Life of Two Beat Friends: College CHPT 49

CHAPTER 50

“Well how did that feel?” Coach walked over behind our lane.

Henry was still plastered to the deck. Jeremy was leaning against the chair behind him. Chad was just lying on his back on the deck; focusing on breathing. I clung to the wall. It was the only thing I could focus on. My body was exploding with pain. I think Coach pushed us too far this time.

“Well since you are not answering, I’m assuming you four used all your energy. That is what I wanted. You all did exceptionally today. You should be proud of what you did today. All of your 500s were interesting. You all seemed to kill yourself in that race, but you all seemed to have some energy left over. Like you didn’t use up everything. So you needed another race to empty your tank.”

‘How did Coach know these things. I did have fuel left, but it was like an ounce. Something that only I could know.’

“Henry you did amazing in your 500. I had never seen you swim that way. I’m impressed. I want to work with you on using that speed increase for your future 500s. Now that I know you can do that; we will harness it. Even your 50 in that relay was promising. 23.65. That’s your best by far. Go cooldown.”

I didn’t know if Henry had been listening, but he shuffled himself over to the edge of the pool and fell in and began swimming.

“Jeremy. You as well did great on the 500. You may actually have a future as a 500 swimmer. You held consistent 58s. Which is impressive since you never swim that race, but that 50 was even more so amazing. 22.30. Do you now understand what it feels like to use up all your energy. This is how I want you to be after practices and races. I want this every single time. Go cooldown.”

Jeremy stood up and fell into the pool too. He looked more like he was drowning than cooling down.

“Chad. Your 500 was great for never having swum it before. But watching you race I think you thrive more at the 200 Freestyle. We are going to make that one of your top races this year. I want you to have a specialty that you thrive at. I think the 200 is going to be that for you. Your 50, 22.67, is impressive because I think that was your first 22 in practice. You have more distance capabilities than sprinting. But you will definitely be on this relay. To give you chances at sprinting. Now you go.”

Chad rolled from his back into the pool. He bellyflopped.

‘Ouch!’

“Ouch,” Chad called out before starting.

Now it was my turn.

“Well George. This is the first time I think that I’m happy a swimmer didn’t listen to my instructions. You had an interesting 500. You seemed to take it out too slow and comfortable. But when I saw your first spilt I was surprised to see a 53. You just looked to be relaxing. Until the fourteenth lap. When you began to straight arm. That was something I had never seen before. You pushed Henry to be a better swimmer. It was fantastic. It’s understandable that you just went. I would have like to see the race I had planned, but I was presently surprised by what you did instead. Your 50 was a 21.40. Very impressive for being as exhausted as you were. I was not expecting that speed. But another thing I was not expecting was for you four to be only half a second from the current record. That you four exhausted would have crushed the upperclassmen in this race. That is impressive. You made me a proud coach today. Go ahead and cool down. You deserve it.”

I didn’t respond to Coach. I had no emotion or response. I just left the wall. I was exhausted. I need to move. My limbs seemed invisible or detached. Gone. They were gone. But somehow I still swam.

I don’t know about the others. But I needed to cooldown until I could feel my limbs without wanting to tare them off and set them aside. No idea how long that was going to be…

…

Life of Two Best Friends: College CHPT 48

CHAPTER 49

I needed that cooldown. Finally my limbs were feeing like jello. Jello was better than fire. I searched for Henry. He must have only needed a short cooldown. I pulled myself up and out of the pool. ‘Ouch! That hurt.’ My shoulders did not like hoisting my body up. I walked back over to lane three and grabbed my towel. I was so glad that I was done with races. I didn’t know if I could do it again, today. They were on the last heat of 200 Freestyles done by the B and C strings.

Walking up to Coach I saw Henry, Jeremy, and Chad standing there talking to Coach. I don’t know how I knew, but I was not going to like this. “Hey Coach. Sorry about diving in too soon. You could blame it on habit. My body hears the long whistle and I get up on the blocks. What’s going on?” I already knew the answer. We were going to be doing another race.

