It all becomes clear

So I was swimming at Fanny Chapman tonight, remembering my swim coach Ken's instruction to me during our first lesson last week: you want to make yourself as streamlined and balanced as possible, so much so that you are flat on the water, and your strokes will become more efficient with less effort. And they were...in fact, the more I relaxed, let my head drop in the water, had my hands enter in about 5 inches down, and tried to grab the invisible stick in front of me (he had me practice with a real one), the better I swam and the less effort I had to exert. The same workout I normally do was easier tonight than it has been in a while. I still haven't mastered the breathing part of this new technique, but I did learn a lesson: I don't always need to work my hardest to get a good result. If I have the right technique, the right fuel, the right attitude, everything I do will get easier. Despite what I constantly tell myself, everything doesn't have to be a struggle.

Funny too, I finally decided to go forward and do an aquathon for the Ocean City tri...heeding the advice of my chiropractor...and then my friend Todd said he might as well do the sprint now too, and I ran/walked today for the first time in a week or so, and I did not feel pain...it felt good. Guess I was so stressed about the run next month that it was painful just thinking about it and that translated into more pain in my training. Letting go and deciding I could go easy on myself allowed me to release that stress, and perhaps made for a better workout today...Ill let you know what happens on Wed when I try to run again.

Zen and the art of triathlon. I love when all becomes clear.