Journey to Kona Day 39: Believing

On Monday I learned how to do a 2 beat kick while swimming.  At the end of my swim lesson, I actually swam 100 yards using a 2 beat kick.  Somehow, it felt like I was home!  This felt right, and I never for a moment had any doubt that I could swim continuously with the new 2 beat kick.  I absolutely believed that it would be no problem, despite the fact that it was a brand new change to my swim form that I'd never tried before Monday. So, today I went to the pool with the intention of swimming continuously for 3,000 yards.  Which I did.

Now, I've swam 3,000 yards straight many times.  Typically during an ironman swim. Rarely have I swam this long continuously in a pool. But, I knew that I could do it.  I believed that I could do it.  And I did it, specifically using my new 2 beat kick the entire time.  On one hand, only kicking each leg once per each stroke of my arm was actually much easier, and took much less energy from me than my usual kick.  I never felt tired during my swim.  In fact, when I looked at my pacing afterwards, I pretty much kept the same pace for the entire 3,000 yards.  I wasn't trying to swim fast, and I didn't, I swam each 100 in about 1:50, which is pretty close to the pace I've always swam during an ironman swim.  Of course, I wasn't wearing a wetsuit today, but, strangely, it felt as if I was.

My 2 beat kick had me feeling in balance in the water, I never felt like my legs were sinking, I never felt like my body was getting out of balance.  I was at home in the water.  My legs never felt tired, in fact, they never really felt like I was using them, although I know that I was if I was able to maintain my balance and keep my legs from sinking.  It always amazes me how one can expend excess energy with a bad kick and not only go slower, but get far more fatigued.  I've had a solid week of bike training and I'd actually ridden an hour prior to my swim, but my legs felt fresh when I got out of the water.  Good omen of things to come!

Believing is half the battle, or maybe even 90%.  I'm sure the fact that I knew I was going to be able to do my swim today actually helped me to achieve it.  On the other hand, I knew because the 2 beat kick felt right to me.  So, perhaps it was a combination of factors, although believing never hurts.