Swimming Like A Shark

Beating cancer is a life-long quest. It's not just about successfully enduring the treatments that eradicate the cancer that initially made its home in your body, but warding off any new iterations of the disease. Preventing a recurrence requires far more than wishful thinking. In my opinion, it requires proactive, daily effort. 

Fitness -- serious, athlete-level fitness -- is one of the cornerstones of my cancer-beating plan. I plan to vary my workouts, integrating weightlifting with other forms of exercise that I love, like basketball. But weights and hoops are not enough for me, so I'm in the process of seeking new ways to reach my fitness goals. Last night, I found a new love: swimming. 

After hitting the weights at Educogym (I can tell I'm getting stronger, by the way - sweet!), I headed over to my other gym, L.A. Athletic Club (or LAAC if you're one of the cool kids). Before I continue with my story, let me get something out of the way. Yes, I belong to two gyms. 

So I got to LAAC at around 8ish, which is evidently the perfect time to take a swim. Almost all the lanes in the gorgeous 25 meter pool were open. After throwing on my super-sporty new one piece (I'll save the scar-baring two piece for the beach), I was in the water and loving it. I swam 250 meters -- five laps up and back -- and quickly realized that swimming would become a part of my regular fitness regimen. It was awesome, and I know it's an excellent way to get -- and stay -- in shape. 

I find swimming to be both energizing and exhausting. I'm winded while I'm doing it, working practically every muscle in my body, but totally amped afterwards. My body just feels more alive while I'm kicking in the water, and afterwards, while I'm showering all the chlorine off me. I can almost feel my blood flowing happily and more efficiently throughout my body.

I'm also finding swimming to be extremely peaceful, too. While I was cutting through the water last night, I didn't have a thought or care in the world. It was just me, the water, my body, and my breathing. There were no worries, no constraints, no anxiety. And definitely no cancer.