{"id":3500,"date":"2026-10-23T09:39:50","date_gmt":"2026-10-23T09:39:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/clube-swim4fun.pt\/?p=3500"},"modified":"2026-10-23T09:41:02","modified_gmt":"2026-10-23T09:41:02","slug":"encerrando-a-epoca-de-aguas-abertas-25-26","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/clube-swim4fun.pt\/en\/encerrando-a-epoca-de-aguas-abertas-25-26\/","title":{"rendered":"Wrapping up the 2025\/26 open-water season"},"content":{"rendered":"
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I\u2019m coming to the end of this open-water season with mixed feelings. It was very different from usual: I barely saw the summer go by, and there wasn\u2019t enough time for everything\u2014training, races, conversations, and time with my partner. But whenever I could be there, it was intense.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

My perspective on swimming changed a lot over the three seasons I competed on the national circuit. I finished in third place in every one\u2014but the feelings were never quite the same.
There was a fear that used to take over me before I got in the water. It was always the same feeling: Why did I get myself into this? What am I doing here? Why am I still doing this? Will I make it to the finish?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Over time, I moved on from that mindset to a simple: \u201cOkay, just get in and swim\u2026 I\u2019ll worry about the time afterward.\u201d The butterflies and nerves were still there, but in a different way. Even when my mind tried to play tricks on me, my body already knew what to do and didn\u2019t pay much attention to those thoughts. But they were always there.
I can\u2019t even remember the last race I finished saying I didn\u2019t enjoy it, didn\u2019t feel good, or found it really difficult. Swimming simply became \u201cswimming.\u201d My body knows what to do. My mind understands what it means.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If the current isn\u2019t in my favor, if the wind gets in the way, if the waves make it hard to breathe, if I can\u2019t see the buoy, if there are too many people jostling in the pack, or even if my mind starts to wander\u2026 none of it paralyzes me anymore. Swimming has gone from a state of extreme alert to a physical and mental flow state.
I stopped trying to control everything around me. I stopped being hyperaware of every person or marine animal nearby, constantly thinking about what I\u2019d do if something happened. I began to enjoy the marine life, stay calm when the unexpected happened, and understand that if I just let go, everything falls into place.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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These three open-water seasons taught me that \u201chigh performance,\u201d in our minds, isn\u2019t about controlling every stroke, getting every breath just right, or navigating flawlessly. It\u2019s about finding your place in the sea, accepting what\u2019s out of sync, and adjusting on the next stroke.
I\u2019m closing out this season with more than just a place in the standings. I know now that the water is no longer a battleground for my doubts, but a place of peace. It\u2019s not about tuning out what\u2019s happening around me; it\u2019s about knowing I\u2019m capable, staying connected, and doing what I know how to do: simply \u201cswim\u201d\u2014because whatever happens, my body knows the way.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I didn\u2019t get any faster, and I didn\u2019t get in the water to chase times. This season was about pushing through and helping my mind find its place. It was a season of resilience. Now it\u2019s time to take the next step and set new challenges\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mayra Gabriela<\/strong><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Chego ao fim desta \u00e9poca de \u00e1guas abertas com um sentimento agridoce. Foi uma \u00e9poca muito diferente do habitual: o ver\u00e3o nem vi passar, faltou tempo para tudo\u2026 para treinos, provas, conversas e a minha dupla. Mas, quando pude estar presente, foi intenso. O meu modo de ver o “nadar” transformou-se muito ao longo das … <\/p>\n

Read more “Encerrando a \u00e9poca de \u00c1guas Abertas 25\/26”<\/span><\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3503,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_members_access_role":[],"_members_access_error":""},"categories":[55],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3500","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sem-categoria-en"],"featured_image_src":"https:\/\/clube-swim4fun.pt\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/image-5.png","author_info":{"display_name":"Clube Swim4fun","author_link":"https:\/\/clube-swim4fun.pt\/en\/author\/geralclube-swim4fun-pt\/"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/clube-swim4fun.pt\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3500","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/clube-swim4fun.pt\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/clube-swim4fun.pt\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/clube-swim4fun.pt\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/clube-swim4fun.pt\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3500"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/clube-swim4fun.pt\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3500\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3507,"href":"https:\/\/clube-swim4fun.pt\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3500\/revisions\/3507"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/clube-swim4fun.pt\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3503"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/clube-swim4fun.pt\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3500"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/clube-swim4fun.pt\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3500"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/clube-swim4fun.pt\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3500"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}