No Impact

I can't believe I rolled out of bed this morning at about 5:20 am. I had set aside my clothes and my gym bag the night before and tried to eliminate as many potential excuses not to get up as I could. I was at the gym and then in the pool by 5:45. Nothing on me moves fast at that hour, but I began to swim a lap or two.

I admit, it's been a very long time since I've done any swimming to speak of. Probably the last time I was submerged in water was trying to surf. I did a lot of paddling, but since you try to stay on top of your board in surfing, I can't say I did much swimming. It's odd, now that I think about it, since I was basically amphibious in my youth. Water has never been a problem. And water was not a problem today, either. It was my lack of conditioning that was the problem! I've always had trouble with swimming form. When turning my head to the side to breathe I always feel I get too much water in my mouth. When you're fresh, this isn't an issue. But when you start gulping O2, you don't want to gulp any H2O! So I would swim a lap and catch my breath for a little while before swimming another lap. I realize, like jogging, that this will be a process.

Though I wasn't necessarily thrilled with my performance, I am completely stoked on a few other swim related items. First, it was a great way to hit the gym at that hour. It was almost like waking up and taking a morning bath. I am super stoked that I got some exercise that is totally non-impact. Believe me, that is a nice change from jogging. And finally, I am excited to have added a second discipline to my training for triathlon.

So, all in all, it has been a good day.