A Day in the Life, Laura Smith, Day 7

DENVILLE, New Jersey, February 26. IN the final entry of her "A Day in the Life" series on SwimmingWorldMagazine.com, New Jersey Masters swimmer Laura Smith gives our readers a quick recap of her swim meet from this past weekend. She also offers some advice to the various levels of swimmers that are reading her series.

We'd like to thank Laura for putting together a great week of entries, and for helping to open everyone's eyes to one of the groups of swimmers that doesn't always get the most ink. Based on some of the responses we have received, her run as a Day in the Lifer made an impact.

For those interested in joining the Day in the Life program, please e-mail Jason Marsteller.

Sunday, February 25, 2007, Day 7
I have accomplished a lot of very great things in my life – married an incredible man, raising two wonderful children, making a positive contribution to my work and community – and I am proud of all of these things. But ranking right up there on the "List of Things to be Proud Of" is my commitment to my swimming career, with all of its highs and lows. Quite simply, I love to swim.

I haven't raced in a meet since 2000. I knew I missed the meets, but there was always "something" getting in the way of returning to the shape that I wanted to be in to race, and today was just such a wonderful reminder of what I love about competition. I have spent more than enough time posting this week about how tired and hurting I was, and I wasn't anywhere near 100 percent at the meet today. But carpooling down to the meet, seeing old friends, meeting new ones, cheering on my teammates, and going out to eat afterwards really reminded me why I do this: it's fun.

It certainly helped that I exceeded my own expectations as far as my actual swims. I led off our 200 medley relay, and I was pleased with my split (33.19) considering my backstroke starts are just plain terrible, and we finished fourth. My 200 free was probably my most disappointing swim (2:15.50, first place in 35-39), and I actually lost my goggles on the start. I bet I was eight years old when I last lost my goggles on a start. I was very pleased with my 100 back (1:11.79, first place in 35-39), and there is ton of room for improvement in my 100 breast (1:25.40, second place). I had lots of fun in my 500 free, although I lost my cap at the 400 mark (yes, I lost my goggles and cap all in one meet) and won my age group in 6:02. We finished with a third place in the 200 free relay, although I limped home with a 28.43 split. Our small but VERY mighty Lakeland Hills team came in third place, bringing home a very nice trophy for the YMCA. A special congratulations goes to my two training partners, Larry (two individual age group wins and a second place in his first swim meet in 20 years) and John (two wins, a second, third and fourth).

I certainly let all of the whining hang out there about my shoulder in my past entries. My shoulder hurt a lot today, but once the adrenaline kicked in I basically ignored it. I took some Advil throughout the meet, but really, I just chose to not pay any attention to it. I just kept on saying, "I don't have to swim on Monday, I don't have to swim on Monday", and started having some fun, and the injury just really didn't matter any more. I bet I am going to hurt in the morning, but again, I don't need to swim tomorrow!

Thank you to all of the people that talked to me at the meet about my postings. Your kind words are appreciated. A special thank you to Jason Marsteller and the staff of Swimming World Magazine, as you clearly took a chance on me. Thank you for recognizing that there are all types of swimmers in the world – some fast, some slow, some serious, some not-so-serious, some competition lovers and some competition haters. This was an awesome experience, and I learned a lot about myself this week.

So my ending message is this: "Keep Swimming". Fitness swimmers: Consider swimming in a meet. You might love it. Already racing USMS members: Keep up the spirit and commitment to excellence that makes Masters meets so much fun. Age Groupers: Don't think of high school or college graduation as being the end of your swimming career. Your body (especially your heart) and mind will love you if you keep going.

Thank you for letting me share my week with you!
Laura

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