Splish, Splash

The best part of going back to racing for me has been the return to the pool.  I was four when I started swimming, progressed through all the regular levels, and as a teenager decided to take my lifeguard levels as well so I would have a job in the summers – which I did for 7 years.  I also think it helped that the lifeguard classes were taught by two gorgeous guys with awesome swimmer bodies, but I digress…

As a swimmer, I am genetically deficient. Natural swimmers tend to have long lean bodies (not me), longer legs (really not me), and bigger feet (definitely not me). What I lack in genetics I make up for in spirit. I love the water. Put me in or near it, and you just made me one happy camper. My favorite part of my recent trip to the Dominican Republic? The day trip to the freezing cold waterfalls, where you haul yourself up the waterfalls and then swim down them. If I believed in reincarnation, I probably was a dolphin in a previous life.

I had delayed my swim training knowing that running was my weak sport, but needed to get in the pool so I could see how steep the climb to being race ready was really going to be. Honestly?  I wanted to see if my gills came back. 

There is a pool in my backyard, but starting training in January kind of ruled out its use.  So off to Nikki Rowe High School I went. I had never been on the campus before, and had no clue where the pool was, so I parked my car and took a deep breath.  There it was - the curiously welcoming and very familiar tang of chlorine. Most people can't stand it, but to me it is a reminder of many happy years spent taking lessons and racing. I followed my nose, and quickly found myself at the pool.

I sat for a few moments mentally preparing myself not to have high expectations. I teach swimming in the summer, but this was a different can of worms entirely, and it had been a while since I subjected myself to a swim workout. As I slid into the water, all anxiety faded away. It was like reuniting with a good friend. I started to swim, and felt the power return to my shoulders as I pulled myself through the water.  I watched the bubbles form as my hand entered the water and pulled across for the all important down stroke. It was easy, like I had never left, and I felt my gills return.  I guess I wasn't going to be as aqua challenged as I thought I would be.

It's been almost two months now since I first returned to the pool. Times are good, distances are climbing. A year and two months sounds like a long time, but it will be gone before I know it. I prepare myself for not one race, but four - the swim, the bike, the run, and the mental race all Ironmen face...can I do this?

2.4 miles is a long way to swim. To swim 2.4 miles with 2000 other people at once is daunting for some. For me, the idea is thrilling. Like Dory says "just keep swimming, just keep swimming".