Maybe hate is a strong word to use. I guess I don't really HATE swimming; I just dislike doing any kind of pool workout that lasts longer than 10 minutes. Here's an example of my thought process during a lap swim:
"I can't believe I have to do 25 more laps. Okay, think of something else to take your mind off of this. Use it as an opportunity to plan your day. Flip turn. Okay, what was I going to do to stop thinking about this? Ugh, 24 more laps. Don't think about how much you want to be done. Don't think about how much you want to be done. Fun, here comes a beach ball from the open swim area. Flip turn. What is that guy doing? Why is he standing at the side of the pool? Does he want in this lane or not? Well if he comes over to the shallow end, I'll stop and check. If not, he's on his own. Flip turn. OH MY GOD, 23 more laps. Really???"
Repeat these thoughts for about an hour and there you have my swim training experiences. It's a misconception that people who do triathlon love all aspects of triathlon. I think it's more accurate that triathletes PUT UP WITH the elements of triathlon they don't like in order to participate in the experience as a whole. That's pretty much my relationship with swimming. I don't hate it, but if I could do triathlon without any pool training, I'd be much happier.
Despite my dislike of pool training, I had a really awesome workout today. I have no idea why, either. In fact, I didn't get enough sleep last night, am still dealing with stress caused by a recent work incident, and am sore from yesterday's workout. In spite of all this, I felt like I had fins on in the water today. My strokes felt very easy and fluid. The workout was still a mental struggle to get through, but how good I felt physically made it a much better experience.
I am hoping that I am starting to break out of the winter training malaise and that these are the first signs of my Ironman fitness kicking in. At least if I can't be mentally happy in the pool, I can take pride in knowing that my physical water fitness is improving.
