Surrounded in liquid silence, the beating of your heart marks time as you count down to seconds until you can emerge. Five, four, three, two, and then you try to hang on a bit longer.
Once you burst from the water, as instructed, you face the three-story solid concrete wall of the aquatic training facility just twenty-five feet away and imagine it’s the next towering wave rushing towards you. You do a “dump breath” to fully empty your lungs, then one huge inhalation, then it’s back down to listen to your heartbeat as it begins the relentless count until you can breathe again.
Continue reading “Comfortable in the Uncomfortable ━ Or why training for Nazaré is all in your head”