i have gills!

Ok, maybe not quite gills, but something magical happened tonight with my swim training. After our 100 warm-up, the coaches said, OK, now do a 400 continuously. I have never, ever swam that far in my life. Inside, I thought to myself, "OH CRAP!!! I'M NOT READY!!!!" and "WHAT IF I DROWN!!! THIS ISN'T THE WAY I WANT TO GO!" but I gamely stuck my head in the water, and started propelling my arms through the resistance. About halfway through the 400, the magic began. I felt a difference in my arms. They were pulling my body through the water, it was no longer just my kicking legs that moved my body through the water. I realized I was keeping my elbow bent longer underwater. And that was pulling me faster and with less effort on my legs to the other side. It. was. magical.

There is always that moment, when you learn something new, when it clicks. It is for this click that I will ALWAYS be learning something new, be it guitar, a language, swimming, endurance racing, how to fix a scooter... I live for that click. If you have ever learned something new, you know what I am talking about. It is the most rewarding feeling, after all the effort of kicking my legs so hard and getting nowhere, and ending up exhausted, to finally realize, I got it. I am ok. This tri is going to happen. I am going to dominate.

My coaches complimented me on my improvement from last week. They said my stroke looked stronger and I was more relaxed in the water. whoohoo! i love encouragement like that.

This is going to be a good tri, you guys.