Swimming at the Wall

So tonight I get to swim practice and I see that they’ve switched the lane lines. Usually we swim the 25 meter lengths across the width of the pool, but today they’ve got the lines the long way – so we’re doing 50 meter lengths. Fine by me, I’m training distance anyhow, but I asked Coach Sonja why the switch.

“Germany’s here” she says, with a nonchalant gesture towards lanes 5-8. Germany? Yes, Germany. Well, not all of them. Just their national swim team. They’ve come to the Wall to train. I’m in lane 4, some German elite swimmers are in lane 5.

That’s when it hits me….despite the fact that I’m a pokey age-grouper who will never be at the pointy end of the race at the end of the swim, here I am training literally right alongside people with world class ability.

Well, maybe not exactly alongside, but parallel to them anyhow. That’s pretty cool.

Hope some of it rubs off.