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The Morning After

The Morning after 10,000 yards is so nice. No longer too tired to keep my eyes open and struggling to play indoor soccer with my two boys on rubbery legs, I can reflect on my swim. And what I'm thinking about this morning, is what I was thinking about while swimming yesterday. Or, more accurately, what all of you were thinking about. I'm curious.

I find that my thoughts are fairly circular while doing a long pool swim. This makes sense because of course we're flipping our heads in circles approximately 3 times a minute for (if you're in Lane 2) approximately 170 minutes. That's 510 somersaults in a row. Why wouldn't I be thinking in circles?

Anyway, my mental somersault looks about like this:

1. As we start the 100 I generally think about counting, e.g. "We're on lap one of three out of five 100's in this 5x100 leader-set. We have two more 100's after this and then we're at number 55. Not bad, more than half-way through. This is do-able." (Of course, if we're on number 3 about to hit only number 5, I'm generally thinking "Shit").

2. After the first flip I do a quick "We're on lap two now" thought and then generally I try to remind myself that during most of the year I walk around telling anyone who will listen how fun this Killer Quad thing is. "Long nearly uninterrupted freestyle," I think to myself before I yell "Enjoy it Dammit!" inside my head. (By lap four I usually am enjoying it. Then we start again.)

3. After the second flip thoughts of my real life start to seep in. Thoughts like "What will I do the rest of today while I'm so tired and the boys want to play tackle football? Is there a movie playing we'd all like? How about a long drive to lull them to sleep?" And of course, "What do I want to eat as soon as I'm done with this endeavor? Apple Fritter? Egg omelet? Hmmm."

4. After the third flip, on the home stretch, I'm pretty much just coasting with very little thought except not running up the ass of whomever is right in front of me as we approach the wall. This is unless I really have to pee, at which point I'm calculating how many laps are left until a break, or indulging myself with dreams of popping out of the water when I hit the wall to take an unsanctioned break (which I would, of course, never do, but like to think about like a naughty schoolgirl, none the less).

I am endlessly curious what other swimmers think about during this long swim. Do tell. Come on! We need some comments :).

Comments

As your sister in law who doesn't ever swim but is sensitive that you wanted comments, when I am in the ocean and enjoying the water I think please don't let a shark think I am turtle and eat me. xo tricia
Haim said…
While I won't admit to what I am usually thinking about while swimming, I know who I will be thinking about going forward...I will be thinking about the incredible inspiration teenage swimmer Marin Morrison was.

Marin passed away Friday after a long battle with brain cancer, but not before snatching back her lifelong dream of swimming in the Olympics by qualifying for and competing in three events at the Bejing Paralympics representing the USA. Her's is an amazing and heart wrenching story, and I dare you to not shed a tear while watching it:

http://www.komonews.com/news/37018304.html?video=YHI&t=a

That young lady certainly taught many a thing or two about dedication, passion, and heart. Godspeed Marin.

Here are some additional links to the story of her journey for anyone interested:

http://tinyurl.com/9etjtc (News Story)

http://tinyurl.com/5np2qt (Final Bejing Prep)

http://tinyurl.com/8mglxd (NBC Olympic Story)
sarah said…
Thank you Haim...wow. I can't believe I hadn't heard of her. I am so glad you showed me this story!!
Natalie S said…
This was fun a post. I wonder a bit about this too. I guess over the years what I've thought about has changed. Often, I'm thinking about my stroke. Sometimes about my day, I rarely do any long range planning while I swim.

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