Finally

On my fourth trip to the pool, after somewhere between 4 - 8 hours of trying, I finally found my rhythm while swimming! It is like a huge burden lifted off my shoulders. I get it, now! I get it!

When I talked with him last night, Jim (my triathlon coach) said I was breathing bass ackwards. (Keep in mind I spent several years doing advanced yoga moves and taking multiple-hour-long breathing classes.) I was so accustomed to breathing in through my nose and out through my mouth, I never stopped to think about the logistics of breathing while swimming. Jim said I needed to exhale OUT through my nose just before I brought my arm back, and inhale IN through my mouth as my arm came out of the water. And that one piece of advice changed everything.

It comes down to numbers. A four beat count. On the second stroke with my right arm, I exhale through my nose. Follow my hand around with my face. Inhale as the hand comes up. And repeat. Sounds simple. But for an aging computer dork, it was a major breakthrough.

I'm up to ten very sloppy laps. The goal is twelve. That would be six hundred meters. If I can do it in a pool, I can do it in a race. Or that's my theory. We'll see how it goes.