Three Things Thursday ...

Swim Mojo - Back when I started racing triathlons, swimming was my enemy. I absolutely dreaded it. I had no idea how to swim freestyle and my breaststroke was painfully slow. Like so slow that I was keeping pace with people walking in the pool. Embarrassing.

Then, when I decided to train for my first 70.3, I knew I couldn't continue to "fake" my way through the swim. So, I read a book (I'm such a nerd) and taught myself how to breathe and stroke and all that stuff that comes with endurance swimming. My first real workout was 8x25. That's it. 200 meters and it totally kicked my butt. But, I kept at it and before long (seriously, it didn't take that long) I could swim for a hour straight. It was simply amazing to me.

For the first 15 months or so, I never got any faster. If I had a good swim, I'd finish 2600 meters in an hour. I wasn't fast. I was consistent. But, I kept swimming.

Then, one day, something clicked. I'm not sure what it was and I didn't even realize that anything had changed, but suddenly, I was logging 2800 meters in an hour. Then 3000 and now, somewhere around 3200. And if you've never swam, let me tell you, 600 extra meters in the pool is a hell of a lot farther than 600 meters on land (yes, I realize they are the same distance regardless. But, the work is not equal.)

So, the interaction I had after my swim yesterday shouldn't have surprised me. My lane mate finished his workout about five minutes before I did. He got out of the pool, but hovered at the end of the lane. I thought maybe he was considering getting back in, but when I stopped, he started talking to me. The conversation went a little something like this:

Swimmer Dude: "Did you do that race on your cap? I just did my first two triathlons this year."
Me: (thinking, "How else would I get this cap?") "Yes"
Swimmer Dude: "Awesome. So how do you get faster in the water? You were just blowing by me like it was nothing."

Talk about having my day made. Obviously, this guy has no concept of real speed (I know about a zillion people who are far faster than me in the pool), but his comment made me feel like such a rock star. Oh, and my answer - "Swim more. Like anything else, the more time you spend doing it, the more efficient you will become."

School Days - Dizzle and Doodle went back to school on Tuesday.

And although they loved it, I'm still skeptical. I love our school and I love the staff there, but I can't shake the feeling that they are missing the mark with Dizzle. There was a reason I wanted to homeschool her. And even though, there were also valid reasons for sending her, I'm not a 100% sure it was the right decision. Obviously, it's the first week and I need to give it time. I just think the Type-A in me is having a hard time waiting to see if we made a mistake. Ugh, parenting can be so hard at times.

Racing Day - Somehow, it's time for me to race Rev3 Cedar Point HalfRev. And although I feel completely prepared to finish, I'm still super anxious about it. I've had a rough go of training and recovery this year and due to circumstance, I've logged most of my miles on the trainer and the treadmill. Not the end of the world, but not ideal either.

But, I must remember that the number one goal is to finish while having fun. I know my training plan was designed for that. It didn't have the volume to set me up for a huge PR and honestly, I couldn't have managed it if it did. Things were supposed to play out this way. Now I just have to let them.