphin kick to perfect and work on our streamlines. We also focus on a breath control set of 12×25’s. With each 25-yard swim, we take one less breath. For instance, we take three breaths on the first 25, two on the next 25, and one breath on the third, with none on the fourth repetition. After reaching zero breaths we start the pattern again. Finally, we finish up with dives from the block as usual. Typically, we dive in and do a fast underwater break out and then sprint to the halfway mark but today Michael decided to switch it up. Like I said, this is the week before our districts so instead we do four all out 50s for a while to see what track we’re on. Michael advocates for swimmers to try fast break outs and keep our tempos’ up. I do freestyle for all four of my timed 50s since I am racing the 500 freestyle at districts. Michael tells me that I do not need to go all out but I still need to put in more effort. After my first timed fifty, he advises me to try faster arms when taking strokes. On my second fifty, I go much faster and feel drained. I think to myself, “How in the world is this the pace of a 500 freestyle race?”

Since we only have three lanes (remember we are splitting with another team) three people can go at a time so it takes four rounds for everyone to finish one rep. While we are waiting for our next repetition all the swimmers linger around the edge of the hot tub. Complaints fill the air along the lines of “I hate this!” or “God, I’m tired,” until all the complaints blur together. I just sit there, recollecting my breath and thoughts, while chatting with my friends, Lauren and Katherine. Once everyone is done, Coach tells us to enter the water and do a 175 cool down precisely. If you’re wondering why it’s 175 yards, remember we are diving from the blocks for our last set so we are on the end side of the pool. Therefore, doing 175 would land us to where we began at the end of the pool while 200 yards would land us on the other side.

Anyways, everyone slides back into the water to complete the cool down, though “complete” might be generous. Instead of actually swimming, most of the team cools down at a leisurely pace, doing handstands, splashing around, and drifting to the shallow side of the pool while a few swimmers actually finish the set. Caps start to come off as people prepare to get out, signaling that practice is truly done. The cool down time of practice is my favorite part because I finally get to take things slow. Once I finish my cool down, me and my friends do a few handstand holding competitions before we exit the pool. And just like that practice is done. We grab our towels and flip flops, head to the locker rooms, and leave, fully aware that in less than 24 hours we’ll be back in the same lanes doing it again. See you at 2:30!