The Only Way I Would Fail is if I Didn't Come Out and TRI

21 Weeks before Ironman Florida. 

Training has started and this morning I was up before the sun to swim.  Yet, it still was HOT and HUMID.  Ummm....85 degrees at 4:30 a.m.???  REALLY?

I'm learning to embrace my three-times-a-week swims.  It's not that I mind having to go more than average.  But, I do often wonder if I am ever going to get as fast as those guys two lanes over who TORE IT UP during practice.  Little did I know, Coach was about to give me the learning opportunity of a lifetime.  (Retrospectively, I should have been tipped off when he said, "Hey Sue - we are gonna have some fun this morning...")

I had already gone 1100 yds - closing in on a mile - when Coach stopped practice and had us all line up on the wall.  "Ok," he said, "we are going to sprint.  TWELVE 50 yd sprints, all out, as fast as you can go.  We are going to do these on the minute-and-a-half mark, so the faster you swim, the longer you will have to recover before the next one."

All I heard was TWELVE 50 yd sprints.  Quick math told me that equated to 600 yds - roughly the same distance as that for a a shorter triathlon. 

"Ok Sue, you can do this." I thought.  "It's only a quick 600.  Just dig in and get it done."  Oh, there is so much to be said about mind over matter.

The whistle blew and we were off.  Water was streaming over my head.  My legs were pumping and I was breathing only long enough to gulp enough air in to sustain me through three more counts.

Breathe...head back down...stroke...stroke...stroke...breathe.

COME ON SUE...YOU CAN DO THIS!!!  That voice inside my head was screaming.  YOU CAN DO ANYTHING FOR A MINUTE!  PUSH PUSH PUSH!!!

And I did.  For the first 200 yds, I gave it everything I had.  Yet, I was consistently the last person to the wall.  Every time.  UUUGH.

Why is swimming so difficult for me?  I KNOW I will get stronger, and I KNOW it will get easier.  (It already has.)  It's just a matter of time, practice and PATIENCE.  But, PATIENCE has never been a virtue for me - and that's the part God has been working on for a long time.



Dean Karnazes said: "Struggling and suffering are the ESSENCE of a life worth living.  If you're not pushing yourself beyond the comfort zone, if you're not demanding more from yourself - expanding and learning as you go - you're choosing a numb existence.  You're denying yourself an extraordinary trip."

He's right.

The funny thing is, those sprints did get easier.  Coach gave me a set of fins to use for the last 400 yds.  He wanted me to feel speed and power.  And, it worked!  Suddenly, I felt like I could FLY.  I was swift, turning my 50 yd 1:15 split into a mere 42 seconds, wall-to-wall. 

42 SECONDS!  WOW!!!  I felt UNSTOPPABLE!

So, my simple lesson for today is this - it's a matter of PATIENCE and PERSPECTIVE.  Like I posted on FB last week - "The things that challenge us the most are often the things that inspire and motivate us to achieve beyond our wildest dreams..."