Up to my neck in water

In the pool as in life, there are things I can control, things that I can work around and other things I shouldn't waste my time on. The hard part is telling them apart!

Sometimes my shoulder hurts because I pushed myself little too hard. Some days the wind is harsh and the water is too choppy. Somedays my goggles go on strike and keep leaking after every flip. I can be annoyed, complain, or get out of the pool. But other than that, there is not much I can do.

What I can do is focus on what I can change: I can focus on my kicks if my shoulder is having a bad day; or practice underwater kicks to avoid the choppy surface; or skip the flips for one day and enjoy my swim without them. My body and my decisions are all things I can control and help me solve the problem in creative ways. Sounds easy, almost intuitive.

But in life, when I find myself up to my neck in water, telling apart what I should fight for and what I should let go seems a lot harder. A hundred of projects on tight deadlines, an unhealthy environment at work, a toxic friendship... Are they worth finding a solution for? Are they worth fighting for? Or should I leave the pool altogether?

The solutions on dry land is the same as in the pool: take a break, look around and think out of the box. There will always be thing that are under your control. And if there are not, leaving the pool is always an option. If  you're lucky, there will be a warm shower waiting for you outside!

At the tail of the lion.

A while ago, I was in a job where I had been for years. I loved my job, it was fun and challenging. But after seven years, I had grown and the job hadn't. I knew it; everybody around me knew it. But month after month, inertia kept me there, miserable. It wasn't until things hit rock bottom when I realized it was time to leave. For good. I thought I had learned my lesson, but today at the pool, I realized that every story repeats itself.


For weeks, my husband has asked me why I keep going back to the last lane. I keep telling him, I am not ready to "upgrade for good." Today was no exception. I was in my lane with maybe 10 more people and after 15 minutes, I was completely frustrated. It was chaotic. I tried to pass some swimmers just to realize that the bottleneck was three people ahead of me and the swimmers behind me were as frustrated as I was! Eventually, I asked the coach at what interval was the next lane swimming. I didn't wait for his answer. They could have been going at light speed. I rather try than stay where I was. And it was the best decision I could make!


Reading my older posts, I realize that this frustration has been a recurring theme for a while. It took me three weeks and 15 minutes of frustration to finally acknowledge that I was never going to be ready for the next lane if I stayed in the old one. The only way to find your new road is to start walking... or swimming, so I did. I switched lanes for good and I am not going back. I might be the last swimmer in the new lane, I might not make the times and might need to take a break every now and then. But my decision has been made. Yes, it is scary. Very scary. But so was leaving my job, leaving my old life behind and starting in a new school with people that looked way smarter than I was. Yet, I survived and I succeeded. Why would this time be any different?


An old proverb says "It is better to be the head of a mouse than the tail of a lion," and I cannot disagree more. Being the head of the tiny beast means that it is as far as you are ever going to be. Being in the tail of a bigger monster means you'll have a lot of fun trying to make again to the head! 


(Photo from Steve Kay)

Inspiration out of the water, the LA Marathon!

We overslept this morning and we missed our "lactic pool workout," so instead, my husband and I decided to cheer the runners as they passed Mile 22 around the Brentwood.

We saw the "Elvises" running with their wigs, Marilyn with her floating white dress and an inspiring group of students run LA with kids that looked too young to have the discipline to train for a marathon, yet they were running it! Young people, old people, people running for their kids, people running barefoot, people without legs pushing their wheelchairs uphill... it was an inspiration!

Yet also inspiring was how my husband kept cheering the runners who at Mile 22, after the hardest uphill of this marathon, were starting to give in to their minds. As he said it today, he was yelling so loud so he could be louder than the runner's voice inside their heads saying "just walk a little." He has no voice now, but 9 out of 10 runners started running again with a smile.

There you have it, you never know when you will find your inspiration today. It can be in runner with a costume, in a kid with will power... or sometimes, it sleeps right next to you!

We didn't bring a camera but lots of people did. Here's a funy group of people that printed photos of their friend Dave and were passing them to strangers! That's me in the back while Scott was running behind some runner.

Swimming, Living and Being Selfish

There are two I's in swimming, which means that when, I'm under water, all there is, is me. I am in a different element that's thick, quiet, and feels distant from daily life. That is until someone yanks me out of my zone!

