Now do the swim!

I begin with two TV quotes.

Quote 1:
"It's an effort to get in the water, but when you do you’re weightless and you don’t even sweat. And in the end you’re wrung out."
--Don Draper, Mad Men

Quote 2:
"You can never be unfaithful to your one true love. You always come back to her. "
--Norm Peterson, Cheers

___________________________

Swimming is one my true love, at least in the athletics category. And, as Norm said, I always come back to her.

Don Draper's quote is pretty accurate, in my experience. It is an effort to get into the pool, which is why this morning was my first swim in at least a couple of months. (Oh, there was also the fact that I was doing some other stuff.) And I don't want to pretend like I love any sort of exercise activity, at least not while I'm doing it.

But being in the water is a great feeling. You do, in fact, feel weightless and serene. Again, it's not all sunshine and roses, I mean you're still pushing your body and getting all winded and stuff. I believe Don is wrong about the not sweating stuff. You do sweat in the pool, I'm told, but at least your sweat gets washed off. I feel like I want to push myself harder because I'm not all disgustingly hot or covered in sweat.

I also think "wrung out" is a pretty accurate description of how you feel after you swim. People talk about a "runner's high," and with swimming I think it's more of a "swimmer's low." Not low like you're sad, but low like you're really relaxed. Or, you know, wrung out.

I like how the water provides a resistance that, when I fight it, feels like I'm fighting some kind of psychological demons. I like how it's quiet in there and I can think some stuff through, but not the truly sad and heavy stuff because my brain doesn't have enough oxygen for that stuff. (Also difficult while oxygen-deprived: math. So it's hard for me to calculate how many yards I've swum sometimes.)

I like how I don't have to pack a bunch of extra stuff when I go swimming. You really just need a bathing suit, cap, and goggles, all of which are pretty cheap as sporting goods go. Since the gym provides and launders towels, swimming doesn't generate extra laundry like all these sweat-provoking classes do. I don't have to remember to bring clean underwear to change into swimming. You just throw on whatever you wore before.

Also, after swimming you can go in the hot tub because you're already wearing your bathing suit. Not that everybody at my gym wears a bathing suit in the hot tub. Some people are naked, which I am not that into.

Swimming is my one true love, and I always come back to her. I'm glad I stray from swimming sometimes, because I think you get more bang for your buck, exercise-wise, when you try something that your body isn't totally accustomed to. I'm not sure if that's actually true, but the fitness instructors at the gym are always advising you to cross-train.

But I think swimming is best for my mind. Sometimes I can be stressed out and depressed to the point that I can feel it physically, but then after swimming I emerge from the pool feeling like everything is right with the world.

Now if only there could be more Don Draper types at my gym's pool. Because, umm, hello.


Here's a slightly-less-impressive, much darker photo of me swimming. I'm the one in the lane fourth from the bottom.