Of Swimming and Leadership

At the ”strong” recommendation (read OUTRIGHT SHOVE :)) of my triathlon coach, I joined a Masters swim team this fall. Though I was an athlete in high school, it was softball I played. My school was too small to have a track or swim team, so the three major disciplines of swimming, biking, and running I enjoy now I never learned competitively when younger. Joining Masters has turned out to be the best decision I’ve ever made in regards to my triathlon training.

I swim 3x week, usually at o’dark-thirty, aka 5am. Nearly NO ONE is on the road at that hour. I could probably drive with my eyes closed right down the yellow lines (like those cars at an amusement park) and not get into an accident. It makes me think about the efforts we triathletes are willing to expend in the hot pursuit of our goals. I get up at 4am so I can eat something, plus drink COFFEE – other than my husband, COFFEE has become my new best friend :). Seriously, I drink a bit of caffeine to “spark” my mind and muscles, kind of like rubbing two wires together to jump start a car.

This past Monday I was in the pool – usual Bat Time and Bat Channel (a reference back to the Batman show that was on in the 70s for you young ‘uns :)). “Fast Patty” showed up. She is 50-ish and totally ripped. It’s clear she’s been an athlete for some time and is reaping the dividends of a lifelong investment in fitness.

Patty swims faster than I do and it’s been near impossible to keep up with her the past few months. She is about 5 seconds faster than me on the 100. Monday our coach gave us 5 x 50 yard intervals, leaving 5 seconds earlier than we usually do. No way! I said when he gave us the set. I can do about 5 seconds slower but not what he gave us! (These are short intervals, so slicing even 5 seconds off is a daunting challenge). He simply looked at me and said “Swim behind Patty; you’ll be fine.” How does he know these things???

He was so right. For a bit I was in her draft; then incredibly on the last few sets I began to catch her. It helped that my coach was on the deck with a bunch of hand/arm gestures, saying “Get her!!” Do you have any idea how hard it is to roll and breathe while trying to stifle a laugh – or even smile because your goggles might come unstuck??

We finished the set with our hearts pounding – at least I did. I was still in disbelief I had caught up to Patty and even more shocked when everyone in the lane agreed “Catherine you lead this time” for the next set – a nice long 500.

When I turned at the wall after the first lap, everyone was hot on my trail and I was instantly reminded of the stark contrasts between leading and following. Leading was hard. Following was relatively easy. Leading means forging a trail whereas following is walking in someone’s footsteps; setting the course for the group vs being along for the ride; taking the “brunt” of what’s ahead vs being in the shadow. Leading means sticking your neck out despite what’s going on around you. It can be intimidating but the notion of others depending on you for direction and/or initiative often outweighs the accompanying fears.

Leading also means taking people to new territory – to help them discover new potential they had not thought previously existed. This is what my coaches – my triathlon and swim coaches – have done for me. I won’t sugar coat it – new territory is not easy and takes courage. The possibility of failing is ever present, but as I mentioned in a previous post, no one has ever achieved anything big without taking a risk. If you are willing, the rewards can bring amazing satisfaction and increases in confidence, and it can’t help but spill over into other areas of your life.

Do you dare?