Hi everybody, welcome again to Jen Tries! For these of you who don’t know me, I’ve a historical past of difficult myself to attain athletic targets. Running half-marathons, competing in triathlons … spin class. This week, I attempted to swim a mile with out stopping.
A mile is 66 lengths within the Weinstein Natatorium, the swimming pool in Kirby Sports Center — 1,650 yards.
I didn’t put together for this in any respect. My {qualifications} are: I swam on a summer season swim workforce from the age of 5 to fifteen, and I carb-loaded for dinner the night time earlier than making an attempt this problem. I used to be feeling a bit nervous, solely counting on my previous swimming expertise and the vitality from my delectable pesto fettuccine.
I placed on my orange tiger swimsuit and packed up my Kevin Jonas tote bag with all of my swimming requirements. I used to be able to go.
I arrived on the pool at roughly 8:45 p.m., quarter-hour after the pool opened for open swim, which left me with an hour and quarter-hour to get this accomplished. There was just one lane open: lane 4. I claimed my spot and began to mentally put together.
I requested Abby Gallagher ‘27, the lifeguard on responsibility and a distance swimmer for the Lafayette College swimming and diving workforce, what it takes to swim a mile.
“You definitely need endurance, I will say, and you need determination, because it is not for the faint of heart,” she mentioned.
This couldn’t be more true. After the preliminary shock of leaping into the water, which was an ideal 79 levels Fahrenheit, my first few laps felt nice. Then, the subsequent 10 laps felt horrible. I needed to have interaction all of my muscular tissues and take into consideration my type to ultimately attain stream state.
The laps began flying by. I used to be having fun with the rhythm of my freestyle and letting my thoughts wander. My Apple Watch was one lap off, so 67 lengths later, I used to be accomplished, and I used to be exhausted.
“You had some good high elbow catch,” Gallagher mentioned after I requested how my mile went. “And pushing off the walls with your streamline, all helps make it easier.”
I appreciated her beneficiant phrases, however it took me 32:02.65 to finish. For comparability, Jenn Nunn ‘10 holds the college document for the 1,650 with a time of 17:22.49.
I believe it’s truthful to say that I most likely wouldn’t have accomplished nicely on the swimming and diving workforce. However, I’ve lots of love for swimming, and I plan to proceed swimming throughout open swim; possibly not a mile, however at the least just a few strong laps. My actual takeaway right here is that willpower and a pasta dinner can get me by powerful athletic challenges.
There is an open swim at Weinstein Natatorium every single day of the week besides Saturdays. Don’t inform anybody, although, I’m attempting to gatekeep it.