“Don’t worry about the 500 race right now, George,” Coach waved me to stand next to Henry, “now that George is here, shall we begin?”

Hopefully it’s just another race; and not a workout. ‘I will protest! No I wouldn’t.’ “What are we beginning?”

“I want you four to do a relay. I think could be a great line up. And since you and Henry are so exhausted I’m curious to know what you can do with no energy. Now, go get behind the blocks. Jeremy is first, then Henry, then Chad, and lastly George. George chase yourself! Now go!”

We were walking away, “is Coach crazy? I can barely feel my body. How am I supposed to sprint now?” Henry said as he began to actively stretch.

I tried to swing my arms too, but I could only seem to do small pathetic circles. “You know Coach. He wants to see what we can do when we have nothing left. Strangely enough it is sometimes your best race. Come on Henry! We will be done after this. Let’s show Coach what we can do!” I was trying to pump Henry up, but also myself. I was hurting too. But Coach was expecting the impossible again. If we didn’t deliver we would be expected to try again. “Let’s get this done!” I started to jump. Waking up my body; ignoring the burning.

“Yeah. Let’s get this done in one shot. We can do this,” Jeremy jumped as well trying to get pumped.

“Yeah. I don’t want to have to do this over and over again,” Chad said walking to the blocks.

“Tweet tweet tweet!”

“Let’s do this,” Jeremy climbed the block.

‘Get it done Jeremy!’ The three of us crouched around the block.

“Take your mark…BEEP!”

Jeremy left!

“Go Jeremy!” I was yelling. I never yell. I usually conserve my energy. But not this time. My teammates needed encouragement. They needed more; so I was giving them more. Jeremy touched the wall and Henry took off. I helped pull Jeremy up and out of the pool. Henry was flying. At least it seemed like he was flying. The yelling at the other end of the pool was so loud it made no sense for me to continue to yell. You couldn’t hear anything but them.

‘Come on Henry!’ Screw it. I was going to yell for them. They deserved it. “Go Henry! Go!” He touched and Chad was gone. I too pulled Henry out of the pool. He just crumpled to the deck once he was clear. I was next. I needed to move. I jumped. I moved. I was ready. Burning or not, I was going to finish this. ‘Chase George. Chase your well rested self. Chase the one that thinks they will win. Chase!’

I climbed the blocks. Chad was coming. He was almost here. Soon it was me. I could see myself in pool. Leisurely swimming away. Not trying at all. ‘Catch him, George!’ Timothy touched the wall and I dove in.

…

Life of Two Best Friends:College CHPT 47

CHAPTER 48

I was ready, but oh great, “I need a lap counter.”

“Already got that covered, George!”

The girl from before. I seriously need to learn her name again. “Thanks! Lane 3.”

“Yep!” She yelled as she headed towards the other side of the pool.

As I stretched, I saw her stand behind lane 3. But stayed out of the way of the current lap counter. I definitely need to learn her name to thank her properly. I focused back to active stretching. I was actually excited for this race. I normally don’t swim this event. Because I suck at it, but also the 50 Freestyle is just before this, and normally I put everything into that race. So turning around to do distance would be like asking to fall unconscious again.

‘Focus George. You are getting distracted. Focus. Henry. Chase down Henry. Twenty laps.’ I had never seen Henry swim this race. But I knew he loved distance; he never seemed tired after those kinds of sets. As Coach said, he will hold a great pace. Which means this is a sprint to him. So to catch him I’m going to have to find a new gear in my wheelhouse of speed. But I can beat him on his turns. My streamlines have gotten stronger with all my breath control sets. ‘You can do this George. You have to do this. Coach is watching. Get this done!’

“Heat 4. Tweet tweet tweet!”

‘That’s me.’ I step up to the blocks.

“Take your mark.”

‘Chase him down!’

“Beep!”

I was off!

