Why do you swim? Simple. Plain. Easy. Right?
Most of us know why we swim, but when asked to communicate these reasons, many of us struggle. To some, the question begs an answer larger than "to stay fit" or "because I do triathlons." Compiled here are a number of responses collected by U.S. Masters Swimming.
"I swim because I feel more connected to who I am and awake for the day."
"I swim because in this technological age, the pool is one spot where the phone doesn't ring, email ding, nor children SING my name at the top of their lungs!! It is one of the last bastions of quiet in a crazy, hectic world ... (the longer the distance, the better!)."
"I am a swimaholic. I tell myself it is a good addiction. However, my hair is wrecked, my skin is dry, I get too much sun, I'm tired by 4:00 in the afternoon, and I itch. I smell like chlorine when I sweat and my shoulders hurt if I lay on my side at night. I look forward to my workout before I get there and I think about how great it was when I am done. It is my time. I swim because I can and I will keep swimming until I can't. I do it because I love it."
"I swim because it's the ‘sanity' in my stressful life. When I am in the water I am in the present moment. Swimming is the thing I love doing the best in my life. I am safe and at peace in the water."
"To stay alive for my kids. I got married very late, have three young children and would love to see them all graduate at least from high school."
"You ask why I swim? It began when a friend invited me. I went because I have always loved the water. It continued because it calms me and helps me to sleep at night. It's my meditation time just for me and I love it!! I love the opportunity to improve with the help of coaches. One serendipity is that I have lost three sizes due to the swimming."
"When you dive into the pool and the water washes over you it washes away everything else that is going on in your life. That first rush invigorates your body, mind and soul. The water offers you the quiet solitude that keeps you sane. Masters is the place where you make friends with people you would otherwise have never met. You become a network of support for each other. You will form bonds that go way beyond the pool. Your coach will push you to go farther and faster than you ever thought you could, simply because he believes in you."
"I swim because I love the water. I was a diver and loved the adrenaline rush associated with falling, flipping and twisting with a grand finale of slicing through the cool water. It's funny, when you are standing on top of a platform, no matter how many times the announcer says, "Please remain quiet for the competitors," the pool and its surrounding area is composed of a million little sounds and noises, but the minute you enter the water there is an immediate quiet that has the power to separate you from the rest of the world. When I finished my diving career, I never thought I'd experience that feeling again. I was terrified that I'd lose the memory. Well, I did experience the power of the water again and it happened in my first Masters meet. I stood on the block and I could hear everything from the ticking of the clock to the person on the pool deck opening a granola bar wrapper. There was noise all around me, but as soon as the beep went off, I dove in and it was quiet, still. I do like staying in shape, but my love of swimming is the initial plunge into the water. I continue to swim because I long for that feeling of the loud chaos of life mixed with nerves quickly quieted by the cool calmness of the water. Sometimes I find it at practice, other times it takes a race. Swimming, to me, is like living in a memory. Whether it is my memories from diving or being 7 years old at the old country club, I love to dive into the water and "be" wherever and whenever I choose. Swimming takes me out of noisy reality and places me in my most favorite places and times."
So, this seemingly straightforward question is no longer as simple as originally intended. The responses remind us that there is not one single reason that we all swim. We each have our own motivation, reasons and purpose for doing what we do.
So, why do I swim?
I swim because it challenges my mind, body and spirit. It enables me to work off the stress and demands of parenthood... of homeschooling... of life. I am a better person because I swim; because I stay fit. I am a firm believer in life-long learning and if I want my children to do the same, I must embody it myself. I want to be a good role-model for them. Besides, it's fun!
Why do you swim?
Saturday, December 19, 2009
Friday, December 18, 2009
Thursday, December 17, 2009
21 Days
Research shows that it takes 21 days to develop a habit. That's 21 days of going to the gym every day or exercising in some way every day, 21 days to meditation, 21 days to eat healthily, 21 days doing, 21 days of anything.
Today, I vowed to do just that. 21 days of exercising in some way. I vowed to renew my zeal for running. I've missed running. So, I got up and got it done.
