I was the first person in the pool today after it opened, getting my workout in before the kids showed up. I felt like everything just gelled today– I had strong laps and finished the set of 20 a minute faster than usual. Not that I really time myself accurately, but a whole minute out of ~30, that’s pretty cool. I focused on keeping up a nice strong kick and imitating a swimmer I watched in a video recently, who sliced the water like a hot knife through butter, with barely a splash. I finished up with a little breath work– a lap of 4 strokes per breath and a lap of 5 strokes per breath (agh!)
It is known that I can never get my brain to shut up. This is probably 85% of my sleep issues– it just keeps going on, despite all the tricks I try (asking my monkey brain to watch breath? counting backwards from 1000 by 7s? nope!) But somehow, when I’m in the pool, I can focus in a really unique way. For a little while, the only thing on my brain is counting strokes and laps. It promotes this kind of meditative, relaxing state, despite working fairly hard physically. It’s lovely.
Maybe I’m just not meant to be a land creature. I’m so much happier in the water.
I have a lot of fun with scuba diving, but it’s not as… carefree? as I’d like. I have to keep an eye on my buddy, watch my air, monitor my buoyancy, navigate. Maybe as I gain skill it’ll become less work. (Mostly I worry about losing the boat! I get lost easily.) But there are plenty of moments of joy and wonder, when I just get to hang out and watch the ocean go by. Can’t wait to get back…
Running While Fat 
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