Returning to my Alma Mater for my swim workout

I am proud to say that I am a graduate of Lake Highland Prep School. Ok..so I graduated in 1981 ... and I believe dinosaurs were still roaming the earth at that time as our class of 58 students left to face the world. At that time, Lake Highland was just 11 years old and was still working with old facilities left over from the bankrupt College of Orlando. We used old dorm rooms for elementary school classrooms and housing for some of the college faculty was turned into a Home Ec "house".

The pool we used back then was falling apart. I remember snagging more than one swimsuit on the sides as I exited our swim workouts and the water was always a clear but strange color. Things have changed at my old school.

The Highlander Aquatics Center is a state of the art swim venue that is very kind to allow Team in Training to use their facilities. It is the first time I have worked out here since being on the team but it brought back good memories of swimming at Lake Highland. Back then, we had a rag tag little team that did the races for fun. Now, the Highlanders are a powerhouse in the pool sending many swimmers on to college scholarships and possible olympic spots. This multi millon dollar pool was once the temporary pool for the Water Polo Event at the Atlanta Olympic Games. It was permanently reassembled at my school and serves as quite an outstanding facility.

I slipped into the coolish water tonight and wonder how that young Melissa would have felt knowing this old Highlander would return. The workout was just 1500 yards tonight..about a 9/10 of a mile swim...and I struggled. For some reason, I had a hard time breathing and keeping my stroke smooth. Coach Bill could not have been more helpful as he gave me tips on breathing, arm position, stroke and body rotation. I am so blessed to have an additional resource aside from Hector's eyes to tell me what can be done to improve my times in the water.

Bottom line...I think I need a lot more weight training and..of course...losing the weight will definitely help!!

As I left the pool tonight, I was disappointed but I know that I can improve over the next few weeks. My swim may not be the best at Gulf Coast, but by Augusta 70.3, I should be up to speed.

Oh yeah...Go Highlanders!!