First Swim Baby!

Yes it is official. I finally made it to the pool to do some actual swimming. The last time I did that was way back in September before the Elephantman Olympic Triathlon. Well, you might be asking the question, "Why in the world did it take me so long to get back into the pool?" There are really a couple of answers I can give you but one big one finally pushed me over the edge. Here are my reasons:

First, I had taken so much time off because I was very tired of always getting in trouble for not completing my work in school. Pissing people off (including yourself) does not feel very good day after day.

Second, I had taken so much time off because swimming is not really that important in triathlons anyway. Okay it is but it isn't. At some of my races I would greatly out split some people in the water only to be destroyed by them on the bike and run. Yes swimming is important but I needed to improve elsewhere.

Third, I had taken so much time off from swimming because I just wanted to run again. I remembered back to my high school days and how much I enjoyed running. I didn't really like racing but I really liked the training aspect of running. It is somewhat of a spiritual awakening to finish a long trail run in the warm glowing afternoon sun.

Last, the major reason I finally went to the pool was because I am tired of just running. It is funny because that is exactly what I wanted when I just started running but now I am pretty tired of it. I know I will never be a super fast runner. I will just have to live with this. I can run a pretty serious pace for a long time but I just can't pound out five minute miles for a stupid 5k. In my mind I wanted and felt like I could run really fast but seeing that I am no closer to doing this now after training my ass off than I was in high school (or even after a 56 mile bike time trial) I quickly lost motivation.

I have learned that my talent for triathlon isn't in fast running or fast swimming or even in fast bike riding. I am just not a fast person. My talent lies in my ability to not slow down when I am very tired. That is something I think I have over most. Rather than focus on one sport to get faster I should focus more on strength and efficiency to make me faster. That is why I think it is time for me to get back in the pool and start mixing things up a bit. Plus I kind of miss my blond hair.