May 2, 2009
Jennifer S.

Hi Team!!

Hope all of you that were doing the Wildflower Olympic tri this weekend did well and kudos to those of you that did the 4 hour rehearsal today per Yoli's great calendar! I'll be completing that in a few weeks!
I had a minor triumph at the pool today as I was completing the drills that Celeste was so great at putting together for us. I was swimming focusing on keeping my head down, and really trying to not kick as much as I've been used to doing. Trying to reach, extend, glide through the water all while trying to breath out as much air as possible and get enough in without additional water to get through the next strokes. I was sharing a lane with a gentleman who really appeared to be an agile swimmer. After about 45 minutes of sharing the lane we both ended up at a rest point at the same end of the pool. As I finished my last stroke and hung on the side of the pool he turned to me and told me I made swimming look so easy! Really?...was my mental thought...because I'm not feeling the ease here....clearly you don't feel me trying to keep my focus on a million things while making this look easy. But I said..." Oh, thanks I've really been working hard as I'm training for a 1/2 Ironman". He told me my strokes are very smooth and that I have no "splash" while swimming. WOW....just like that I was suddenly feeling a little better about my swimming. It took just a quick comment to help me find a positive focus and make the last 20 minutes of my swim feel like I was gliding. I think so much while I'm "trying" to swim and complete the drills the right way, that I think I forget to have fun and enjoy the workout as well. It was a triumph for me!! Finding that I'm actually doing something well and that the more I practice the better I will get.
With that said I've been looking into open water swimming opportunities in my area. I came to realize how important this would be after doing the open water swim at our camp in San Antonio in April. After swimming only half the distance and experiencing what I'm assuming was a panic attack in the open water I knew I needed to get some open water training in....a pool is so not like swimming in a lake! I located a lake about 1 hour away. I've scheduled one day per month through this August to go down to the lake and swim and I also am planning to join a local tri club here in Alexandria....thanks to Ramona for telling me about this!! And it will be so nice to have a fellow teammate to participate with in this club!!

I'm feeling better about my swimming, mostly about how I should look at my swims. I enjoy cycling and running and when I go into a workout for either of these I actually look forward to it...I haven't had that feeling going into my swim sessions. I guess I needed a little healthy compliment from someone I didn't even know to give me some "happy" focus. I hope to keep this with me as I continue to improve my swimming....I know I can do better and enjoy it too!!