Lap Swim

TripPix.

I've always been a good - but never great - swimmer. Most of the kids in my hometown of Temiscaming were competent in the water. We all had access to free swimming lessons, taught every summer by Red Cross certified instructors from July 1 through the Friday before Labor Day.

We began at the Beginner level, subdivided in the early 50s by lifeguard Brian Richards  into Minnows, Salamanders, Pikes and Turtles, and went all the way through to Seniors at our beloved waterfront. This  wonderful swimming area in the Ottawa River, made safe by a design that clearly separated shallow from deep water and provided three "pools", each about 25 yards in length, for swimming lessons and lap swimming, or "length swimming" in our lexicon . Some teenagers also continued lifesaving training and took advantage of the opportunity to earn the Royal Life Saving Society Bronze Medallion and Award of Merit.

I taught swimming myself and I enjoyed it very much, especially when the kids were Juniors. Most were in that delightful middle school range, ranging in age from about 9 though 12. And, although the discipline of serious swimming always bored me, I liked training kids to swim laps, because a few skills like breathing technique, energy saving during stroke recovery, and turning between laps make all the difference.

I've never had a lap routine in Florida or anywhere else we've gone on vacation. However, this year I found the monotony of swimming back and forth, front crawl one way and backstroke the other, very soothing and before I knew it, I was swimming laps. I started with 10 laps of 20 yards or so each and soon found myself wanting more.

The first time I swam 40 laps I was quite tired and I needed to take fairly frequent breaks, and I was afraid of falling as I struggled for stability getting out of the pool. Now the routine is easy and my balance is much better.

Early in March the weather was cold and I had no competition for the pool in the morning or late evening. Over the last few weeks, several lap swimmers have come and gone, and the current guy is a better swimmer than I. However, he doesn't breathe between strokes and tends to swim across the pool rather that in the usual way. One day we swam together lengthwise, an unsatisfactory arrangement because he tended to drift over and crowd the pool.

Now, if I get to the pool shortly after 8:00 a.m., I can complete my swim well ahead of the swimmer guy and before the kids show up for the day. My overall objective is to get stronger after all those months that I was sick. Seems to be working so far.