Back In The Water

    I decided to stop being such a whinebag about not being able to swim until my new gear arrived, and hit up the Goodwill. I found and purchased the two least mangled pair of swim goggles they had, for $4. They did not have any swim caps, sadly. Goggles were the only absolutely vital piece of gear I needed though since I have a few suits (though not my best or favorite, those were stolen), and I don't really need a cap or hand paddles. So last night I was back in the water, after 13 days away. It felt glorious. I did notice a loss of fitness, two weeks off is a long time in the world of training. It did give my left trapezius time to heal up, it had felt inflamed and agitated for several weeks, all the way from the point of my shoulder to the base of my skull. I forced myself to take it kind of easy last night, because I knew I would be swimming again this morning. And this morning I didn't push myself as hard as I might have, since I wanted to make sure I didn't re-injure my trapezius. What I focused on was technique, in particular lengthening my stroke and lessening the number of strokes it takes me to make it the length of the pool. Longer stroke = fewer strokes. It used to take me 16 strokes to swim one length. I got that down to 15 strokes, and hung there for a long time. Now I can swim the length in 12 strokes if I really push it, but 13 is comfortable. That is what I worked on, lap after lap. I am having a little frustration on my longer swims, my lower back is tightening up rather painfully. I don't know if there is some tweak I can do to alleviate this, or is my form somehow poor? I don't know. I am hoping to get someone to video me swimming a lap so I can analyze my stroke, and more importantly, my body positioning. I need to be able to swim 5K in 2-1/2 hours, that could be tough. Once I can swim open water again I think I will invest in a waterproof watch so I can time myself. I need to do this. Until then, I am back at the pool, and really loving the feel of the water, I missed it more than I ever thought I would.