Between The Seasons
When the last race of the season has been swum, the goggles are hung, the suits are dried, swimmers return to their apartments and bedrooms and look in the mirror and ask themselves: "What now?" More than likely it's about two weeks until the beginning of the next season, and suddenly, swimmers find themselves with an abundance of free time. Here's a guide to help you through this time of terrible, terrible turmoil.
Mornings: The first day, you'll probably wake up at 4:30 a.m. Out of habit, you'll trudge over to the refrigerator, grab a Gatorade, and walk to find your swim bag. Then it hits you like the last 50 of your 500 freestyle:
You can sleep in. You can actually go back to bed until a normal wake-up time. If you find yourself too awake to do this, try these morning activities to get you through your new non-swimming morning:
- Wash your towels. Homeless-chic was funny in "Zoolander." It's not funny in real life. Chances are (especially if you're a high school boy) that you haven't washed your swim towel since September. What was now sky-blue is now brownish-green, and emits an odor similar to a trash bucket.
- Clean your apartment. Most likely you subscribed to the theory of "tapering your life" during taper. Potentially strenuous activities like taking out the trash, cleaning the stove, vacuuming your carpet, changing your underwear – these were probably all overlooked during the two weeks you shut your life down under the guise of "I'm on taper."
- Make the biggest, cheesiest, bacon-ist (sounds like a religion) omelets you can make. Why? Because in 5 years, when you haven't touched a pool and are on that 20th "retirement pound," you will start to diet, and then you will wish you had taken advantage of those precious days when swimming was over, when your metabolism was high, when you could scarf down 15 pizzas without a care in the world. Do it now. No regrets!
Afternoons: The obvious void in your day comes between that 3-6 p.m. window when swim practice would have taken place. Suddenly there is television! Friends! Coffee! Studying! Every day feels like a Saturday afternoon, and you realize, "This is how people really live?" You are startled with the amount of TIME you have in your day. You wonder how world peace has not yet been institutionalized, why there are not yet cures for all ailments and diseases. So much time when you're not battling the black lines of aquatic doom.
- Make a To-Do list. It's very easy to fall into that vortex of "Since I have a little time off, I might as well watch 40 hours of ‘Jerry Springer’ on daytime TV." Do the things you need to do, like catch up on homework, or go grocery shopping for something other than Power Bars and Gatorade.
- See non-swimming friends. "Huh?" you ask. "What are non-swimming friends?" More than likely, during championship season, you've probably abandoned your non-swimming friends. This is your time to do so. Catch up with them, play some Frisbee. Don't be one of those people who only have "swim friends."
- Take a jog. Play some basketball. Go for a long walk (maybe with a non-swim friend). You don't have to stay active, but you don't have to become one with your couch, either. Summer season will sneak up on you sooner than you expect.
Evenings: Suddenly you have energy again! You're not staring at your ceiling in pain, icing your shoulders and lats and legs. Your natural inclination will be to go crazy and stay up late at night just because you can.
- Don't dream about swimming. Don't open heat sheets. Don't watch videos of you swimming. Don't even rent "Swim Fan." Take a break from the sport a bit and go out and do other things. See a movie. Host a party. Get refreshed.
- Learn to cook something. When you're in the middle of the sport, there’s not tons of time to make a three-course meal. Most friends of mine were either eating out, at the cafeteria, or exploiting loved ones to provide hearty dinners. Learn to cook something yourself, and carry those habits on over to your swim season.
- Go to a play, festival, talent show, an a capela group, etc.. Ever look in the stands and wish more people went to your swim meets? People will come to your meets if you go to their play. That's how the “Theory of Attendance Reciprocity” works. Show up to someone's talent show, and they'll come to your swim meet.
Enjoy the days between swim seasons. Like life, these days go slow if you savor them like hard candies. With clean towels, finished homework and a renewed perspective, your next swim season will be better than ever.