4 miles. 38 minutes. (Two 1/2 mile intervals at 8:34 thrown in for good measure) 637 calories.
My goal right now is to just get make into the routine of running 3-4 days a week and strength/core training 2-3x week. All the while continuing to swim 3x weeks.
~~~
OSN 12/16 :: 2550m (1050m warmup/12x25m back drill/6x200 at threshold)
Monday, December 14, 2009
Breaking Through
Though I haven't been running, I have been swimming. However, the past few months I've felt like I have been hitting a wall. Two of my fellow lane-mates have recently jumped over to Lane 3 and I'm being left behind. Yes - 
I'm feeling sorry for myself.
Much of my frustration stems from the fact that I haven't been happy with my performances in the water. Not in practice and certainly not in competition. First there was the Eel Lake Open Water swim - 1500m - in August. To state that I swam terribly is an understatement!
Then there was the 3000m postal swim in November. I felt pretty strong throughout the swim but only managed to improve my time over last year by a few seconds. I didn't even bother to blog about it but thought I'd post my splits now... just for kicks. You'll need to click on the image to enlarge it. The numbers in the margin on the left indicate the number of strokes I took per length - obviously, my form began to suffer as fatigue set in.
Based on my splits, it is apparent that I should be having more success during practice. Particularly during Bob's predictable 30 minutes of 100s on alternate Fridays. In Lane 2, our interval with the obligatory 10 seconds of rest is 2:05. I'm lucky if I can get in 4 or 5 hundreds before I need to sit out a 50. In the end, I complete about 12 hundreds. A 2:30 interval - Urgh! So frustrating!
So the past two weeks, my buddies Deb and Scott have been swimming in Lane 3 and I have been left in Lane 2. I have been feeling really strong though and have been leading most of the workouts. So - when Bob asked for a few people to move over on Friday to even out numbers - I immediately jumped.
The plan was 20 minutes of 1oos followed by 8 minutes of 50s. All freestyle. The interval for the 100s in Lane 3 was 1:50. Yikes. I was a little nervous but Scott said, "You'll do fine. Just take it easy." I thereby followed behind, making a promise to myself that I was going to keep up. I can do this. I can maintain this pace for 3000m ... for an hour. I darn well can do 20 minutes with rest breaks!
The first few were a little fast... 1:45ish. The middle few were 1:50ish. The final few were 1:55ish. All the while I felt great! Finally... breaking through the wall!
Though I was successful on Friday - today I returned to my comfort zone and dove into Lane 2. I got in a solid 1050m warm-up before the drill set 3 x (4 x 25 freestyle fists/catch-up). The main set that followed was a medley mix: 5 x 25m fly, 5 x 50m back, 5 x 75m breast and 5 x 100m free. I led on the back and free rounds and felt solid throughout.
Back to back workouts. 2600m. I'm feeling good. Now to start running again. My kicks are calling me.
I'm feeling sorry for myself.Much of my frustration stems from the fact that I haven't been happy with my performances in the water. Not in practice and certainly not in competition. First there was the Eel Lake Open Water swim - 1500m - in August. To state that I swam terribly is an understatement!
Then there was the 3000m postal swim in November. I felt pretty strong throughout the swim but only managed to improve my time over last year by a few seconds. I didn't even bother to blog about it but thought I'd post my splits now... just for kicks. You'll need to click on the image to enlarge it. The numbers in the margin on the left indicate the number of strokes I took per length - obviously, my form began to suffer as fatigue set in.Based on my splits, it is apparent that I should be having more success during practice. Particularly during Bob's predictable 30 minutes of 100s on alternate Fridays. In Lane 2, our interval with the obligatory 10 seconds of rest is 2:05. I'm lucky if I can get in 4 or 5 hundreds before I need to sit out a 50. In the end, I complete about 12 hundreds. A 2:30 interval - Urgh! So frustrating!
