Wednesday, June 27, 2012

Humbling Experience

I had to take a quick moment to describe the wonderfully, exhausting moment I had this morning.  Yes, I can run a 2:45 marathon but I have my limits just like every human being.  A few friends from Marathon Sports invited me up to Walden Pond this morning for an early morning swim.  I thought, why not.  I only have to work till 4 today so I can get in my run after work and make it a double work out day.

For those of you who know me best, you know I am a runner and not a swimmer.  I spent all my summers growing up on Cape Cod and love the water but I don't just wake up and go swimming, I run.  I arrived this morning at Walden and walked down to the waterfront with a few fellow Marathon Sporters.  They described to me the different swimming routes I could take and how far each one was.  I began the swim with the intention of swimming about a 1/2 mile and in my runner's mind thought no problem.  How far can a half mile feel swimming when I can cover a 1/2 mile running in about 2:30 minutes.

Well 10 minutes into my swim, I discovered exactly how hard it is to cover a half mile swimming.  I had made it about halfway to my goal point and thought to myself I better turn back now if I want to actually survive this swim.  On my way back towards the shore I had started at I realized exactly how tired I was.  I felt like the shore would never come but fortunantly for me it did.

Some may look at this as a failed attempt but I believe it was a huge success.  The fact that I had the courage to show up and swim with people who had done many triathlons was enough for me.  If I had to make an educated guess on how far I saw, I would say 1/4 mile in just over 20 minutes.  Not bad for my first attempt and I will be sure to make it back again.

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