"Try-Athletes" day 2: swimming, THE UPDATE

THE UPDATE: We are kicked out of swimming.

8:30PM: *high fives between Kirsten, Jenny & Terri as we finish our first hour of swimming*

JENNY: "Terri!! We're not allowed back until we go to adult swim lessons!"
TERRI: "What?"
JENNY: "That's what he said! 'Maybe you should try some adult swim lessons and THEN come back. This is too advanced for you.'"
*stunned looks pass between us*
TERRI: "I thought we were only swimming."
JENNY: "Me too!"

Earlier that evening...
6:25PM - I hop into my SUV and take off to Jenny's house. I'm supposed to be there at 6:35, but as soon as I get in I see that I need gas so I figure I have a couple of extra minutes to do that. By the time I get gas, I have wasted approximately 5 minutes and Jenny has texted and called me, asking if I am still going swimming. This, from the girl who always makes fun of me for coming early to pick her up. So I get to her house at 6:40.

Immediately, we take off to Kirsten's house. Jenny tells her to get ready so we can zoom on downtown ASAP. God knows we wouldn't want to be late on our very first swimming day!! We are excited and nervous. We spent a lot of time picking our bathing suits and giving each other pep talks. We're going to nail this.

We get to the pool and Jenny tells us that she is the boss so we have to follow her because she already got directions from Brent. Sacred Heart. So obviously, she gets in front and we roll our eyes behind her back. She then skids out on the slippery floor, and everything is back on an even keel. Meanwhile, we all look like meth addicts with those shiny eyes because we are scared to death and excited at the same time, plus giggling crazily.

So then we go to this random grey door and ask these random men (all the while following Jenny) if this is the door to the pool. Of course they say no (it's probably the electrical room)... and they point us down the hallway... we then try to figure out which door leads to the pool - I saved us because I figured the pool would not be in the same room as the ice rink - quick thinking on my part, I must say.

So we get into the change room. And we are face & eyes into naked people. Hello. We were not expecting that so quickly. But it's all good. It's a nice way to get to know people. How's it going 'bout it? Nancy came in not long after us and she showed us everywhere we needed to go and all the gear we needed to get.

So we got our gear on and the rest of it stowed and off we go. Kirsten and I put on our goggles on right from the get-go so we looked like amphibians coming straight out of the dressing room. We wrapped our towels around us and being convinced no one would recognize these amphibious beings, we left the change room.

7:30PM
When we got to our swim area, all the experienced people did various backflips and snazzy dives and other Olympic things to get into the pool (not really, but we're sure they could have) while the coach (Jenny and I later named him Swim Coach Soldier) brought us to a beautiful white board that told us what we were going to do that evening. We were all very excited. There were all kinds of numbers and letters and I had no idea what anything meant but I'm sure someone would tell me, so away we went. But first, the coach said, "Don't worry about impressing me. This is the time when you need to get things right" (or something to that effect). 'No problem,' we said, 'we are not impressive, we are just here to swim.'

And off we went. We sat on the edge of the pool, and then slid in (like alligators, not Marilyn Monroe). Kirsten used to be a synchronized swimmer. Jenny took lessons. I didn't take lessons; I just went swimming in the river and ocean. So we all figured we would be all right.

We swam with boards and flippers and fins. We swam by ourselves. We swallowed water. From the pool - not bottles. Gross.

Jenny and I turned out to be special needs, according to the Swim Coach Soldier. Good thing we brought our Classroom Support Teacher, Kirsten, with us. She helped us with our breathing techniques. I need to do some practice at home. Jenny and I were going to take breaks on the off days. Now we can't. We need to work harder. We need to build strength and endurance. We are NOT giving up.

Kirsten, on the other hand, was swimming upside down and sideways, and was probably asked to join the Olympics. She was not kicked out of the swim club.

But Jenny and I were essentially 'booted out'. Jenny was insulted. She had to reiterate the convo for me because it didn't sink in at first. We had to discuss it for a long time.

8:35PM
In the change room, Nancy and a couple of other ladies told us not to worry about it. They said that we should be working at our own pace. And really, we weren't booted out. We were told that we would benefit from becoming stronger swimmers on our own before working on this program (& before trying to become triathletes). Well, we are Try-athletes. It really is the special version, because we are not quite at the 'Tri' part yet. We're working on it. We can't do the bikes yet and we certainly won't be able to run, either.

In regards to swimming, Jenny also asked her roommate to help us and he agreed. We are enlisting everyone we can. We are not giving up. We are being positive and proactive. And this is a little roadblock on day 2 that means nothing. We will fix this. So there, Swim Coach Soldier. What's up about it?

Bathing suits - $80
Goggles - $10
Swim cap - $20
Being kicked out of swim club on your first practice - PRICELESS

In short:
Who gets kicked out of practice?
Terri & Jenny.
Why?
Because we don't know how to breathe.

Kirsten said it's good for us to get kicked out - now we know how it feels when a student gets booted out. I love the honesty in our group. You know you are all mature adults when your friend group can tell you that you are fat and lazy and that it's good that you have to take your own medicine. At least we don't have to bust out the Irish and say, "Why don't you say it to my face, then?" because everyone is saying everything to everyone else's face all the time. This is the best thing we can do for each other. Good for us.

8:45PM
We all went to A&W for Teen Burgers afterwards. It was a long day & we needed to regroup.

10:00PM
Now our arses hurt from yesterday and our arms are tired from today.

Kirsten became a Try-Athlete tonight. Lisa, JoAnn and Mat are joining tomorrow. Brent's Triathlon Club has gained 6 members this week. Yay! Fees are due on payday, folks! Talk to Brent about that.

So, while we were insulted initially, we are fine now. We have work to do. We are not perfect and we know that. We are out of shape and lazy and we have not been swimming in years. No sugar-coating for us. We will do what it takes to get the job done. We want to be healthy (and HOT) so this is what it takes. We may have to swim in the old folks lane, but so be it. We're in the pool, and we're working on it.

We're going to go skating, too. All three of us think that might be a good idea. We can learn together. May as well. Hopefully we don't get kicked off the ice. My God, we can't be that much trouble!

So, Jesus, Mary & Joseph, give us the strength we need to keep going because our arses are going to need it, especially tomorrow night. And send us some courage, too, 'cause sometimes the going gets tough. (And yes, that was a prayer - it doesn't matter where you are - God hears you no matter what!)