Random Thoughts...

• On: 03/08/2010 13:12:03

I have been a little quiet lately – sorry!  No reason other than I am trying to re-learn a computer software program that is my bread and butter to my job.  Training Peaks has been upgraded (hmmm) and while it is fine overall, there are A LOT of things that are taking up my time.  Things that are not perfect yet and writing workouts in TP now is taking me longer.  Gear at TP has been very supportive, but at the end of the day, it is all new.

I am so excited to race!  Bring on the season!  I have said this before, but I am so very glad I am not doing a huge race early.  I am doing a ½ Marathon in a couple of weeks and that has been fun to get ready for!  It is on a “hilly” course for this area and I have run the course at least 8-9 times since December!  Just this past Saturday it was so crowded out there!  Temps were warm (we started at 7am and it was 22F) and there were hundreds of runners out there!  I wanted to say, “AND where have you been all winter when I ran this course in 8” of snow and temps below 0F?”  hee hee.  Anyway, I have a lot of friends and athletes running this event and even some traveling in for it – so we will have a great time!  It will be nice to see where I am at fitness wise.

I am also working on the logistics of the Tucson camp starting on the 24^th of March.  Wow, that came up fast!  Jerome and I were mapping out courses – one in excess of 100 miles – around Gates Pass and all the fun places to ride in Tucson!  I am bringing in some nuun and Recovery Socks and getting JHC logo water bottles for campers….so, just a lot of little loose ends for camp!

I opened my big mouth on Sunday.  Oops.  Miss Daisy has had a bee in her bonnet for a LONG time at Masters.  I am not proud of my behavior, but something needed to be said and at the end of the day, I drew the short straw and was the one who said something.  Basically, we have a swimmer in our lane that is NOT a positive person.  She is negative, has a bad attitude and quite frankly does not let us pass her on sets.  She is in the wrong lane.  The lane I swim in is the fastest lane in the pool so there is nowhere else to go if you are too fast for this lane.  So, the slower swimmers tend to move to other lanes.  Normal?  Yep.  And, we have a huge gap in this lane.  A guy swimming 100s in 1 min or less…and then us.  So, my #1 job in my lane is to stay out of the fastest swimmers way.  That is lane etiquette.  The fastest swimmers run the lane.  Period.  No questions asked….and if you are getting passed you LET that person pass.  You do not speed up, you do not flip in the middle of the wall, you just move over.  This swimmer is new to our program.  She emailed me via my website and I hooked her up with our local Triathlon club + Masters swim team.  On the first day she came to practice she jumped in our lane.  WOW I thought…that is assertive.   Months go by and I think this whole time I am the ONLY one frustrated with her.  SO I keep my mouth shut. 

Come to find out..just yesterday at practice that I am not the only one!  YAY!  We said something months ago to our coach – but seriously, who needs the drama?  So, we bit our lips.  Finally, I had had it yesterday.  Ben and I were doing 100s.  We were doing them off 1.25 send off.  Ben was swimming IM and I was swimming free.  The other 2 in the lane were not able to do the IMs off that send off (no problem) so we were out of rhythm in the lane (which is ok too).  But crap, we had a tough time turning on the walls.  One of the gals is SUPER and a great swimmer and very considerate (as I am with her when she kicks my ass in the IM stuff)…but the other gal….I ran right into her on the wall and that is what started the drama.

We get back to the wall and she snips at me something like, “I do NOT @%^&&&$#@!^ have eyes in the back of my head.”  And she was pissed at me.  (again just negative energy).

The other swimmers heard her and literally looked away and gasped.  They KNEW what was coming.  I have been good for WAY too long and at the end of the day you know what?  I AM AN athlete too. I am not there to coach.  I am there to swim and swim hard.  So, I took a deep breath and we kept swimming the set.

At the conclusion of the set Ben and I discuss this issue and Ben says to me, “This is the worst year of swimming for me, Jen, she is making things very challenging for all of us.”  Well, this was enough for me to get my wheels turning on how I was going to address this in the lane when she was finished.  I don’t think Ben has ever said anything negative in all these years.

She came to the wall and I went up to her (did not want to make a scene) and I said, “Did you just snap at me?  If so, I do not appreciate that.  You are new to this swim program that we all have been here for 8 years+.  You are in the WRONG lane.  If you are going to swim in the fastest lane of the pool then swim with intent.  Swim hard.  Get over your bad attitude and let the faster swimmers pass you!  IF you do not want us to pass you then get out of this lane.  We all have struggled with your attitude all year and I am the one who looks like a B*tch saying something to you, but something needs to change.”

She just looked at me.  I looked at her and by now everyone is looking at us.  She told me she doesn’t need to be yelled at.  I told her I was not yelling (I was not) and if she wants to see me yell I WILL..but there is no need.  I do not need the drama and just b/c her life is a total mess, do NOT make us miserable. 

She got out of the pool and left.  She said she is never coming back.  Ok…that is mature.  Anyway, I was NOT proud of this exchange at all – I am actually a people pleaser and this stuff makes me sick in my gut…but Ben and I discussed that we did not feel bad that this happened.  It was brewing and coming to a head for a long time and SOMETHING had to give.

Anyway, we will see if she will be there on Wednesday night at practice.  But Coach Corinne (swim coach) was not there on Sunday (hence the lane issues) and Coach Corinne said she will move her out of our lane if she comes back on Wednesday.  I hope she pulls herself together and comes back.  My intention is not for her NOT to swim – come on!  But, after thinking about it all day yesterday, I do not regret the exchange.  I think the goal is for everyone to be considerate of everyone’s workouts, swims, paces and efforts….but one bad apple can ruin it for a whole group sometimes.

Ok, enough of that negative energy!  The good news:  We are starting to warm up here in Chicago!  Today it is 40F.  Tomorrow marks the 100^th day of temps below 48F degrees.  So, we are due for some heat, wouldn’t you say?  LOL.  

Until then, let’s swim with nice manners and good lane etiquette!  haha