Ahhh...consistency, where have you been?

So I know this isn't news to anyone, but consistency is the key to improving year after year. Consistency in terms of proper form and technique, but also endurance. In the off season, I ran and biked quite a bit to maintain my endurance. However, I neglected my swim endurance, in favor of being outside. Now who out there during the off season says, "I'd rather go to the humid indoor pool and swim laps for the next hour" versus "It's nice out, I think I'll go for a long run/ride"? Anyone...? If you are normal like me, you'd choose to be outside and enjoy the weather and surroundings. Its not like I didn't know that my swim endurance was going to suffer as a result. Its just that since swimming is my least favorite, it gets neglected.

And that is why today was my first swim workout of the season. And it showed. I was never a great swimmer by anyone's standards, but at least I knew proper form.

You know when you were a kid and you used to swim for miles? I was one of those kids. I went to camp and used to do a pretty intense work EVERY day: swim a mile in a lake, do 100 push ups and 100 sit ups on the beach, and then run 2 miles. Not bad when you are only 14. What happened? I continued to play sports all my life, but I gave up swimming after I stopped going to camp. And that was the unofficial end to my illustrious swimming career...until now.

With a decent amount of swim endurance, I can get by just fine in the races I compete in now...especially with the help of a wetsuit ;) Well today I managed to crank out 1200 yards, which isn't bad (at least for my first workout of the season). However,
it was only a couple of years ago that I began swimming again. All I have to do is think back to then when I first started re-learning how to swim, and I can appreciate how far I've come.

So for the next month or so, I shall be re-re-learning how to swim and building up my endurance.