In our hectic days, we rarely have enough time to focus on just ourselves. Swimming is my time. My mind is listening to my heartbeat and my breathing; I can feel how the water moves around my body, and how turning my hand one inch closer feels better than before. I can focus on the details to be better at something I enjoy. Some days I want to see how fast I can go and I'm first on my lane; somedays I want to experiment and go slower; those days I move to the end of the lane so I don't bother other swimmers. But occasionally, they seemed to be bothered nonetheless. There are those who get offended if I want to swim ahead of them or that insist that they are slower and refuse to go ahead, but keep on puffing behind me.

There are also two I's in living, but we can't live our lives ignoring the world around us. So I'm reaching out to you to see how you deal with putting yourself first sometimes, and not others? Do you ignore people? Are you blunt? At work, at home, how do you say "I'm in my zone, don't bother me" without sounding selfish?

Out of control!

This weekend, I read a quote from Mario Andretti: "If everything seems under control, you're just not going fast enough," and today in the pool, I couldn't stop thinking about it.


The sunset was at its full when I got to the pool, but the beginners lane was too full, so I put on my super powers (my fins) and jumped in the more advanced lane. It was fast, it was out of control and it was awesome! I didn't make the times and towards the end, I had to take a breather while the other swimmers kept going. But I tried very hard and even though I failed, I succeeded at pushing myself today. 


Most people are afraid of failure, but if we don't fail, it means that we are not challenging ourselves. I was probably not swimming as fast as Mario Andretti drives, but I certainly lost control, and it felt great!

Defunk

Yesterday was a bad day. Maybe it was all the recruiters ignoring my job applications; maybe it was the three hours stuck in traffic; or maybe I was just in a funk, but in days like this, I just want to crawl in a cave.

Counting yards, repetitions and seconds, was not in my list of priorities (along with smelling like chlorine and having pool hair), so I was not looking forward swimming. But working out generally helps me relax, so it was worth trying.

I swam in automatic. I had no idea how the set was, how long or how fast. One girl offered me to lead and I simply grunted "No, thanks". I just let my lane mates swim ahead and I followed along. One hour later, the bad mood had stayed at the pool and I was feeling like a normal human being. In fact, my workout was rewarded with a couple mojitos that night!

Sometimes, the only alternative to not doing anything is to allow others to guide us. So next time you're having "a day", lend the driver seat to somebody else in order to stay on the road.

Experiment!

Some prefer doing it with their hands wide open. Others, press their thumbs really tight. Me? I realized today that I'm more of a loose-hands kind of girl.

I was following the instructions of my coach. He said, "experiment! What is comfortable for olympic swimmers might not be comfortable for you." We swam 50 yards with our hand wide open (I felt relaxed, but I wasn't moving). Then, we tightened our thumbs on the side (really painful after 50 yards!). Then, we cupped our hands (a lot of motion, but it was also a lot of arm work). And then, we tried relaxing our hands (pure bliss for me, but not for other swimmers).

I was reminded again that we are not all made equal and therefore, there are no absolute truths that apply to everyone. How many wars have we fought trying to impose our ways to others? How many times have we insisted that things be done our way? How many times have we found ourselves doing things the same old way just to change it one day and realize how much better the new way is?

So, play a little. Dare to experiment! There is more than one way to do things and the real winner is the one who tries them all... and choses the best one for her. I did. Will you?

A good debate abut different hand shapes when swimming

Learning to lose

Today was the Pentathlon meet and no, I didn't participate but I was there supporting my husband, Scott. He flew around the water with flying colors and I was a proud, cheering wife from the deck.

A lot of fellow swimmers asked me why I wasn't participating. I thought it would be obvious: I just stopped swimming with fins and I'm very slow in the water. From swimming a speedy 100 yards at 1:24 with fins a month ago,  to panting the same 100 yards at barely 2 minutes, I already know I'm slow. Realizing that I'm the slowest of the slowest would be devastating to my ego and I rather not see it in paper. Fear, you ask? Absolutely, I say!

But today, there were swimmers of all types, speeds and ages, even an 82 year old woman who finished a butterfly set. She finished it! No matter how long it took, no matter what position she got. She got all the way to the end.

Watching her, I realized that, like in life, swimming is not about the competition, but about the taking the plunge. Being a professional marketer, stop trying to be get first place will a tough habit to break. But I guess it's never too late to start losing.

Not alone in these waters!

