Back in the Water

Well, I'm back in the States and back in the water. Life is pretty much back to normal. I have fallen back into my old routine of swimming four or five mornings a week in the pool and one or two weekend days in the Bay. The nice thing about being "post swim" is that now I can do what ever I want and not worry about hurting my shoulders. Sunday I went rowing on the Bay which was a blast. I am now OK to pilot swims in Zodiac's, Kayaks, and Woodens (rowing boats with a sliding seat). And I plan on supporting a lot of swims for the remainder of this year. Time to give back to all of the people who helped me and to those who want to go to the next level in their swimming. I was showing some perspective new members around the club and in our conversation it came out that I only joined the South End Rowing Club three short years ago, but I got bitten by the big swim bug fast. I swam Lake Tahoe (with fins) in 2009, Gibraltar in 2010, and now the English Channel in 2011. Wow, that's a lot of swimming. And a whole lot of training. And Monday, I played tennis for the first time in three years because I could. And I didn't have to "save" my shoulders for swimming. Quite liberating. Not that I am any good at tennis, but I like it, and I love variety. And you can talk to your tennis partner while you play!So it's nice to be off the tread wheel, some might say hamster wheel, of endurance training and adding a little spice to my exercise. But even with the rowing and the tennis, I also went swimming in the Bay on Sunday under bright blue skies, warm sun, in what felt like warm 60 + degree water (remember it's all relative) and all I could think was how wonderful it was to be home and swimming in the ocean. I am truly a water creature at heart. And I don't want to stray too far from the ocean even if I don't have a new goal in mind. I do my life best when it includes time in the water. So for now, I will keep swimming, but I will focus on helping other people with their dreams, and I will savor my success. Not pack it away in a flurry to set a new goal. This was a big one, I can sit back for a minute and digest it. And hopefully I will be able to allow my channel experience to permeate into other areas of my life. I'd like to capitalize on my swim and make my non-swimming life more successful and adventurous. So it's on to new, "non-wet, non-cold" dreams... I just don't know what they are yet. I'll let you know when I do.