I just got back from my first swim practice in 8.5 years...and I am tired!! I have been looking forward to this for about a month now, and am glad the day finally arrived!
It's strange how I felt the moments before arriving. As I was driving to the pool my heart started racing! For someone who swam competitively for 12 years, this was a new sensation for me. The only time I would feel such anxiety was the moments before a race....never for practice!! How many people would be there? How fit would these people be? What level would I be at with the workouts created? What can I even handle in the pool anymore? There were so many unknowns!
Once I jumped into the water, all the fears went away. I forgot how comfortable I was in a pool. It truly is like "riding a bike" for me. The coach created a workout for me...after me explaining to him I had absolutely no idea what I could handle. We decided to see how I did tonight and tailor future workouts based on that. I feel I did pretty well...for not having a set workout in over 8 years...for not being in a pool to swim for well over a year (or two or three)...and for having a baby 5 months ago!
Saying I did pretty well does not at all mean I was stinkin' awesome! In fact, there were times I felt as slow as molasses!! Why in the world were my arms not pulling me through the water any faster???? Oh yeah...because I have lost all muscle mass I used to have!! And my shoulder definitely suffered the consequences of that tonight. Although I want to get in as much as I can before school begins, I'm glad that time won't allow me this week simply because I feel my body needs a bit more time to recover. I don't want to go all out for a few days and then hurt so bad I never go back! I have to remember, this is a marathon, not a race. Getting back into shape (or just better shape than what I'm in now) is my goal...not seeing the times I had in high school.
As I was leaving the coach was telling me about Masters Swim Meets. I think by next summer I would like to have competed in at least one. How exciting to feel the rush of competition again!! I just have to clear from my mind how fast I used to be and start fresh with new times and new goals. But right now my goal & focus is practicing twice a week to build my endurance and better my health for my daughter.
3 comments:
Great Job! I am very proud of you for getting out there and getting started. I am right behind you, I hope! I already have a gym membership I just have to force myself to go!
You have inspired me!
Great Job Jessica! Hope you have fun tonight. So...the apartment that we are going to be moving into....has a really awesome workout room...this includes like 5 ellipticals...which I enjoy! Ok....so no excuses for me! Hopefully we can all report to each other how great we are doing and feeling. I'm usually ok with keeping up with exercise...it's just that darn food thing that always trips me up and makes it look like I've never exercised! I"m hoping to finally get some self-discipline in that area so I can stop regretting everyday what I ate!
Keep up the good work. You go girl!!
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