So the past two weeks, my buddies Deb and Scott have been swimming in Lane 3 and I have been left in Lane 2. I have been feeling really strong though and have been leading most of the workouts. So - when Bob asked for a few people to move over on Friday to even out numbers - I immediately jumped.The plan was 20 minutes of 1oos followed by 8 minutes of 50s. All freestyle. The interval for the 100s in Lane 3 was 1:50. Yikes. I was a little nervous but Scott said, "You'll do fine. Just take it easy." I thereby followed behind, making a promise to myself that I was going to keep up. I can do this. I can maintain this pace for 3000m ... for an hour. I darn well can do 20 minutes with rest breaks!
The first few were a little fast... 1:45ish. The middle few were 1:50ish. The final few were 1:55ish. All the while I felt great! Finally... breaking through the wall!
Though I was successful on Friday - today I returned to my comfort zone and dove into Lane 2. I got in a solid 1050m warm-up before the drill set 3 x (4 x 25 freestyle fists/catch-up). The main set that followed was a medley mix: 5 x 25m fly, 5 x 50m back, 5 x 75m breast and 5 x 100m free. I led on the back and free rounds and felt solid throughout.
Back to back workouts. 2600m. I'm feeling good. Now to start running again. My kicks are calling me.
Wednesday, December 9, 2009
15 Books Meme
I saw this on Facebook and enjoyed it so much, I thought I would share here as well. Let me know if you play along by posting in the comments. I won't tag anyone.
Rules: Don't take too long to think about it. List fifteen books you've read that will always stick with you. First fifteen you can recall in no more than 15 minutes.
1. His Dark Materials Trilogy (Golden Compass, Amber Spyglass, Subtle Knife) by Philip Pullman
2. Reason for Hope by Jane Goodall
3. Moloka'i by Alan Brennert
4. Night by Elie Wiesel
5. Parenting with Love & Logic by Foster Cline & Jim Fay
6. Eva by Peter Dickinson
7. Ishmael: An Adventure of the Mind and Spirit by Daniel Quinn
8. My Side of the Mountain by Jean Craighead George
9. The Well-Trained Mind by Susan Wise Bauer
10. Island of the Blue Dolphins by Scott O'Dell
11. Johnny Tremain by Esther Forbes
12. Odd Girl Out by Rachel Simmons
13. Raising Your Spirited Child by Mary Sheedy Kurcinka
14. Queen Bees & Wannabes by Rosalind Wiseman
15. Last Child in the Woods by Richard Louv
Rules: Don't take too long to think about it. List fifteen books you've read that will always stick with you. First fifteen you can recall in no more than 15 minutes.
1. His Dark Materials Trilogy (Golden Compass, Amber Spyglass, Subtle Knife) by Philip Pullman
2. Reason for Hope by Jane Goodall
3. Moloka'i by Alan Brennert
4. Night by Elie Wiesel
5. Parenting with Love & Logic by Foster Cline & Jim Fay
6. Eva by Peter Dickinson
7. Ishmael: An Adventure of the Mind and Spirit by Daniel Quinn
8. My Side of the Mountain by Jean Craighead George
9. The Well-Trained Mind by Susan Wise Bauer
10. Island of the Blue Dolphins by Scott O'Dell
11. Johnny Tremain by Esther Forbes
12. Odd Girl Out by Rachel Simmons
13. Raising Your Spirited Child by Mary Sheedy Kurcinka
14. Queen Bees & Wannabes by Rosalind Wiseman
15. Last Child in the Woods by Richard Louv
Monday, December 7, 2009
Resuming My Quest
I am realizing more and more that each person comes to this journey of life with a certain bag of tricks. Our educational background, personality strengths and weaknesses, energy level, family support system (or lack thereof), financial resources and a million other factors all play into what we do and how we do it.
Throughout life one of my strongest tools in my trick bag has always been a really high energy level. Friends referred to me as the Energizer Bunny who just keeps "going and going and going". Right now that is not so much the case. Due partially to an injury (Plantars faciitis) and burn-out as well as outside demands placed upon me, I have struggled with decreasing energy for over a year now. Whom am I kidding? It's probably because I'm just getting older, right?
