I SWAM for the First Time in 2022

It’s been nearly 9 full months since my last swim. But I hit the pool at the U of M on Wednesday after class to see if I could still do it.

The uniform still fits. :)

The swim was a test to see if I could handle a sprint triathlon to end the summer. The same Square Lake Sprint Triathlon that I did last year will be held TOMORROW, and last year I got through the 1/2 mile swim with just 1 swim earlier that same week. (Last year, that was my first in 18 months, and at least this year it was only my first swim in about 9 months. #winning) I didn’t look back pre-swim, but I think I just tried some 200s last year. This year, I wanted to throw in some 400s for a bit of distance.

My 200 warm-up felt GOOD. My first length of the pool felt FAST. I was surprised. My 200 warm-up was 3:07 with my first 100 being 1:30, which I thought was amazing.

Then, just making this up as I go, I figured I’d do efforts of 200, 400, 200, and a final 400. I figured I’d take a 30 sec rest between, but after needing to re-tie my suit after my first 200, I didn’t get started until having about a 40 sec rest, so I just held that throughout. The “meat” of my workout looked like this:

200: 1:29, 1:34 = 3:03.56
0:41 rest

400: 1:32, 1:35, 1:37, 1:36 = 6:20.94
0:40 rest

200: 1:31, 1:34 = 3:05.75
0:40 rest 

400: 1:32, 1:36, 1:32, 1:31 = 6:12.84

As you can see there, I was slowing up a bit in my first 400 with an unimpressive 6:20, but then I still felt like I had some more “in the tank” in the final 400 and started dropping time to end with a (still unimpressive) 6:12.

All-in-all, that was 1600 yards total when last year I did 1150, and some of that 1150 was kick drills. Last year, I was really afraid of aggravating my shoulder, but I wasn't as concerned about that this year so I did a bit more (and things were fine).

Quick pic of the natatorium after I hopped out.


Damp selfie.


Big ass stuck knot in my shorts post-swim. That's what I get for
hastily knotting my shorts mid-workout while treading water.

I had to shimmy out of my tied shorts in the locker room. Dang it. But then I was able to work the knot free after I showered.

Stay tuned for a race report! Hopefully!! It'll be my only multisport race report for 2022!!