I love the swim, I love the swim, I love the swim

I'm going to let you in on a little secret. I don't love the swim. It's true, I don't. I wish the first activity in a tri were coffee drinking. I could so kick-ass at coffee drinking.

But alas, swimming is in, coffee-drinking (as a sport) is out, and as of Monday, I am officially "in training" for Challenge. Forty weeks of training lie between me and that red carpet finish! I've built myself a plan using a giant book of training plans that allows for 24 weeks of ironman training following a 12 week transition plan from off-season sloth to athlete in-training. And I've added in 4 weeks of flex to accommodate my on-call schedule. That meant this week required at least one trip to the pool. OK, a trip to the pool that included a swim. 1500m was my aim.

So you know what? It wasn't terrible. I mean it started out and I hated it. The water was cold. The lanes went in and I was sharing with someone I would describe as an aggressive swimmer. And I couldn't get my breathing "right". I knew I had to be out of the water in 45 minutes to get to my next appointment of the day and I was trying to decide whether if I didn't manage 1500m, would I be able to cross this off my training plan or would I require myself to swim a second time this week (God forbid) to get in 1500m.... Yes, I was deep in negotiations with myself. And then... it became... fine. I wasn't working to find a breathing rhythm. I was pretty much unaware of the other swimmer in my lane, and I was able to just zone out and... swim. Oh there was the occasional conscious thought about how sore my upper body was following the early workouts of the day, but all in all, it was... not terrible. I'm not dreading the next swim, and that's a good thing.

So, while I may not love the swim, there are two things I am loving about this week, this day even... and that's:

1) My Garmin 910XT. Bliss to not have to count the lengths. I wish I'd had this training for Oliver. It's so nice to just forget about the counting and swim! The only thing that would make me love it more is if it were pink.

2) And oh man, I love being back in training! Feeling exhausted at bed time, and the commitment to the workout schedule because it's about so much more than burning calories or maintaining fitness. I was fortunate to have the day off today and managed a quad: a run, then a weight workout with my trainer, then a yoga class, then this swim... plus my daily challenge reps. I love being able to pull off days like these. Love, love, love it! I recognize that 30 or 35 weeks in, this may be more of a love-hate relationship.

Look for my recap of training week 1 at the end of this week.