…

Turn. ‘Go!’ I felt like I was flying! Nothing was going to stop me. Turn! ‘Go!’ I had forgotten to tell my lap counter the signals, but I didn’t need them. In the corner of my eye I could see Henry’s steady bubbles from his kicking. I needed to catch him. I had to catch him. Coach was expecting me to do so. I had to! Turn! I knew my body was probably dying, but I was ignoring everything. Pain was not going to be my stumbling block today. ‘Catch him, George!’ Turn. Only six laps left. I needed to find that new gear, but I seemed stuck. I couldn’t catch Henry. He was within reach but still out of my reach. ‘Come on George! Get there!’ Turn. Henry was beginning to pull away. ‘No…’

Henry continued to pull away. This is what Coach meant. That Henry would stay strong even at the end. His pace would not falter. That he was trained for this. Only four laps to go. ‘Do it George. Straighten them. If you die, then die trying something new!’ I straightened my arms. I used my technique I use for sprints. Crazily at the end of this grueling 500, but I was going to give it all I got!

Turn. Two laps left. ‘Get it done, George!’ Henry’s kick came back into view. ‘I can do this! Go, George!’ Turn. ‘Streamline! Keep it strong! Up! Pull! Pull! Keep that kick going. Don’t stop the kick!’ I could see Henry’s arms. I’m getting closer. ‘Catch him!’ Four, three, two, …one. ‘Finished!’ Once my hand hit the wall my body exploded with pain. Every inch of my skin was on fire. I was exhausted, but I didn’t feel like I would pass out. There’s no way I conserved energy, but I wasn’t completely dead. So I must have, somehow. I looked to Henry. He too was breathing hard. But he looked more exhausted than I was.

He looked at me and swam over to shake my hand. “Nice race. You made me swim faster than I ever had! Knowing you were chasing me down gave me an edge. I’m guessing that’s why Coach did this. Not to just help you, but to get me out of my groove. Did Coach tell you to ignore the whole ‘I’ll be a 50 ahead of you’, and that’s why you dove in at the beginning and didn’t wait?”

“What? What do you mean?”

We pulled ourselves up out of the pool and walked over to the cooldown pool.

“You were supposed to wait until after my first 50 to start, but you dove in at the same time. So I assumed Coach wanted me to kickstart my speed. That I was still expected to beat you. I panicked, but then I just did my normal plan, but just starting out at seventy percent and building. That last one hundred was brutal. I didn’t know if I could stay ahead of you. You seemed to be flying at the end. What did you do different?”

“You did start to pull away. I wasn’t able to find a different speed, so instead I changed up my technique. I started my straight arm pull and I’m feeling it now,” as I rubbed my shoulder I could feel it burning. “I didn’t realize I dove in too early. I guess it’s just habit. Hopefully Coach is not too angry at me for not following his plan.”

“Don’t worry about it. If he gets mad I’ll tell him it was great for me. I don’t think I would have swam that well unless you had been there the whole time. Again thanks George.” Henry jumped into the cooldown pool.

I stood there a moment longer. Glad I was a help to him. But I completely forgot to look at places. Did I win or not? Was Coach going to be doubly disappointed? I pulled my goggles back on. Time for a long one thousand cooldown. “I’ll find out the results later. Let’s get this done.” I jumped into the pool. My arms were burning. I felt almost numb since my limbs hurt so much. But I pushed through the pain, or later would be unbearable.

…

Life of Two Best Friends: College CHPT 46

Chapter 47

The day was here. I wasn’t as anxious for today as I had been, when I would be against Bryan. The drive was gone. I knew I would still swim my heart out today, but the urgency was gone.

But the atmosphere, arriving on deck today was way better. Everyone seemed relaxed, excited even. But I think they were in the same funk as me. That without the stress of Bryan, they didn’t know how to act accordingly, so they just relaxed. Which may not be the best; because today was a racing day. And only top 12 would be A-strings. And currently, unless the newer athletes are here to do business there is only five spaces available; after the people I believe will fill in the spots.

