Chasing the feet of my lost fitness

I will be the first to admit it... I totally neglected the pool for 3 months. Traveling all over the country for interviews I decided that I couldn't fret about finding a pool when my mission was to find a residency. So week upon week I lost a little bit more swim fitness. My shoulders atrophied, arms wilted into amorphous fatty blobs and I seemingly lost all semblance of off-land coordination. It was sad. And I was very scared to get back in the water. But I forced myself in the pool, more often by myself than with my CSU masters team, who had all but forgotten who I was. I was avoiding the Monday masters distance/pull session like the plague. But I could avoid the torture hour no more. Lanny called me Sunday and asked if I was going. Once I make a commitment I don't break it. I would hitch-hike there with two broken thumbs if I had to. So just a few short hours after enjoying beer, chili and football I headed out the door. (As an aside, it's pretty hard to crop dust at the pool)

Now the thing about swimming with Lanny is that we are dead even in the water when we are both in shape. And having a second home in Florida, he is in quite good shape all year. The main set was 10 x 200, first 5 pull, last 5 swim. Needless to say I not only couldn't keep up on the pulls, but I ended each 200 nearly drowning, taking on water, red as fresh summer tomato and panting like a black dog in the desert. It wasn't pretty. But then the 5 x 200 swim came around and it stopped being Lanny's feet that I was chasing. It was my feet. It was the feet of in-shape Jodi. And then it all became so much easier. Getting back into my old swim form is totally achievable. The 3400 yards cruised by. So now I am expected in my lane every MWF. A 4:30 wake-up call. 45 minutes of driving. $40 per month. Priceless.