I really had my hopes up that I would be all healed and caught up in workout routine today. But when I woke up in the middle of the night to take care of the baby, my neck hurt. It was just a little bit, but it was sore. So I had this sinking feeling that the mile would elude me again.

I felt that familiar warmth in my neck and shoulder, so I decided to shoot for 1000 and call it a day. The good news is that the freestyle feels much more natural, and the breathing is becoming less of an issue. I swam one 100 IM, and my time was 2:58.79—faster than last session. So all trends lean towards improvement.

In the end, I swam 375 free, 375 back, 125 breast, 25 fly, and 100 elementary back. Looking at it from that standpoint, my session was a huge success! I cut my elementary back stroke dramatically, and swam mostly free and back. I did a four embarrassing flip turns. I was very glad my kids weren’t there to chastise me for the extra breaths, wild arm waving and horrifying flopping. It’s not junior high, though. I doubt if anyone at the pool cared much about my flip turn lack of form.

I again made a bee-line for the whirlpool after swimming, and the water was therapeutic as usual. I spied another pair of brown arms as I was leaving the pool deck. “Is my brother here, I wondered, and stopped and looked at this swimmer for a while. I noticed her braided ponytail as she neared the shallow end. She did a slow, smooth flip turn. I was humbled. I have much to learn. I’ll talk to her when I get the chance.