“Hey George,” Chad was walking towards me, “Coach wants to start the stretching. I’ll gather everyone over there. Can you check and see if there are any stragglers? I think people will be cut from the team if they show up late today. For Coach being in an upbeat mood last night; he seems to be in a bad mood now.”

“Yeah, sure. No problem. Start them on the stretches. The stragglers will just get to do less.” I walked towards the exit.

Being co captains seems to be going well. Chad has been stepping up to the role. I looked out the doors. I called out, “Anyone coming to the mock meet better hurry up. Coach is in a foul mood.” Nothing. Just as I turned I heard a “Wait!”

Looking back I saw a girl running up. It was the girl from orientation. What was her name?

“Thanks for the reminder George. I was down the hall tutoring my student early. I didn’t know how long this mock meet would take. Am I late?” Stephanie was flush and loaded up with bags.

‘A freshman is already a tutor. Impressive.’ “You’re good. Just go get changed and join the group.”

“Will do, George!”

I checked the hallway again and saw no one else. I closed the doors, and headed back to the group.

…

“As follows. Every athlete today will be swimming every race. The only difference is if you want to tryout for the A-Strings you will swim the 200 Freestyle, 200 IM, 100 of each stroke, 50 Freestyle and the 500 Freestyle. If you do not feel like you can race all those events today you will still compete but you will compete in 200 Freestyle, 100 IM, 100 Freestyle, and 50 of each stroke. Do not worry. We will have another mock meet at halfway through the season. So that those of you who would like to tryout again you will have a chance. B-string and C-string events will be first. A-string after. If you have any questions you can find and ask your co captains. But know they have races today as well. Okay let’s get racing!”

Coach wasn’t kidding. When he said being captain is a big job, it was. Suddenly I was surrounded with teammates with questions. I looked over to Chad, and he was surrounded so much I could barely see him. Thankfully I had his help too or I would have missed all my races.

…

Yeah. The my drive was at a standstill. I didn’t feel a push or a need to beat anyone today. I knew I would win. Even if it wasn’t my favorite race, I would win. It’s like everyone else knew it too, so I didn’t have anyone to push me to be better. And Coach knew it too.

“Well George. I’m surprised at your times. They are not bad, but they are the same as they were at the end of last year. Not what you have been showing me in practice lately.”

“I know Coach. I just don’t seem to have the drive or push anymore. I had planned to use Bryan to push me to be better. But now that he’s gone I don’t feel driven. If you understand?”

“I do understand. However, George, you cannot use anyone or anything else to drive you to be better. You have to be that role too. You chase your current self. Your drive should derive from you wanting to be better. Do you think that current Olympians use others to be better? On their teams? In practice? No. Some may, but several of them don’t have the luxury of having a sparring partner. They all have to push themselves.”

I knew all of this. I knew it. But why was I still not driven to do what Coach was telling me. It just seemed to be going over my head. “I know Coach. I do. But…I don’t know…I…”

“Alright. College must still be clouding your mindset. You say you need something physical to stimulate your drive, right? All athletes go through this. Henry. Come here,” coach waved Henry over. “Alright. Henry. We both know you will be a A-stringer. Your co captain is not giving this meet his all. Can I count on you to help him out?”

“Yes, sir.”

“Good. You both have the 500 Freestyle left. You want something tangible to have a drive. Okay then George, Henry will get a 50 head start. Your job is to beat him. You should know George, this is Henry’s main event. He holds a solid average the entire time. You will have to dig deep to beat him. Henry you don’t allow him to get closer. Keep him a 50 behind. But know George will be chasing you down. It’s his nature. Now go. Compete!”

I asked for this. I did. But it seemed impossible. Pretty much Coach was telling me to sprint the entire 500. So death. Means death. But I felt better. I felt that spark coming alive. I felt inspired to swim. “Alright Coach. Good luck Henry,” I outstretched my hand.

“You too. Good luck,” Henry returned the handshake.

Now I had a race.

…