I CAN do this

So today I had yet another swim workout. For someone who does not like swimming I have the impression that I will be visiting the pool quite frequently during this training adventure.

The warm up was uneventful; I was trying to focus on form and controlling my breathing, which is where I need the most work. You see, I tend to kind of freak out when swimming. Think that my lungs won’t be able to keep up with the pace and all of the sudden the thought of not being able to breathe whenever I want (when I have my face in the water) starts to creep in. I keep having to remind myself that while I am at the pool I can always stand up and be just fine. Stupid. Yes I know. I don’t consider myself afraid of the water but it definitely plays tricks with my mind and it is my “weakest link”.

My main set had a continuous swim for a number of yards I have not swam continuously in a very long while, followed by a set of 75’s where I was supposed to alternate between going easy and fast, ending with the last two being all fast. It was hard! In the middle of my first “fast” (note the quotation marks, as I did not feel like I was moving fast at all) I really wanted to stop and call the segment quits. I didn’t. I finished the best I could, and had to take a longer rest than the one “prescribed” by my coach. I tackled the second one. I was determined to swim it continuously. I was only able to do it for 50 yards, I had to take a small 3 second rest before the last 25 to regroup and somehow get my stroke back together. I kept telling myself: remember to roll and feel the slide. So I did. It wasn’t any easier as I was getting tired and my breathing was still messed up, but I got through it.

What followed was relatively easier than the set I had just completed, so I faced it with a more “relaxed” mind. And then the cool down. I had completed the workout, all 2200 yards.

For the record, that is the longest I have EVER swum, and you know what, it wasn’t that terrible. I know I have a really long way to go, to really become comfortable in the water; but it is little accomplishments like this that make me think… you know what? I CAN do it.