I was on a swim team when I was 11 and swam through high school earning a Varsity letter although I was never very good. When I decided to get serious about triathlon training, I joined the SCAQ masters swim team, and that has made all the difference.
Not in any sort of swimming shape, when I first joined SCAQ this past April, I could swim about 100 yds before my arms started to feel like cooked spaghetti noodles. Today I was able to complete 3 sets of a 100, 200, 300, 400 ladder on a 1:30 interval.
3000 yards in 45 minutes!
It used to be unthinkable: How do people push themselves so far? How can someone run 26 miles or ride a bike over 100 miles? One of the biggest lessons I've learned in increasing distances is how to mentally just keep going. Mental toughness can overcome physical toughness, you just have to work at it.
For me, there's no better time to work at it than when I'm staring at a balck line 8 feet below going back and forth convincing myself to just keep swimming.
@heystevelang
