🌊✨ Today’s swim was short but beautiful 😊

I swam 14 lengths of the 25m pool (350m total). The last two were my time trial for 50m and I clocked 56 seconds, one second faster than yesterday.

I didn’t go for distance today, as we had an appointment to attend, but I went for short and progressive. Yesterday was 12 lengths, today was 14, just a little further, a little better. That’s what this whole journey is about: cumulative progress

Right now, I’m working on shorter swims and speed alongside other movement, walking our dog Deku, strength training, and mobility. Building a bigger range of fitness feels exciting.

After my swim, I sat in the spa and just watched the other swimmers. Maybe it sounds funny, but I genuinely love noticing the details of their strokes - how a small adjustment could make them faster or more fluid. I think all those hours I’ve spent watching tutorials, studying technique, and visualising my own swims have rewired my eyes to see it. It’s how I improved my tumble turns, by watching, visualising, and practicing until it finally clicked.

But today wasn’t just about the swim.

A wave of shame came over me when I thought about not moving on to the next stage of the swim teaching position I applied for. Yesterday, I felt at peace with it. Today, sadness crept in. And that’s okay too.

I can see it for what it is: an invitation to reflect on where my patterns of thought are still tied to worthiness, recognition, and external validation. Noticing it helps me loosen the grip. And more importantly, it reminds me this isn’t a knock to my confidence, it’s a redirection. A chance to build something of my own.

Because swimming, for me, has never just been about the pool. It’s about the inner work, the reflections, and the ripples they create.

Here’s to progress, both in the water and within myself.

#myswimmingjourney #swimming #aleyyoung