it's all fun and games.....

But this time it was!!
One of the common themes, that I hear from folks, who help me, is I need to learn to "relax".  I've spent a great deal of time on that item in my training.  I  knew, for example, when skiing, if I relaxed, my body knew what to do, and I had fun.  So, this past week, I got in the pool, with a goal of swimming 500 meters, no fins, 50 meters at a shot.  My goal was to get in the water and just work on being relaxed.  Not focus on breathing or my goggles fogging or whatever.  Just let me body do what it knows how to do, and get my head out of the way.  And I was about half way through my workout when I realized "this is fun" and that statement just shocked me!!  Me?  Having fun, swimming?  The person who's biggest fear in the world, 6 months ago, was drowning.  The person who a month ago, said "Wendy, I can't swim 500 meters without fins".  Yes, that was me, the person having fun swimming.  And at that exact moment, my self confidence rose to a new level.  


I know that when I'm having fun doing something, I have no fear.  My fear of "what if???" can't be found.  My fear of "I'll never get this" somehow disappears.  And the little kid who use to run into the ocean every summer when my family went to Cape Cod was back.   I was having fun!  :)   And once I knew that, the "work" part of my workout didn't seem so difficult.   My body flowed through the water, easier than ever before.  I swam faster and with more ease than I had.  And I was thoroughly enjoying the session. 

I climbed out of the pool with a sense of peace and a confidence that I havn't previously had.  I knew, at that moment, and still today, a week later, that I will be able to swim that 0.9 mile swim in the Olympic tri this summer.  I still have work to do, to accomplish that goal, but I know that I have it in me to do that. 

A triathlon coach, last year, told me this about being a triathlete, "it is the journey that is worth the most, the race is just the celebration at the end."  And right now, this triathlete is enjoying the journey immensely.