Apr 3, 2012

Swimming again

I've started swimming again, in case the title was too subtle. It feels good. Today's only the second time I made it into the pool in 2 weeks. The first day I swam ten 100s, dying each way. Today I swam a few 100s with a couple 200s thrown in. At some point I will do that 1000m, non-stop.

Which I find funny.

Back in our hey day, a 1000m used to be one set. Back in the day when we were tanned and toned, those days of swimming at dawn and water polo in the sun, in the best shape of our lives, never appreciating for a second how remarkable we looked and felt.. I can look back on it all now with that mixture of pleasure and nostalgia. Those really were the days..

But back to the present. I was nervous about getting back in the water again, having been out of the pool for almost 3 years. But then you kick off from the wall, and you realize that you'll never feel quite as good as you do on that first length, cutting through the water, perfect stroke, perfect kick; that is, until you reach the opposite wall and everything falls apart on the second length. I love it though. I can literally feel every muscle in my body being used.

People tend to think swimming is boring; what do you think of while you're swimming? Quite a lot actually, and none of it is quiet time, which I had forgotten. The truth is, when you swim, you're actually thinking about swimming. Ground breaking, I know. It's just like with any other sport, you're constantly thinking about how to improve. When you're pulling, for instance, did you get that perfect S shape? If you didn't feel it in your bicep, then you're tricep, you're probably doing it wrong. You can literally get caught up in thinking about things like that.

The good news is that I'm finally getting back into a workout that I enjoy. I've been walking, playing attempting badminton and squash, and contemplating the gym, and while all those things are fun, (aside from the gym; boredom city!), I'm glad I'm finally doing something I'm good at. Not, you know, breaking records good, but something I've been doing since the time I could remember. It's also good to know there's no stress on my joints and my feet won't hurt; just that post-swim all over good-tired feeling. And to be honest, it's a much much much needed break from the day where I get to put my head down in the water and get in the zone; not have to talk or smile or even acknowledge anyone. Because I'm just that sociable.

Ps. This song was the soundtrack of my swim



3 comments:

GG said...

I just luuurve swimming, although I can't manage more than a couple of lengths at a stretch.
I find it calms my mind and relaxes the body, and as you said most times my mind is on the act of swimming itself, it's sort of a meditation.
When I was in the latter stages of doing my PhD (talk about stress,.) I used to go for a swim around 6 pm (after about 11 hours of thesis work, totally exhausted and drained) and then I would come back to Uni feeling even better than I've just had the most perfect night of sleep! which meant I'd go back to working for another 5-6 hours at least!

Jack Point said...

I can't swim. I can float and do the strokes for the crawl but I never learned to breathe!

Never realised it could be fun;)

Whacko said...

I totally get this. I do the same things while running. Obviously i'm thinking about running when i run, not swimming. You might enjoy Murakami's 'What i talk about when i talk about running'. Really gets to the core of what you mention, i think

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