flip the switch

as many of you, i have been a devoted swimmer for most of my life. my mom took me to water babies when i was an infant and i would scream as soon as i got the first sniff of chlorine, now i crave it. i swam on the grand rapids gators until i was old enough for the middle school swim team and then swam all through highschool. even in college i swam for fitness and then continued to use it as my preferred exercise through life.

when i lived in lugano there was a beautiful pool at the lido, olympic size. i would jump at the opportunity to catch a ride down there to swim outside surrounded by the mountains. i felt so fancy in that big shiny pool.

i have recently gotten back in the pool. it started out when my heart started acting funny and my doctor told me to stick to the bike and the pool. first it was thirty minutes and 1000 meters. it felt good, but not good enough. then it was thirty minutes 1200 meters, better but still not great. then last week something happened. i stetched my warm-up to 500 meters and accomplished 1500 meters in forty minutes. it felt great! i vowed to try my hardest to arrive at the pool by 7:15 so i could swim just a little longer. and then, this morning, it happend. i flipped the switch. by 7:45 I had already completed 1500 meters in thirty minutes. just when i was about to take off my cap, something flipped on in my head, what is 20 more laps. so, i kept going! 2000 meters before 8:00! it was awesome!

the other day someone asked me how many "up and downs" i swam before work in the morning. when i said 60, they could not believe it. this person told me that they could do "four up and downs" and that was good for them. this morning i swam 80 "up and downs". i hate to brag but that was pretty good! i can tell i am getting stronger and that is something to be proud of! i have to research some new workouts for 2000+ meters because before i know it, 2000 is going to be to short for me! i may not be a fast runner, a fast biker or a weightlifter...but i dare any of you to swim with me one morning!