Hello swimming world! My name is Rachel, and I am a lifelong swimmer. Swimming has been a huge part of me, starting at the age of 6 on my local home town team and swimming all the way through college for the United States Naval Academy. For 16 years, swimming was my life, for better or worse. After I graduated, I considered myself burnout and “retired” from the sport, and went on with my new life as a Naval Officer in sunny Florida.
Ten years, a marriage (to another lifelong swimmer that I met at Navy), two kids, and an exit from active duty Naval service went by before my own daughter took an interest in the sport and started on a swim team in Florida. Watching my own child swim and being immersed back in the swimming world re-kindled a little bit of a fire in me. My husband plays Masters water polo and occasionally I would get in and swim while he practiced, but I wasn’t in the pool consistently. Life as a full-time working parent and a mom taxi did not give me the time (and I made no effort to make the time).
Then last year, we were uprooted after 9 years in Florida when my husband took orders to Memphis, TN and we moved our family to the mid-south. This was a turning point for me. My daughter’s swim team started a Masters group shortly after we got to Memphis, and I finally got back in the pool for good. I started swimming 1-2 mornings a week with the Masters team, and supplementing another 1-2 times a week at our local athletic center when I couldn’t make it in the mornings. Working remotely, I have the flexibility to build a workout into my day when it works for me. It is amazing how much I missed being in the water, and even what it did for me mentally to be back in the pool, writing workouts, and being an involved swim parent at my daughter’s wonderful team.
I got the idea for this blog to share my thoughts on being on the other side of the stands as a swim parent, as well as a medium to share the workouts I write either by myself or with my husband, my swimming partner in crime. I also want to share my experience as a Masters swimmer, and connect with other Masters swimmers about what it feels like to train outside the walls of those “prime” years.
I’ve also been fortunate enough to take on the role as an assistant coach in recent months, so I hope to bring that unique coaching perspective to my posts as well.
Whatever your connection may be to the world of competitive swimming, I hope you find some joy here with me as I continue my life long love affair with the pool!
The Lane Line 