Swimming

For about the last twelve months, I have been swimming pretty regularly to try to get back in shape. After several years of a full schedule including work, school, family, and other stuff, I was a mess physically. I used to swim in High School and although I was never very fast, it's nice to have that background to help me feel comfortable enough to make swimming a regular workout. It's great because it works just about every muscle in my body and stresses my heart and lungs at the same time. I'm still not a great swimmer, but I love the way it works my body and I love the way I feel after I'm done.

One of the things I never got used to as a teenager was the lack of air. Swimming long distances always forced me to take a breath every other stroke because I never felt like I had enough oxygen to keep my muscles moving if I didn't. The oxygen problem got worse when I learned to do flip turns because there were stretches of time at each end of the pool when I didn't get any oxygen as I flipped, pushed off from the wall, and kicked under water as far as my momentum would take me.

For the last year, I have been avoiding flip turns because of that problem. But my lung capacity seems to be improving with time and this last week, I did flip turns during the entire workout. It sure hurt my lungs, but it felt really good afterward! I don't have a racing suit, just a regular swimsuit with drag, but it works. In 30 minutes, I'm able to swim as much as 1500 yards, though I don't always do that. Last week, with flip turns wearing me out and a few sprints, I swam 1200 yards in 30 minutes. I'd like to swim for 45 or 60 minutes, but it's tough with my schedule right now.

I love that I'm getting stronger. I love that my endurance for physical activity has increased dramatically. I love the way I feel when I'm (sort of) fit. I love being able to see my distance go up, my times go down, my strokes improve, all that good stuff. That kind of growth is really satisfying to me.