water
the past month hasn't been much of a rememberable month with respect to running. pretty much the only thing i remember about it was how fantastically stiff i was on any given day, whether i ran or not. i'm starting to turn the corner on another wave of running, but that's all in good time.
i have, however, made a rediscovery in the past month: swimming. through some fine coaching by k, i've made some significant strides (strokes?) in my ability in the water:
efficiency last summer, i could swim at 33 yards in about thirty strokes. monday night, i set a new personal best: twenty-two strokes. i'm finding that form, not strength, has been the key to this improvement. now if i could only figure out how to improve my efficiency on the roads by 27%...
scenery when you think of swimming in austin, barton springs or deep eddy can first pop into mind. glorious springs they are, indeed. however, there's another jewel in austin that's oft-overlooked by the tourbooks: big stacy. all of these pools are spring-fed and have plenty of space for lap swimming. however, stacy is fed by 81-degree springs, where the other two are fed by 68-degree springs. stacy's open until 7pm seven days a week throughout the winter, and save the lifeguards, there's hardly anyone there in the night hours. watch the steam rise off of the water table under moonlight and moon tower. it's just terrific.
repose zen lay on the run, rest assured. to this day however, it still takes me 30-45 minutes on my feet to relax, to "stop thinking." in the pool, that sensation is as immediate as putting your head underwater. you hear sounds reserved for the insides of seashells. you see nothing but a translucent blue-green. you feel weightless... and your body becomes buoyant as well.
i'm a far, far cry from having any remote level of skill in the pool (it takes me 30 minutes to swim 660yds, with plenty of breaks), but i don't care. it feels good, and it makes me wonder why i waited so long to discover these austin treasures.
i have, however, made a rediscovery in the past month: swimming. through some fine coaching by k, i've made some significant strides (strokes?) in my ability in the water:
efficiency last summer, i could swim at 33 yards in about thirty strokes. monday night, i set a new personal best: twenty-two strokes. i'm finding that form, not strength, has been the key to this improvement. now if i could only figure out how to improve my efficiency on the roads by 27%...
scenery when you think of swimming in austin, barton springs or deep eddy can first pop into mind. glorious springs they are, indeed. however, there's another jewel in austin that's oft-overlooked by the tourbooks: big stacy. all of these pools are spring-fed and have plenty of space for lap swimming. however, stacy is fed by 81-degree springs, where the other two are fed by 68-degree springs. stacy's open until 7pm seven days a week throughout the winter, and save the lifeguards, there's hardly anyone there in the night hours. watch the steam rise off of the water table under moonlight and moon tower. it's just terrific.
repose zen lay on the run, rest assured. to this day however, it still takes me 30-45 minutes on my feet to relax, to "stop thinking." in the pool, that sensation is as immediate as putting your head underwater. you hear sounds reserved for the insides of seashells. you see nothing but a translucent blue-green. you feel weightless... and your body becomes buoyant as well.
i'm a far, far cry from having any remote level of skill in the pool (it takes me 30 minutes to swim 660yds, with plenty of breaks), but i don't care. it feels good, and it makes me wonder why i waited so long to discover these austin treasures.
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