A Much Needed Wake Up Call

Even though I am in week four of triathlon training today was the first day I went to swim since December. It was a beautiful day with temps in the low eighties- my favorite outdoor swimming weather. When I woke up I didn't really want to swim but I brought my stuff with me anyway because I knew I would feel guilty about having it with me and not actually swimming. I intended on doing a 1000 yard time trial so I could measure my progress as I train but the pool was set up in meters. The dilemma that I have with this is that UMBC's pool is going to be set up in long course meters throughout the end of the semester but the pool that I will be swimming at over the summer will be in short course yards. Still figuring out what to do about that.

This has happened to me on so many occasions. 

One of the many reasons why I love swimming.

I jumped in the pool and was instantly happy. An outdoor swimming pool is my happy place. I feel calm and at home, like I am exactly where I am supposed to be. It sounds strange, but I feel the most like myself at a pool. After jumping in I did a little warm up to get used to being back in the pool. I knew it was going to be challenging since it was long course but I was astounded with just how hard it felt. My arms were screaming after only a few hundred meters. This is not how swimming is supposed to feel for me. After a minor panic attack about how I can no longer swim, I regrouped and decided to focus on some pulling drills and kicking.

After I calmed down a little things started to feel smoother. I was more relaxed and I just focused on form. I am so used to the way I used to swim when I did it competitively that sometimes I get myself too worked up over not being able to swim as strongly. I remembered after my first two surgeries when I was just getting back into swimming the main focus was on form and technique rather than speed. And after doing some pulling drills I could already feel my stroke becoming stronger.

Maybe this guy can help me swim faster.

I have such a strong background in swimming that I often forget that I still need to put in the training. Today's swim showed me that I still have a lot of training to do before this triathlon rolls around in July. I am really excited to have a goal to work towards and not just be swimming for the heck of it anymore though.