On Distance 35

I was (am) a distance swimmer for the simple reason that I was less good at the shorter lengths and other strokes.  My freestyle technique, a two-beat crossover, was not pretty and, further, I was a small kid, 5'8", 98 pounds, until Switzerland when I grew three inches in one year.

To compensate for the lack of, well, everything necessary to be fast, I worked and worked and worked.  School mornings were two pool hours before class, by myself or with Katie, thanks to Berkeley coach Bill G. who made special workouts for the two of us from age 11, and afternoons with the team.  I added weights, chords and stretching to the routine, showing up to workouts early and finishing late.  By 9th grade I snuck into the Cal Memorial football stadium to run bleachers (80 rows) before practice and to this day the hardest and most painful thing I have ever done to myself. 

There was zero distraction and little teenager angst given the family and community around me.  Today I train with a similar group of committed diehards who are often chasing personal objectives beyond PBs or winning.

From today I start tapering, reducing from 37km last week to 20km this week and 10km the next.

Photo from 8th grade: