For the Week 4 challenge, I decided to swim 1.9 km. Not all at once of course but over the course of a week. The distance is how far you would swim if you were doing a Half-Ironman. I realize that you were doing a Half-Ironman you would do it all at once and of course a long bike ride and an even longer run would follow. For me I haven’t really swum, swam or swimmed (what is the past tense of swimming?) that distance over the course of my life. I wasn’t sure it I would be good at it or not.
The first thing that kinda sucks about swimming are the lane swim times at the local YMCA. When you are working out you can go at anytime that fits into your schedule. With swimming you have to fit your schedule around the lane swim times.
The second thing that kinda sucked about swimming was my choice of attire. The first time I went, the shorts I wore were too big. I was initially happy because those trunks were pretty tight at the start of the summer. I was less happy as my trunks kept slipping off my ass as I attempted to swim. After a while I just gave up. I finished a lap with two lily-white cheeks breaking the surface like Nessie’s head. The poor teenage girl lifeguard. I then switched to a pair of pea soup green trunks with various marine life on them. A swordfish. A shark. A starfish. A whale. I thought they did the trick until I got that dreaded wife comment “You didn’t really wear those in public?”
I finished the 76 lengths over the course of the week. I was usually out of breath by the time I reached the end of the pool. The strange thing is when you are done you just feel a full body fatigue. You just feel tired.
Swimmers are a unique sub-gym culture. They are a different breed. I didn’t really feel the love but it really is an individual sport. Plus I think my less than graceful style really turned them off. Don’t care. I didn’t drown. It’s about survival.
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