I ended up taking last week off – the whole family ended up sick with that flu that was going around. It didn’t hit me as hard as others in the family, and I’m wondering if I was able to better fend off the bug given that I am a bit healthier and generally more fit. I recall lying there in bed, feeling like I was going to get it – my stomach starting to feel queasy and a bit rumbly. I remember thinking to myself: “fight it, it won’t get you; don’t let yourself throw up” and for some reason, that is what happened. Could be a combination of several factors, really – but I do think that will power had something to do with it. Straight up control of my physical function.

So, with that bug going around, the regular Wednesday morning swim time arrived and while I was better, I was definitely not 100%. I decided to stay home and think that in all likelihood I’m better off for it. It meant a full week off of swimming, as much as I don’t like that idea (yes, I think I’m getting addicted to swimming – it is currently Tuesday morning and I’m already looking forward to tomorrow morning’s swim)

Yesterday’s session after missing a week felt “off” in the sense that I didn’t feel strong in the water, but I’m hoping to fix that up tomorrow. I really want to focus on arm position in the water, and I’m aching to try fly. I was watching some videos and saw the timing of fly a bit more clearly by watching some pros/Olympic swimmers. I think the main difference between someone that swims like they do (and like the people in the fast lanes in our club) and me boils down to a few things:

• they are more streamlined when they swim – long and lean
• they are constantly pulling, no matter which stroke they do
• their positioning of their body is close to perfect – high up in the water, not sinking, just under the surface
• their timing is impeccable – for fly and breast stroke in particular, the kick and pull seem to build off each other’s momentum, acting in unison rather than as separate parts of the stroke

For me, I’ve noticed that my fly stroke tends to be kick-kick-pull, whereas the better swimmers seem to be more like kick-kick+pull and it propels them through the water much faster and, more importantly, much more efficiently.

I’ll get there, but it sure is taking a lot out of me – I seem to be falling asleep by mid-morning on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. Press on.