Since I did not write about swimming in my last blog post, but I promised to talk about the shells on my dresser, I decided to combine them and talk about my favorite things relating to the beach. Since at the beach, you typically swim and look for shells, I decided it was best to lump it like that.
Being a swimmer Most people don't think or realize how demanding swimming is as a sport. They think it is just doing some laps back and forth at a moderate pace. When I swim, I know I am pushing myself to the breaking point when I feel my lungs burning, my heart pounding, and my muscles feel like they're on fire. Swim coaches push their swimmers harder than any other coach pushes their atheletes. Swimmers train all year, everyday, rain or shine. Everyday during swim practice, we would warm up with 200m kick, 200m pull, 200m swim, and 200m choice. We do 800 meters before our practice officially starts. Each day in practice, we would swim anywhere from 1-3 miles. We sprint at least half a mile straight. Unlike other sports, every muscle in our body is worked to breaking point. We train to win, we practice extra to get there .01 seconds faster. Breaking a record is the best feeling one can experience. At regionals this year, I beat my record by half a second and I almost fainted of happiness. This past season, I broke my record so often, that I lost count. I dropped my 50 free time by a full 5 seconds, which is unheard of. My coach was so proud of me this season because I trained harder than ever before. | |
Shells on my dresser
I go to a place in south Florida called Captiva every year. We have a time share down there and leave right when school ends. As we leave to go back home, we always pass this little shell shop and we get something from there every year to remember our time in Captiva.
This past year, I went with a close friend of mine from school, Sage. One day we were walking on the beach to go back to the condo and we witnessed a sea turtle giving birth to a bunch of eggs. So when we went to the shell shop as we were leaving, we found a sculpture of a baby turtle coming out of an egg, which we thought perfectly represented the week we spent at the beach.
We also got another shell that was painted to have a turtle laying its eggs and then heading back to sea, which we also thought was perfect. I had never seen something like that before and I've been going there for years, so I found it really cool and exciting to see. From all the shells that I have on my dresser, I feel like that one has the best story behind it and it is certainly my favorite.
Thanks for reading and have a great day!