sweet victory!

Tuesday night was the 800m assessment. (that's about half a mile) and it. was. magical.

I know I've said swims and workouts were magical before, but Tuesday night was the most magical of all. Let me recap my swimming experience this year.

2/12/10- i "reteach" myself how swim and do freestyle
2/16/10- first group swim. coaches gravely concerned about my anxiety level in the pool, I borrowed coach's goggles and was confused as to when my head was actually under the water.
2/23/10- 400 assessment- farthest i had ever swam in my life continuously. Time was around 15 minutes. (and i definitely paused in between lengths)
3/16/10- 800 assessment. 22.5 minutes!!!

and after the 800, my coach said that he had no worries about me doing the olympic distance at the tri in june. So we discussed it, and decided that I would actually do the sprint distance, since it's my first tri. He wants me to feel accomplished at good at the end of the race, instead of dead. Then, I can do the olympic distance at the Chicago tri August 29th. I only need to fund raise 1,000 more for that tri. Which, I hope, is doable. I have all summer to fund raise though, and I can always sell some pottery to help funds along.

I wasn't even tired at the end of the 800, and I didn't want to get out of the pool! My rhomboids are a bit sore, however. I should sketch my muscles that are sore. I did my Friday swim today, and thank goodness they had cleaned out the pool on Wed, because last week it was so chlorine-y and warm and nasty, it was really lame to swim in. Today was great, hardly anyone was there, and I soaked my sore rhomboids in the hot tub afterward. It's a nice way to end the week :)

I spent the past two days with two of my favorite people in the world, Sara and Philip. I got to meet some of Philip's family, and of course he brought his famous chocolate chip cookies. I miss them a lot, it was nice to see them again and catch up. Last time I saw Sara was in October, and I've been through a world of change since then, so it was good to touch base again and have some good conversation with science people. They made some good arguments to work for the government with them in Mississippi, so we'll see... either that or work on a tug boat for 4 months. Which I actually am considering.

Tomorrow morning I spin on my steed of steel with my pistons of doom. Sunday I run and then Monday I rest. Bring it.

I leave you with a quote from our weekly coaches tip:

We can’t control the weather in Chicago, but we can “do what we can at the moment” – so Saturday we go inside and stay faithful to do our best. Learn from that lesson – it’s not just about triathlon, it might be about life. How do you face setbacks, how do you adjust your game plan when things don’t go your way – when you forget to pack your bike helmet for race day or your running shoes or your favorite good luck transition towel? You do what you can at the moment – no more – no less.

more on that later.