Surfing the web, my husband and I have found other swimmers' blogs, so check them out:

Tony so happens to write the SCAQ blog for the masters group where I swim regularly and he shares a lot of info about swimming news and cool water gear. I met him in person last week; he has been swimming forever and it shows in the pool!

Rob's RobAquatics says a lot about his personality. He shares his workouts (thanks) and his adventures in the water. I haven't met him yet, but he'll be in the Pentathlon this Saturday, so I'm looking forward to share a few words.

I'm sure there are more swimmers splashing around, so I'll go back to these waters!

Pumped!

There is no better way to end a hectic week than with a hectic swim. And even better if you get a tip from the pros!

Today, we swam mainly sets of fifty, really fast, really powerful. But there was a new discovery: the coach suggested not to breath on both sides (something that all other coaches recommend... but no olympic swimmer does!). "He said, breath every two strokes, every time on the same side. Try both sides and then pick your favorite. You will see." Oh, did I!

It was like I had a fuel injection engine all of a sudden. I didn't get as tired as quickly, and after a while, I got dizzy from getting so much oxygen! But I had enough fuel to keep going. I will keep practicing doing the one-side breathing on sprints. I felt pumped!

Sometimes, the the smallest things make a huge difference. The only thing we have to do is try!

But today, it is not only about me! I want to invite everybody this Sunday 7 at 10 am to cheer up my husband who is racing in the Caltech Pentathlon, in Pasadena. For directions click here. You will meet a lot of inspiring swimmers and cool people, and after the swim, we'll share a breakfast for champions. They'll be hungry and so will I!

A break from life

Today, life took over: I had a thousand things to do, I was in pain from working out yesterday, it was cold... and by the time I saw my watch, I was already late for swimming. Going seemed pointless. Yet, I picked up my husband and we jumped in the pool.

And that's when life stopped. Or maybe, that's when it began. There was nothing other than pulling, breathing, kicking, and huffing and puffing underwater. Nothing else for 45 minutes but me.

In the lockers, one of the girls shared that she had lost over 30 pounds dieting and exercising, and she told me her goal was to look like me. I was flattered, yes, but also embarrassed, because she didn't know yesterday I flaked and today I almost didn't make it either. I felt that I almost betrayed the water, the team and myself.

My lessons today:
1. A short swim is better than no swim. When you don't want to do something, do it at least a little.
2. Even if you are not trying, things happen. Whether it's building nice shoulders, achieving better conditioning or just receiving a compliment, they will happen as a reaction to what you do.
3. There is always someone watching and you can be someone's hero without knowing. That's why you should strive to give your best. And even if no one is watching, there could always be a mirror around...

Pushing to Pull

After three days of allowing life to take me away from the pool, on Sunday I decided to come back with a splash and attended a racing workout intended for swimmers who are going to race.

When I first jumped in the pool, I couldn't stop thinking what the heck I was doing there! I was sharing the lane with swimmers that could make it from one end of the pool to the other in the time it takes me to blink. My mind was playing tricks on me. I couldn't breath, I felt I was in their way, I felt I wasn't moving, I was freaking out! And that was just the warm up!

Then, we were supposed to jump off the blocks, like olympic swimmers. The girl in front of me smelled my fear and suggested I jumped from the edge, which I did... only to have my goggles pulled out of my face by the splash after every jump. Now, to add insult to injury, I was swimming blindly as fast as I could, slapping the lane lines with my hands and feet. "I don't belong here," I thought. "I want to get out."

And so I did. But instead of giving up, I walked to my swim bag, got my tacky-pink (and blood stopping tight) spare goggles and went back in the water. And now, with the chlorine not burning my eyes, and my hands and feet in the water, I was finally able to focus on just swimming.

"Keep pulling," I was thinking. "It's just 25 more yards". So I pushed myself. I was tired, but I kept swimming. First 25, then 50, then 75. I kept pulling long strokes, kicking fast and pushing myself as hard as I could. When I got to the other side, the coach said "1 minute, 2 seconds". That's how fast I swam 75 yards, and I was so proud that my mind finally shut up. I did belong there, with people who are pushing themselves to be better.

When things in life are going bad and we feel we are sinking, that's when we have to push ourselves the hardest. It is so tough because it means that we are about to break the hurdle, it means that we are almost there. Like the last question in a hard test, or the last pounds when we are on a diet. So don't stop pushing, or if you are in the water, just pull harder. You might not break any world records, but you will break the chains that are holding you back!