I have been at WPI since Thursday afternoon for the culmination of the 2013-14 swim season. I do not want to bore you with continued talk of swimming, but considering that my entire weekend has been in a pool, I think it is appropriate to talk about the only thing on my mind.
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| The WPI pool and site of the 2014 NEWMAC Championships Photo creds to Olivia Bannon |
We use the word "hunger" to describe the raw desire to achieve a goal. It is a "craving" felt so deep that your heart aches when the goal is just out of reach, and it screams for joy and runs leaps and bounds when the goal is surpassed. Swimming is a sport of delayed gratification, and we spend the whole season (September until... now) with aching, fatigued muscles to strive for a lifetime best time at this one, multi-day meet. It is a singular chance at victory following taper, when we take it easy on our muscles so that they can recover from the hell month of J-Term. After so many practices, I begin to think that I have never worked so hard for anything in my life.
And here we are. And I am ravenous.
I have been satiated with my 50 freestyle time, my 100 breaststroke times, and my 50 breaststroke time in the relay. This morning, I swam the 200 breaststroke, and I get to swim it again in (the consolation heat of) finals tonight. I have squeezed into the tiniest piece of fabric that swimmers sadistically call a "fast skin" or tech suit.
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| Me (left) with Alyssa (right) in our tech suits, prepping for our first races. |
I have been living on Red Powerade and Yellow Gatorade and sandwiches and pasta. I can hardly feel the jolts of energy as they are masked by nerves and anticipation before a race. The only thing on my mind is an upcoming race or one I have just completed. In a few hours (I'm guessing by 9:30 tonight), the meet will be over, and I will be on the bus with the team going back to Smith. My season will be over and I will have poured my heart into the pool. I hope to be "full" in the entirety of the word. I am still hungry for my races tonight. Bring on the feast.
The fear and excitement of the last races or in my case in high school, the championship basketball tournament, is fantastic. I always used to eat a giant plate of cheese tortellini to calm my nerves. Something about cheese, pasta, and plain tomatoe sauce calms me down. Maybe it's another case of 'tried and true'?
ReplyDeleteYou make me miss racing (Running, not swimming. I'm an awful swimmer). Also, I had no idea that swim meets last as long as they do. The fact that you have to be ready to compete not just for one race on one day, but for multiple races over a span of four or five days is incredible. Way to go and I hope you achieved the "full" you were hoping for!
ReplyDeleteYour writing gave me chills! What a great comparison--hunger for something intangible versus hunger for food. I loved reading it, and am very impressed with your strength and determination. I hope you achieved satiety with your races!!
ReplyDeleteI loved how you saw a connection between words we use when talking about food and our hunger to those same words we also use when talking about our desires! It really speaks volumes about hunger and cravings- that despite how sophisticated we have developed in regards to nutrition and recipes, that we will are programmed on a primal level to satisfy these needs.
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