Recently our group has used this ice breaker where we learn things people have never done.  Everyone holds up 10 fingers, and one at a time a person says something they’ve never done.  If someone has done it, they put a finger down.  The first person to put all of their fingers down wins.  Or has the most interesting life.  Or something.  I’ve never won (even with friends throwing me bones: soccer games, triathlons, etc.), so I won’t dwell on what that says about me.

But today I did two things I’ve never done before.

  1. Swam 2700 yards: I recently joined the Dayton Area Sharks, a master’s swim team (yay!), and tonight was a stroke night.  Everyone else did the four competitive strokes, but I just did freestyle, seeing my goal is triathlon and not competitive swimming. This was my third time out with the group, and 2700 yards is a big deal for me.
  2. Cramped: The last 300 were different types of kicking.  I put my fins on, and in my haste to get across the pool the first with the fins, I cramped.  My first thought was, whoa, did I damage a muscle?  It’s an unpleasant feeling, and I can’t ever remember feeling it before.  I hope I don’t again.  I hope it was something that my muscles didn’t like about the fins, and not a fitness issue.

Anyhow, I’m glad I’m swimming with the group.  It’s a lot better than swimming solo.