Back in the swim of things

Last night I finally got back into the pool, after more than one month out (excluding the 1500m swim at the race in Tahoe). And it actually felt ok. Somehow I managed to keep myself in the water for 2000 yards, and after about 1000, my strokes felt semi-normal. Then after my swim, I got to be guest coach at the IU swim club practice. This was my second guest coach appearance. When I’m guest coach, I write the workout (3 versions for 3 different group levels), get the kids going, keep the workout moving, give encouragement, occasional stroke advice or other tips, and just try to be motivated by watching these kids (ok, they are 18-25 year old kids!) work hard (and they even have fun while working hard).

I also am reading the Ultra Marathon Man (Dean Karnazes). I actually read this book when it came out, but a friend passed it along to me this weekend, so I thought I’d read it again. A few things that come to mind when I am reading. First, this guy is crazy. Second, he is a strong mental athlete. When he was in high school, his cross country coach told him to ‘run with his heart’. And he does. And another coach of his told him ‘if you are not hurting, you’re probably not working as hard as you can’. I’m going to try to keep these two thoughts in mind when I am doing hard training sessions, or races