2011 is here and I got my first schedule from Chuckie. I was totally excited for it and very curious about what it was going to look like. You can be dumb as a rock and still figure out what I should be doing in January. It's obvious. But for those of us who are dumber than rocks we hire really good coaches and they tell us the obvious. Swim until your suits fall apart.

So I open up the schedule... Wow. Alright. On the top it says 18+ hours this week. I gotta admit, in some sick way, I got really giddy. Because nothing says "Game On" more than your first week back being 18+ hours.

Then I cruise Chuckie's twitter account and it says

As coach, it's hard to know *where* to start (with) new athletes, but I've found that it pays to try to crack them sooner rather than later! --Chuckie V

I'm not even a *new* athlete!

As I skimmed (ok I didn't skim, I pretty much devoured) all three pages of my weeks schedule I start to see a trend (again, it's a no brainer). Yup, there it is, 17 of the 18 hours are swimming. I kid...barely. Really, it's a lot of swimming, over half the hours, plus there are extra credit swims in there. Kompetitive Edge helped me pick out two brand new super durable TYR suits several weeks ago and neither of them have dried out since Saturday.

Just keep swimming, just keep swimming.

When you are faced with 17 out of 18 hours of swimming (again, i kid, but go with me here) the only thing to do is to JUMP IN!

Yep, just poise yourself on waters edge, secure your goggles in place, take a big deep breath, tuck your chin and leap off the edge. No regrets, no hesitation. It's 2011 folks, and the years are going to just keep slipping by if you don't choose to make the best of them. I plan to give it my all this year or drown trying.

This quote really got me through last nights swim. 10x200, the first 4 on 2:55 (that's HARD for me), and the rest were on more rest but supposed to be faster. Ouch.

The water is your friend. You don't have to fight with water, just share the same spirit as the water, and it will help you move. ~Aleksandr Popov

Here's to swimming one million yards between now and Kona...literally. Do the math, it's achievable! 40 weeks until Kona!