Again with the swimming!

Oct 12, 2012

The last thing I want to do when the alarm goes off at 5am is get up. The bed is warm, the room is dark, the dogs are snoring gently and the husband is just a comfortable, familiar lump next to me.

So I might hit snooze, but I'm up at 5:10am and quietly making my way out the door to drive to the pool.

Normally there's only two of us at the pool that early - both doing laps. I start out with a breast stroke, stretching my arms up and out, up and out. I don't have great flexibility in my right leg due to sciatica, but I concentrate on my frog kick and make it as strong and symmetrical as possible. I'm extending my breath - trying to only come up for air once. The pool is not Olympic sized so it's not all that hard.

Once I do 2-3 sets of laps with that stroke I switch to a crawl. My arms rock on the crawl so I concentrate on my kicking and my breathing. I alternate taking one breath through 1/2 a lap, and taking a breath every four strokes. Two laps of the crawl done, I switch to a back stroke, which is relaxing, but a good leg work out if you're kicking right. Next stroke is the butterfly, which I just started doing. It is my favorite stroke for really getting cardio and strength going. Then I start all over again, eventually doing 4 laps of each stroke for an hour. I will throw in what I call my snorkel lap - pretend you're snorkeling, only, you know, hold your breath. Legs kicking, arms at your side, and imagine you're looking at a lovely Caribbean coral reef below you.

I also do a few laps of underwater swimming - staying as close to the bottom a I can and holding my breath for as long as I can. It helps if I picture in my head a Great White shark swimming after me. 

I feel utterly fantastic after every swim. My body loves me, my joints love me, and my lungs love me. This is why I swim.


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06/18/2012
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