Look out Micheal Phelps....here I come.

I don't like to 'brag', but I am proud of the things I accomplish especially when I know how hard it was for me personally to get there. Swimming has not been easy for me. 3 years ago, I started swimming in a beginner's master swim class. I literally could not swim 25 yards without gasping for breath and really did not enjoy putting my face in the water. 4 months later I moved up to a Masters' swim class. I still swallowed a lot of water and the thought of ever doing flip turns regularly was something I believed to be unachievable. Another 1.5 years and I did the Ironman (a 2.4 mile open water swim, 112 mile bike and 26.2 mile run) with confidence. No matter what the end result of the race, I am always proud of how far I've come in the water.

For the last year, I've coasted through swim. No major improvements, aside from finally nailing those flip turns. Now they are so automatic, it would be weird not to do them. I recently signed up for Ironman 2009 and decided it's time to try and take my swimming to the next level. That means, I need to swim 3+ days per week to push my fitness up a notch in the pool. The last several weeks in the pool have been great. I've been pushing myself to new levels, focusing on technique and form and just really enjoying the water.

We have always done 'benchmarking' in swim to see how we are progressing. One event we do is a 400yard swim. The first time I did it, it took me 7:08. Then I dropped about 40 seconds and went down to a 6:25. Then I hovered around 6:05 for awhile, until I broke the 6 minute barrier. I have been at the level ever since....until today. I had my first 400TT in about 8 months and knew that I had gotten a little quicker in the water. I just had to hope it came together in the pool. Now, I realize that in the grand scheme of life, this little 400 timed swim in class means NOTHING. Yet, I still get nervous and have these stupid expectations for myself. I wish sometimes I could not care, but I do. It's just part of who I am.

I'm happy to say I knocked 10 seconds off my personal best and swam a 5:45! It was hard and it hurt, but I knew that I was swimming well.

I'm going to keep swimming 3+ days per week through the New Year to improve my swimming even further. I'm going to keep focused on technique and breathing. I can't wait for my next day in the pool.