Hello Everyone,
B.J. Bedford says: For me, I never forget how it used to feel. And I know what it takes to get there, and I just don't have the time or the drive to get there. Anything less leaves me feeling a little dissatisfied, so I just don't do it much.
I think anyone who has started back from a prolonged absence can relate to this. What I remember is a Zen like loss of consciousness that felt transcendental kind of like being out of the body. Like being so automatic you didn't have to be there. I was asked once "how far can you swim?" I had to think about it because I was used to thinking how fast. I said "I don't know. It feels like forever."
I'd love to hear what others feel like in the water or what they remember.
Now I feel like a slow moving blob. Like I'm kind of stuck.
Is there a quick fix that anyone knows ?
Mary W
I can tell you that speed doesn't always have to do with this feeling. For me, it was more about just feeling in tune one day with my stroke, my body, the water, and a joy in being there in the water at that moment. It was during a relatively low-key swim too, not one of my longer ones. And I wasn't swimming fast by most standards, maybe a little faster than my normal pace. I'm training for a long open water race, so I've been doing swims where I try to hold a steady pace and improve the speed more with stroke work than sprints (I do some of those, but they aren't the focus).
But at one point, I had a lovely "this is all going so well" feeling--somehow connected to my body, the water, the stroke, everything. And I just relaxed and enjoyed it.
But I pretty much always enjoy my swims, sometimes more than other times, and some parts of some swims more than others, but for the most part, I leave feeling better than when I started. Same with running. I don't so much look for any feeling to happen, but enjoy it if it does, and otherwise just feel grateful I can do all this stuff, since a lot of women my age don't have the time or inclination or are having a lot of health or weight problems. And I've had my share of running injuries that have me seething that I can't run. I'm really glad now that I have the swimming, because when running was my only sport, I'd really seethe inside when I had injuries. I have fewer running injuries now, but I also know I am not stuck if I get injured, because depending on the injury, I can switch over from one sport to the other. So naturally that makes me happy!
I can tell you that speed doesn't always have to do with this feeling. For me, it was more about just feeling in tune one day with my stroke, my body, the water, and a joy in being there in the water at that moment. It was during a relatively low-key swim too, not one of my longer ones. And I wasn't swimming fast by most standards, maybe a little faster than my normal pace. I'm training for a long open water race, so I've been doing swims where I try to hold a steady pace and improve the speed more with stroke work than sprints (I do some of those, but they aren't the focus).
But at one point, I had a lovely "this is all going so well" feeling--somehow connected to my body, the water, the stroke, everything. And I just relaxed and enjoyed it.
But I pretty much always enjoy my swims, sometimes more than other times, and some parts of some swims more than others, but for the most part, I leave feeling better than when I started. Same with running. I don't so much look for any feeling to happen, but enjoy it if it does, and otherwise just feel grateful I can do all this stuff, since a lot of women my age don't have the time or inclination or are having a lot of health or weight problems. And I've had my share of running injuries that have me seething that I can't run. I'm really glad now that I have the swimming, because when running was my only sport, I'd really seethe inside when I had injuries. I have fewer running injuries now, but I also know I am not stuck if I get injured, because depending on the injury, I can switch over from one sport to the other. So naturally that makes me happy!
