Bike + Swim + Bike = I’m Too Tired To Shower But I Will Cause I Can’t Stand The Smell of Chlorine On Myself


It was only this past Sunday that I decided to stop being so precious with my bike and start parking it outside. As a result, I decided to bike up to Asphalt Green (3.5 miles from my office and 5.5 from my apt) for tonight’s swim training.

We were required to do a timed 2,000 meter continuous swim. Actual race day distance is 1,600 meters. I swam the 2,000 meters continuously in 34m40s. And once again, I left swim in all smiles.

I was incredibly proud of myself for 2 reasons: 1. It was my first 1+ mile continuous swim! 2. My goal is to finish swim in 30 minutes so given that this was my first timed, continuous swim, AND I didn’t have the current of the Hudson, meant that I’ll most likely be able to meet my goal on race day.

Besides a great sense of accomplishment, there were a couple of things I realized tonight:

1. Bagels are my secret weapon. After noticing that the days when I ate a bagel resulted in great timed runs, I started to eat a bagel a day for breakfast instead of the usual eggs and veggies. Then one day, as I was telling someone this realization, they suggested that if I’m gonna eat carbs, why not eat “healthier” carbs instead of a bagel. That suggestion totally resonated with me because I’ve always been of the mind that bagels are as nutritious as potato chips. So I stopped eating bagels. This morning, however, I decided to treat myself to a bagel for breakfast, and again, it didn’t fail me! From this day forward, I will not underestimate the power of the bagel ever again.

2. Closing my eyes helps me to relax, focus, and swim better. The problem is, closing my eyes doesn’t help me with sighting. Every time I looked up, I saw myself running into the lane lines.

3. People freak me out. I realized that I can swim extremely focused, tune other swimmers out, and keep my own pace. BUT, I can not ignore their feet in my face and I surely can’t ignore them kicking water into my nose and mouth as I go up to breathe. After snorting water for the 12th time due to other people’s kick splash, I developed a mini fear towards kicking swimmers and it freaks me out.

3. Getting out of the water is discombobulating. I’ve never been as confused and disoriented as the first 3 minutes of getting out of the water. It’s a feeling that I’ve never experienced before and am now wondering how the hell I’m suppose to strip out of my wetsuit and start running to my bike?

The cherry on top of tonight’s swim training wasn’t Coach Scott yelling out, “Looking VERY good Esther!” and “Good job, Esther!” and “Keep it up - long and stretch!”, though I was so happy that for once, he wasn’t pulling me aside to tell me that I was doing something wrong. The cherry on top of tonight’s swim was my bike ride home. 

Coming down 5th Ave along side Central Park was incredibly tranquil. I had to stop and snap a photo of the Met. I actually am mad at myself for not biking to swim sooner.