Truth is, for a myriad of reasons I am confronted by my personal limitations each and every day. I don't have the time to do it all and even if I had the time I just don't have the energy. And truth be told, even when I could do so much more, it wasn't necessarily the healthiest rhythm for my life. A rhythm of regular rest, fun and mental downtime is critical to a healthy soul.
Those who know me also know that I love lists and charts. I organize and plan everything. I keep lists of books I want to read. Scrapbook pages I want to create. Gifts I want to make for Christmas. Places to which I want to travel. As I looked over my 888 List and the subsequent 999 List I created in the past, I realized that not only have I stopped running but I have also stopped reading. In 2008, I read 34 books (no where near my goal). In 2009, the number of books I read dropped to 14. I have stopped scrapbooking. In essence, I have stopped blogging.
The increasing realization that I just cannot do it all had me asking some hard (hard for me anyway) questions. If I can't do it all, how do I prioritize? What gets done and what doesn't? And am I going to take control of my schedule or will I let the tyranny of the urgent rule my day?
Two years ago, I purchased The Well Educated Mind. I knew immediately upon reading the first section that I needed - and wanted - to embark on a journey of self-education. I thereby ordered all of the novels recommended by Susan Wise-Bauer (Paper Back Swap rocks!). Yet, I haven't done much else other than wait for a good time.
I have come to realize that there will never be a "good time". Life will always be busy and there will always be things to compete for my time. For me it has got to be a choice of my choosing between good and better. The things that are occupying my time are good (for the most part) but often not the best for me and my children.
I have struggled this past year with the inner turmoil to do what others request of me and that which I want and need to do for myself and my family. I have been putting my dreams and goals aside for others because I can not do it all. This needs to change. I need to shift gears and change my focus. I need to begin working on my own education and thereby that of my children. I need to resume my personal quest for Boston.
Throughout life one of my strongest tools in my trick bag has always been a really high energy level. Friends referred to me as the Energizer Bunny who just keeps "going and going and going". Right now that is not so much the case. Due partially to an injury (Plantars faciitis) and burn-out as well as outside demands placed upon me, I have struggled with decreasing energy for over a year now. Whom am I kidding? It's probably because I'm just getting older, right?
Truth is, for a myriad of reasons I am confronted by my personal limitations each and every day. I don't have the time to do it all and even if I had the time I just don't have the energy. And truth be told, even when I could do so much more, it wasn't necessarily the healthiest rhythm for my life. A rhythm of regular rest, fun and mental downtime is critical to a healthy soul.
Those who know me also know that I love lists and charts. I organize and plan everything. I keep lists of books I want to read. Scrapbook pages I want to create. Gifts I want to make for Christmas. Places to which I want to travel. As I looked over my 888 List and the subsequent 999 List I created in the past, I realized that not only have I stopped running but I have also stopped reading. In 2008, I read 34 books (no where near my goal). In 2009, the number of books I read dropped to 14. I have stopped scrapbooking. In essence, I have stopped blogging.
The increasing realization that I just cannot do it all had me asking some hard (hard for me anyway) questions. If I can't do it all, how do I prioritize? What gets done and what doesn't? And am I going to take control of my schedule or will I let the tyranny of the urgent rule my day?
Two years ago, I purchased The Well Educated Mind. I knew immediately upon reading the first section that I needed - and wanted - to embark on a journey of self-education. I thereby ordered all of the novels recommended by Susan Wise-Bauer (Paper Back Swap rocks!). Yet, I haven't done much else other than wait for a good time.
I have come to realize that there will never be a "good time". Life will always be busy and there will always be things to compete for my time. For me it has got to be a choice of my choosing between good and better. The things that are occupying my time are good (for the most part) but often not the best for me and my children.
I have struggled this past year with the inner turmoil to do what others request of me and that which I want and need to do for myself and my family. I have been putting my dreams and goals aside for others because I can not do it all. This needs to change. I need to shift gears and change my focus. I need to begin working on my own education and thereby that of my children. I need to resume my personal quest for Boston.
Tuesday, December 1, 2009
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