Swimming Clinic

Jan, Eileen, Lou, Mike and I attended a swimming clinic for triathletes and tri-wannabes on Sunday at MCC. The clinic was sponsored by the FingerLakes Triathlon. Jan paid an extra $25 to get videotaped and analyzed in the deep end (diving area) of the pool while the rest of us received instruction in the shallow end with lanes.
The instruction was excellent, though proof once again of how pathetic a swimmer I am. One drill involved holding a small board in front, being on our sides and kicking to propel down the length of the pool. It was ridiculous. I couldn't move. Everyone else was gliding across the pool and I'm kicking my ass off and not going anywhere. I felt like a toad. No, that's an insult to toads. I hate swimming. Who wants to do a g'damn tri anyhow dammit! The water was cold, I was cold. Why did I leave my wetsuit home! Talk about shrinkage, Houdini couldn't have done a better disappearing act.
So we were led through more drills to improve our technique. Look straight down, don't twist your body like an eel, breathe to both sides, don't cross your hands in front or even come close to that, don't bend your knees, move your hands across the water like this, do this, don't do that.
My mind is reeling. But that's no indictment of the instruction. Jan learned some things to work on to, so she can swim 100 meters in the time I swim 50.
We were also lucky to have Bill Ferris from Victor Advanced Chiropractic in attendance. In 10 minutes of treatment he had cleared a lot of scar tissue from a hamstring that had been bothering me during long runs. He also began working on my piriformis, demonstrating where my leg should be able to stretch to and how much work I need on it. Jan had her necked treated. We will be making office appointments soon.