Bliss

Swim practice last night went very, very well. There is something to be said about missing a few practices and then coming back and having very intense trainings. I felt so relaxed in the pool and after my swim, and so strong, it was fantastic. We swam about 1300m in an hour- 200 warm up, 5x50 drills, a 100, 200, 400, 200, 100 ladder, with different intensities, and a 100 cool down. I had the lane to myself as my swimming buddies didn't show up, but I actually enjoyed that. I'm still struggling with breathing, it's so stupid, I just sometimes forgot I'm in water and inhale when I need it, instead of waiting for my head to come up. My coach gave me a tip about breathing- to exhale really hard under water, so there is no air in my lungs, and then I'll need a breath when I need to breathe. That actually helped a lot.

I also asked my coaches if I should do the sprint or olympic distance, and their only concern is my breathing in the pool- they said I should practice this Friday, and then next Tuesday is the 800m swim assessment, and they'll see how I do with that, and then decide. They said it doesn't seem like my arms or legs get tired- I have the strength, it's just my ability to breathe consistently. It's true, I am not comfortable being out of breath in a pool yet. It's getting loads better, but I still have a ways to go.

I think if I do the sprint distance in Elkhart, I'll do the Olympic distance at the Chicago triathlon in August. I'd only have to fundraise a few hundred more, and I'd really like to do the Chicago tri, since I live here. We'll see what life brings after May- if I have a full time job, this may be more of a dream then a reality. But I really enjoy triathlon training- I am never sore or bored, and yet have gotten pretty fit. And of course I cannot say enough good things about TNT. SO we'll see what happens.

Looks like I'm in for a rainy bike ride today. Splendid.