Like someone said before, I wish I was a sprinter! But I'm not and many of us aren't; we are destined to swim mucho mileage because, for some of us me included, I have no sprint gear left. At least not enough of one to compete with it, so I now choose DISTANCE. What a new set of problems this gives us. It's comparable to joining AARP and Social Security is a year or so away.
But what the heck, I am a swimmer and will be one until I am no more. Now that I am training for what used to be an 18 mile swim and is now 20.6 (ooops), the myriad of issues is pretty big. I initially was bothered with skin chafing, wrong suit, training in super hot water (90 degrees), and the list goes on (ocean swiming). Marine life encounters, currents, etc, feeding/hydration. All of these things are not very important right now, what seems to be my biggest issue is the hours and hours of training it takes to be able to swim 80% of those 20 miles. I knew I was in for it big time, but I had no idea how trashed I would be....daily. But I plow right through those miles (am up to over 10,0000 a day), and KNOW I have to do one more Loop in my training area. I think about my 6 mile swim and realize I have to do 3 to 4 times that when the swim comes about. I used to get bored, no more, it has taken care of itself when I think about the goal, 20 miles. I'd better be doing some 6 mile swims right now!!
I know we are all different in our conditioning, but I will say this: the earlier I hydrate and feed, the easier the miles are later. This seems to be a common denominator. If I skip a hydration, I pay for it very shortly!!!
But my bottom line is a goal I will be proud of of. For all of you distance swimmers, I am sure you understand all of this. and Even if you aren't a distance swimmer, a goal is a goal and meeting that goal and training for it is a remarkable feat in itself. Goal-oriented achievements give us the positive feedback we have EARNED.
Just wanted to share and let you know I understand what personal achievements mean to us all.
