You know what?! I love my US Masters swim team, Davis Aquatic Masters (D.A.M.)Since I started with swimming with the club in January 2012 I have been addicted.  Back in January I made a commitment to myself and my hubby (whom has a long history with the club. He swam with them in his undergrad days at UC, Davis) that I would step up my swim game and start going to masters workouts. It was challenging for me at first and I had ALOT of beginners anxiety but I can honestly say that since starting with the team there has not been a day that I did not push my limits and do my best that I could for each workout. I try to swim at least 4-5 days a week with them, there are no structured workouts on Sunday. As a result, it has been evident that I am getting faster and my race times are reflecting that.

Today’s workout was an intense kick/pull set and as always our Coach Stu Kahn is on deck giving constant feedback. I love it! It was one of those workouts where I could notice that it’s not speed that is the most important but technique. Coach Stu if often on deck and astute to everything going on in the water. On Monday, Coach said something of the sort to me, “You know Gloria you’re getting fast enough now that you need to improve your technique and you’ll see the difference” and then proceeded to give me things to work on. But in my head I was like, “me fast?! really?” It felt good but the latter part made me even more hungry to get better.

In the pool something happen’s to me. My mind gets sharp and tunes into my body, and as the workout begins my energy kicks up. I become more aware of the subtleties and seek to execute every piece of feedback from the coaches. This drive to be my best kicks in in a way that I had never experinced before. I want to push my limits to see how much more I can give. I want to end a set or workout out of breath. I want move out of my comfort zone, even at the cost of looking silly, to see what I have left to give. I actually enjoy the suffering.

My wish for everyone that reads this is to find something in their life that makes them feel as I do in the pool. Anything that makes them want to “challenge the limits of their best, to be their best.” I am so greatful and thankful that I get to do that with my masters team.