Changing Being Sick and Tired of Being Sick and Tired

I read somewhere once that change doesn't occur until you are sick and tired of being sick and tired. For whatever reason, I've always liked that. Well, I got to the point where I was sick and tired of being sick and tired of being a swim hack.
This past December I recruited a swim coach to teach this old dog new tricks. I wasn't sure if it could pull it off, but I went into it with an open mind. I knew I wouldn't be able to change without this paricular prerequisite. I decided before I even walked on the pool deck that I was going to trust whatever my coach told me, and I was going to do my best to accomplish anything thrown my way.
The first feature of my swimming to be addressed was my breathing. I assumed going into this, that almost immediately I would be called to change over from single-sided breathing to bilateral breathing, and I was right. My first new trick was a big one because air is a highly sought after comodity and I had to adjust to how I would be getting it.
I've blogged about the topic of swimming and moving toward bilateral breathing previously, but I've made this an important facet of my journey. Sure, in the past I thought, "What's the point of fixing my technique? I do relatively well. It's not like I'm last out of the water."
My perspective changed, but not from a dramatic event or suddenly being inspired to reach swimming nirvana. In fact, I'm not real clear on what brought about the change. It could have been seeing my friends Tom and Corrine make the switch as they smoked me in the pool. It could have been because we moved a few years ago to the lake and I love swimming. It could have been that I didn't like worrying about the wind direction or the way the chop might smack me in the face during a triathlon. It could have been because I knew better. However, I think it mostly came back to being sick and tired of being sick and tired of being resistant.
I don't know why I am feeling the need to justify bringing this topic back up again. Perhaps it is because my excitement about this redundant topic is likely not as nearly as exciting to you as it is to me. I digress.
When I did my first 500 yards utilizing my newfound skill of bilateral breathing, I remember thinking that there would simply be no freakin' way I would be able to sustain this modality over any real distance, let alone the 500 yard stint I was attempting at the moment. I recall this event now as part of the process of getting me to where I am today, which is covering 2,000 yards while bilateral breathing and feeling good about it!
Yes, I know, you lifetime-swimmer-types are thinking that this is no big deal, but my fellow swimmer hacks out there...by golly, you know this is something.
Bilateral breathing, along with leading with my elbows, and trying to swim with my core is helping me move from swimmer hack, to swimmer hack not-so-much, and I love it!
I'm feeling empowered. I'm feeling more efficient. I am reaching a goal previously thought by me to be out of the question. I am a little faster and of course that's pretty cool, but the best part is that I feel good about my swimming ability and I'm feeling good about my self.
One day I'll be sick and tired of being sick and tired of something else, and then I'll take another journey. For now however, I'm happy with taking this task on, one stroke at a time.


Peace.