(I somehow lost my post in the middle of reviewing it--sorry if this ends up posted twice! Now let's see if I can remember what I wrote.)
I was talking with a friend about swimming and she said she started "swimming for life" x number of years ago. I got the sense that she meant that it was more than a good workout--it kept her "alive." I have to admit that it has that kind of effect for me, too. At the risk of sounding too new-agey, it's nourishing in more than a physical sense.
What does swimming mean to you? How does that compare to other sports or activities you do? How does that meaning influence your goals and performance?
To TI or not to TI, that is the question.
Whether 'tis nobler in the pool to suffer
The slings and yardage of conventional workouts,
Or to take arms against a sea of technical flaws,
And by opposing them end them. To drill, to fix --
No more; and by a fix we aim to end
The imperfections and the thousand 50 flys
That Dave is heir to -- 'tis a Mindful revelation.
Devoutly to be TI'd. To drill, to fix --
To drill, perchance to swim pretty. Ay, there's the rub.
For in that book of drills what slowness may come.
When we have suffered from aerobic decline,
Must give us pause. There's the respect
That makes "the burn" so long of life,
For who could bear the whips and strains of being unfit?
The oppressor suppressed, proud victory a swimmer's friend.
Ah, the pangs of beloved pain, the cardio restored.
The sad and sore recurrence of muscle adaptation
That PT patients of relentless overuse endure.
When he himself gladly the ibuprofen might bear,
To grunt and sweat under heavy weights,
And that dream of something after hell,
The hibernating taper to whose existence
We always return, puzzled no longer.
And makes us rather bear the ills we have
Then fly to others that we may know not?
Thus, consciousness makes cowards of swimmers all,
And still, the yearning to improve. To drill, to fix --
Is sickled o'er with the past cast of trad swimming.
And enterprises of 25,00 yards or more.
Yet, with this regard, the yardage may compile,
And personal bests and shoulders of yore long lost.
Thus, though change and death we fear,
We marry TI and convention, unite SPL and SR.
The subtle patronizing, the ubiquitous Mindset
Is buried, and the ills and stroke defects transformed
Into glorious whole strokes, of evocative beauty
Of efficient speed and sworn Continuous Improvement.
The secret nemeses lie dead, wholly vanquished in rebirth.
We move forward, elegantly, Effortfully, proud victims ...
EXCEPT BUTTERFROG :thhbbb:
To TI or not to TI, that is the question.
Whether 'tis nobler in the pool to suffer
The slings and yardage of conventional workouts,
Or to take arms against a sea of technical flaws,
And by opposing them end them. To drill, to fix --
No more; and by a fix we aim to end
The imperfections and the thousand 50 flys
That Dave is heir to -- 'tis a Mindful revelation.
Devoutly to be TI'd. To drill, to fix --
To drill, perchance to swim pretty. Ay, there's the rub.
For in that book of drills what slowness may come.
When we have suffered from aerobic decline,
Must give us pause. There's the respect
That makes "the burn" so long of life,
For who could bear the whips and strains of being unfit?
The oppressor suppressed, proud victory a swimmer's friend.
Ah, the pangs of beloved pain, the cardio restored.
The sad and sore recurrence of muscle adaptation
That PT patients of relentless overuse endure.
When he himself gladly the ibuprofen might bear,
To grunt and sweat under heavy weights,
And that dream of something after hell,
The hibernating taper to whose existence
We always return, puzzled no longer.
And makes us rather bear the ills we have
Then fly to others that we may know not?
Thus, consciousness makes cowards of swimmers all,
And still, the yearning to improve. To drill, to fix --
Is sickled o'er with the past cast of trad swimming.
And enterprises of 25,00 yards or more.
Yet, with this regard, the yardage may compile,
And personal bests and shoulders of yore long lost.
Thus, though change and death we fear,
We marry TI and convention, unite SPL and SR.
The subtle patronizing, the ubiquitous Mindset
Is buried, and the ills and stroke defects transformed
Into glorious whole strokes, of evocative beauty
Of efficient speed and sworn Continuous Improvement.
The secret nemeses lie dead, wholly vanquished in rebirth.
We move forward, elegantly, Effortfully, proud victims ...
EXCEPT BUTTERFROG :thhbbb:
