Fantastic Swim

I just swam over 1.6 miles! You know what the best part about that is? I didn't feel, at any point, like it couldn't be done.

Another thing that feels good? I finished the swim, which included pauses and drills, plus warm up and cool down, in 73 minutes.

I implemented some new thoughts today that I think really helped lead to success. The first was the direction and depth of my arm into the water. The second was the idea of moving my body forward to meet my hand, as opposed to pushing my hand down through the water. Finally, more a physical change than purely mental, I changed my arm position to allow my hand to enter closer to shoulder width, and not above my head. This one change lead to easier stroke, smoother catch and more efficient pull. And I didn't feel half as exhausted as I normally do.

What's more, there was a woman in my lane who was swimming continuous laps. She wasn't slow. I felt strong and streamlined as I caught up to her multiple times, and though I felt I was going at a more leisurely pace than usual, my body was skimming through the water in a much better way.

I did get a few cramps in my feet, which I swam through. A couple of charlie-horse cramps in my calf, specifically the right one. I also swam through these, except for the last one, which I got in the first lap of my cool down. I switched from breast stroke to back stroke to alleviate this pain.

Another new thing that I did was feed myself mid-swim. I made it through 450, 400 and 350 before feeding myself a packet of GU. Then proceeded through the remaining ladder. I really felt tired, as in my muscles were spent, at the 100m ladder rung, but the final 50m I swam proudly and in 1:03.

I felt very strong and happy today. Truly a good experience.