Having Faith

I've got issues, but who doesn't? My most recent issues are swimming and my bicyle. The issue is not swimming with my bicyle mind you, that would present a whole different set of issues. However, in both cases I have put my faith in others to help me deal with my issues. I whole-heartedly believe I have chosen wisely and that I am in good hands. This doesn't mean that fixing my swimming stroke and adjusting to the fit of my bike will be easy though. In fact, all it means so far is that I am good at choosing. I still have issues.
My swimming coach has me doing things I previously thought impossible for me to do. For example, I can now bilateral breathe. Granted it's not pretty, but I'm not drowning, and though I am taking in a little water at times, I am also receiving the benefit of air when turning to my left side and my right. Who knew?
My coach seems to think that now that I've got bilateral breathing down on a three stroke count, that I can breathe on a five stroke count. I tried this, this morning and I think my face might have turned a shade of blue while anxiously waiting for my next breath. However, I have faith.
I have a long way to go with my swimming. No, really...by August I need to be able to cover 2.4 miles, and at very least, comfortably, and at best somewhat quickly. Truly, I would be perfectly happy with comfortably, but if I happen to sneak in a little bit of quickly, I won't complain. Anyway, I'm not swimming very far right now. I'm doing drill work and doing short spurts, but not-so-much anything particularly long. It's ok though, it's early, and I have faith.
My GURU bicycle, yes the bitchin' machine you see draped over my shoulders in the photo, at the top of this page is custom made for me. Many hours were put into measuring, questioning, adjusting, plotting, and designing. Most of these actions were done by Tom at The Village Bike Shop in Cascade. I have a lot of faith in Tom because he's intelligent, meticulous, knows bicycles, and can ride like a mo-fo. However, he has me in a position that is fairly different than my previous experience on my former bitchin' machine (my Litespeed). It's taking some getting used to and I'm still trying to get used to it. In fact, I've been having tightness in my right tricep/upper shoulder which I'm not used to. I asked Tom about this and he provided some suggestions. I tried one of his suggestions last night when I rode and it seemed to help. My hope is the next few times I ride this change will continue to work. The next step will be to either make an adjustment with my aerobars myself, or to have Tom do the adjustment. (I vote for Tom). Tom does not seemed concerned about this positioning glich because he believes it can be worked out. I am concerned about this matter, but I have faith in Tom, so I too believe it will be worked out. The difference is that I'm anxious to have it worked out and Tom does not need to be anxious about it. This is not to be confused with Tom not caring...he cares. The bike is right, I just need to be right-ed on it.
All things considered, I think I am progressing nicely. I've made gains in my swimming and I'm beginning to become one with my bike. I'm not there yet with either swimming stroke or my bike position, but I have faith.
Peace.

Be sure to read the interview with Dan Johnson below.