Smiling Underwater

I was done right in the middle of the swim. Bonking in the water I have written about this before, but it always amazes me how it happens. I had ran five miles right before coming to the pool and had not eaten enough to accomodate the two workouts. My goal: a 2200 yard swim. About midway through, I just lost my stuff. Oh my, I thought. What if this were to happen in the open lake? How would I handle that? Couldn't do the bike after something like this on the swim, right? For a couple laps I just swam on my side slowly, on my back, and just floated with momentum. Consistent with the race scenario, I was not going to quit. Each lap I seemed to be adding more freestyle to my swimming, building back. Maybe my body was burning some fat or something, having given up on me feeding it properly? But I could tell I was coming back. How many times has this or something like this happened in my decades in endurance sports. Perhaps, this is the essence of endurance sports? It was great coming back from my fall. And when a man about my age in the next lane came up swimming furiously, I was good to go. The strokes became strong and deep. The rush of the water upon me, said I was moving well. I was in. Smiling underwater. I was myself again.