I Can Barely Walk, But I Can Definitely Swim

Sunday morning I slept in, despite Fat Kitty’s attempts to wake me up. He was anxious for food or playtime and kept jumping on my head and my bladder. Go away! Let me sleep, you little monster! I ate breakfast and then headed to the pool. I was hobbling pretty badly because I was sooo sore from Saturday’s workout. I could barely walk. Seriously. I was having flashbacks to the aftermath of Hood to Coast or my crazy session at Crossfit.

A few days ago I got the wild hair to attempt swimming 2 miles. I’ve never done it before. Not because I can’t do it, but because I’ve just never tried. My stamina in the pool is excellent and I knew I could swim 2 miles without issue. So why hadn’t I tried it before? Two reasons:  1) Boredom and 2) Hunger. Swimming makes me hungry like no other activity and I usually have to stop after about an hour because of the growling hunger.

I decided to try swimming 2 miles on Sunday. I wasn’t sure I would be able to because my legs were absolutely WRECKED from Saturday’s workout. But I am totally stubborn and once I set my mind to do something, there’s really no changing it. Since I’d decided on Friday night that Sunday I would be swimming 2 miles, I was going to do it–sore legs or not! I swam the first mile in 37 minutes. I was slower than normal because of the soreness I was having in my legs but I was still feeling pretty good. Honestly, no matter how sore I am I can ALWAYS swim. In fact, getting in the water my legs felt like a million bucks compared to just walking around outside.

After swimming the first mile, I took a break for about 8 minutes. During this rest time (which I never take when I usually swim my routine), I had a snack. I wanted to be prepared for the hunger that makes me quit after 1.25 miles. I brought this as a snack:

During my break I ate 2 of these protein balls. They were nasty! But they did the trick and got me through the rest of my swim. I decided I was too sore to make it through another mile. I started swimming after my break and decided I would just swim another half mile and call it quits. I vowed to try swimming 2 miles again next weekend, when I wasn’t crippled. I usually swim 1.25 miles (in 45-55 minutes depending on what I’m working on). Then I got to 1.5 miles and thought “It would be really stupid to just quit now….”

I told myself I’d do just a little bit more. I told myself that after every 10 lengths I did and then before I knew it, I was almost to mile 2. There was no way I was quitting when I was that close! Then I had to deal with second part of what often keeps me from doing more: THE MENTAL ASPECT. It’s not necessarily that I get bored, I guess I do get a bit bored, but it’s more that I start talking myself out of doing more. I think of all the other things I want to be doing towards the end of my swim. I think of food. I think of lounging in the hot tub. I think of errands and chores, everything else but swimming. Which is weird because I love swimming!

I finished up my swim and SWAM 2 FULL MILES!!!!! For the first time!

I’ve never done that before! I was so happy and so proud of myself for doing it. I pulled my sore body out of the pool and languished in the hot tub. It felt so good. If I could have just taken a nap in that hot tub, I would have. It made my legs feel great. Of course, then I had to get out and walk back to my locker, limping, saying “ouch” after each step.

Swim Stats:

Time: 1:15

Calories Burned: 603

Distance: 2 miles!!!!

For dinner I made us baked salmon with basil, garlic and tomatoes. I wanted something easy, quick and filling.

I think the hunger caught up to me Sunday afternoon because I was in the mood to eat everything in sight (I resisted). The extra calories I burned Saturday and then swimming 2 miles = intense hunger! I steamed some broccoli and baby carrots and added some Goddess Dressing to my dinner because I was hungrier than Michael was.

It was the perfect food. I settled my very sore body in to watch some Netflix. Currently: The Big C. What a great show!

QUESTION: What’s the longest distance you’ve swam? (OR run, bike, hike, etc…whatever your sport is.) What’s holding you back from doing more?