The Wonders of Lycra

TOP: Koz and his dickydo

2nd: JR (former Yankee fan), Koz, Jerry Gill prepping for their relay

3rd: Carl slamming home a fly leg

4th: Carl on the blocks

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Well, today I went to my first masters swim meet in about 15 years. I've started getting back into swimming, and decided, oh, what the heck, I'd go try a meet just to get a baseline on where I was at physically.

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The meet was nearby in Canandaigua, one of my fav little towns, so grabbed some coffee and headed on down with a few of the folks. I scheduled to swim 6 events...roughly one for every 2 years I had taken off. NOTE TO SELF: Really dumb-ass idea...

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When we arrived, we ran into a whole bunch of former competitors and friends that we hadn't seen in years. Nice to be warmly welcomed, and the encouragement that comes with reaching end-life maturity.

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First up was a 50 breaststroke leg in the medley relay. This is my worst stroke traditionally, and on top of that have a blown knee that makes breaststroke kick even harder. But, I slugged through it in a respectable time, and was happy to have gotten one event under my belt. Gill, who was there just to watch, filled in a spot on both our relays, and did an awesome job considering that she's been in the water, oh, twice since the 90's. JR had an excellent backstroke leg, everyone else had good personal swims.

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Next up was the 200 fly, one of my favorite events, but one definitely made for a younger man. I swam it relatively well (vs. a 90 year old paraplegic) and was actually happy with my time. Unfortunately, I was scheduled for the 400 IM next, and had just 2 short races in between. The 200 fly-400IM is a brutal back-to-back duo, and I paid for it dearly. Finishing the 400 I felt a stabbing pain in my side...later to turn out that I had pulled an ab muscle (who the heck knew I had any of those buried under the fat!) that was to bedevil me for several weeks. But, again, a respectable time.

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I finished with a few other races; 50 free leg in the free relay, 100 fly, and the 200IM. I was huriting, but proud/amazed that I was able to get through it all at 50 years old. I might just do another one in my 60's!!!

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"Michael Phelps without the bong (or the lungs, or the stroke, or the body)" Lumpy out