One-hour swim 2010

I am not going to write a lengthy screed, as I have a pronounced headache - it came on just as I started swimming (some combination of poor goggle placement and sinus irritation from pool chemicals?) and though it receded for an hour after I was finished, it came back and has not yet been dispelled by ibuprofen!

- I haven't been swimming much over the last 2 months, not entirely by my own choice

- I had low expectations and was slightly dreading it

- but TNYA is a lovely team, and the vibe in the place was incredibly positive when I got there - I began to contemplate the prospect of the one-hour swim with a bit more enjoyment

- I forgot to take an antihistamine this morning

- I also forgot to bring a towel!

- Here was my report on last year's event

- Last year I was aiming for a pace of 2:00/100 yards, and pulled off something just a bit faster than that, around 3100 yards total

- I knew I would swim more slowly this year - it was dispiriting but that's the reality of it, and I was having a hard enough time doing those 50s on 1:00 the other day in practice that I knew I had no hope of making last year's time

- I am writing a lengthy screed despite my disclaimer!

- I did flip turns for every single turn but 1 (where I was trying to clear my airways of phlegm and needed the open turn to do it above water!)

- That is an accomplishment

- Really the whole thing is an accomplishment - I remember when I started swimming 3 years ago that it seemed extraordinary to me the first time I swam for 10 minutes without taking a rest at the wall

- But I only swam c. 2950 yards

- Liz, who was counting for me (and who swam a highly respectable c. 3300!), observes that I come up very early out of the water after my flip turns, well before the flags, and that in fact at this stage they may still be costing me speed

- I will work on push-offs with flip turns and not popping up so quickly

- My goggles had water in them and my head really was aching, but it was otherwise a surprisingly enjoyable swim - I note that it was mentally much easier than last year, or at least it seemed to go by much more quickly, and that the fairly extensive distance swimming I did last year really has had a beneficial effect

- So, nothing of triumph in my feelings, but it is a nice way to spend a couple hours on a (very cold) Sunday in January...

The three charities TNYA's supporting this year are the AIDS Service Center NYC, Immigration Equality and the Trident Swim Foundation - go here if you'd like to make a tax-deductible donation.

The whole week was one of tiredness and headaches and frazzle, so I am going to try and reset mentally tonight and get off to a good start tomorrow with a block of training and work time that will make me feel cheerier - this museum thing I'm involved with is a very cool thing, but I thoroughly underrated how tiring I would find it - I have to write and see if I can do fewer shifts this coming week...