is it wrong to love my wetsuit?

Our wetsuits came in a couple of weeks ago, and I can honestly say I'm now looking forward to the open water swim practices. Not so much that first night. I really had my guard down because the coaches had assured us we were just going to put them on and get wet, not do a full workout. So when they said swim around the perimeter of the lake, I was not at all mentally prepared. That made for an anxiety-ridden half mile swim, which was probably more of an emotional/psychological workout for me than a physical one.

I was better prepared for week two, having done some of my swimming affirmations. That night, I completed two laps around the lake with my awesome swim buddy, and we both got checked off for the swim portion of the race. There is a lot of value in practicing in open water. My comfort level went up exponentially in one week. The skills are taking a bit longer, but in this race, to finish is to win. At last week's open water swim practice, I actually got into a groove for about a minute on the second lap. Progress!

And now, without further adieu, a couple of paeans to the wetsuit:

Top five reasons I heart my wetsuit:

5. I get a nice aerobic and strength workout putting it on, thus negating the need to warm up once I'm in the water.
4. Black goes with everything.
3. Black is slimming.
2. It keeps me warm and cozy.
1. I float!

And here are the top five things I feel like when I wear said wetsuit.

5. The sta-puft marshmallow man.
4. Angelina Jolie in a Tomb Raider movie (a girl can dream).
3. I'm gliding through the water.
2. A river otter.
1. A good swimmer!

how swimming reminds me of golf

Practicing swimming, to me, is a lot like practicing golf. It's all in the details, the technique, and there are at least fifteen things to think about while swimming if I want to be efficient at propelling myself through water. Elbows up, chin tucked, don't rotate too far when turning your head to breathe, keep one eye on the bottom of the pool, kick from the hips, reach, but don't overreach, breathe from alternate sides, exhale completely before taking a breath, check your position every tenth stroke, don't cross your midline with your stroke, press your chest down, and above all, relax. That last one is the hardest of all for me.

No wonder swimming wears me out! I see swimming as a problem, and that is part of my problem with swimming. I describe myself as a poor swimmer, so that is exactly what I am. It finally dawned on me last week that possibly the best thing I can do to improve at swimming is to adjust my thinking and attitude about swimming in a positive direction. Create some swimming affirmations, if you will. I can comfortably swim one mile without stopping. Swimming is a fun way for me to challenge my abilities. Swimming is fun.

I actually had fun swimming for the first time in a long time last summer, when I visited Balmorhea State Park. It was such a delightful place to swim - a huge, clear, spring-fed West Texas desert oasis, with a smattering of native fish sharing the 25 foot deep pool - that I jumped off the high-dive with the excitement and glee of a kid, and challenged myself to swim across the widest parts of the pool, reveling so much in the wash of the cool clear waters that I forgot to be afraid. I consider San Solomon Springs to be a magical place. Why else would I take a two hour detour for a chance at another swim on my return trip? I am not the kind of person to plan my journeys around swimming opportunities. Accessing those positive memories of swimming for pure enjoyment and adventure would probably serve me well in my swim practice.

How Sweet It Isn't

Lesson Learned: When you have track practice at 6pm, eat something more substantial than a chocolate chip cookie at 3pm, yet more bland than a hummus and sprouts sandwich.

March 17 track practice started with the usual warm up and drills. Drills are best done in groups, it makes the silliness factor manageable when you're doing high knee kicks, butt kicks, grapevines, and backwards running. Then we were charged with running three 1 mile repeats, with a generous 3 minutes rest between. One at warm up pace, one at a hard pace, and one at race pace. After the hard mile, I was sure I was going to toss that cookie from 3pm. I backed off my pace a bit for the last mile, but was still nauseous when I finished. I mentioned it to the coach who said "great! that's exactly where you should be!" Ugh. I run alot, but never have I experienced that level of exertion. The consequences of both not eating enough, and eating something with lots of sugar, which I'm not accustomed to. I'm learning to make better food choices before my workouts.

March 24 track practice was warm up and drills, then 10 x 400 with 1 minute rest between. Those 3 minutes seem much more generous today. After the third 400, however, the hummus sandwich I ate before practice seemed like less and less of a good idea.

This past summer, I gave up almost all sugar. I allowed for things sweetened with fruit juice, evaporated cane juice, and honey. I also made exceptions for special occasions and birthdays. Since starting training, I've been more lax about eating sugar, mostly because I'm burning so many calories, but I'm still pretty sensitive to sugar. If I eat too much, my tongue feels like it got burnt, and I notice when food is overly or unnaturally sweet. For example, I had a can of tomato soup that I thought would be good with the bit of fresh basil and half & half I needed to use up. In the past, it was the high sodium I always noticed when I ate canned soups. But with the first spoonful, all I tasted was sweetness. Not what I was expecting. I checked the back of the can and the second ingredient was high fructose corn syrup. Bleah. I had to throw out the rest. Another time, I got a sugar cookie at Whole Foods. Its crispy, chewy texture was just the way I like it, but something was a bit off. I tried adding a sprinkle of salt and voilà, the perfect cookie. Just not to be eaten before running!

This picture gives a general idea of how training is going so far. That is, if I'm not swimming, biking, or running, this is how I feel:

Ready for a nap. At these times, I remember that I'm not doing this just for me, but to help others win the fight against cancer. To lend your support and help find a cure for leukemia, lymphoma, and myeloma, just follow the donate link in the sidebar.