Monday, February 2, 2009

A Dip in the Pool

Sticking to my triathlon training plan, I got out of bed bright and early and was in the pool at the YMCA by 6 am. This was my first "official" swim workout, and my first time in the pool in a few months. The plan called for a 12 minute swim. It should have been a piece of cake.

Not quite.

At 6:20 I dragged myself out of the pool wondering where all my upper body strength had gone. I could swim last fall. Maybe I couldn't swim great, but I wasn't near death after 6 laps. Sitting in the locker room waiting for my arms to recover enough to lift them overhead so I could put my shirt on, that nasty "I am not an athlete - why am I doing this?" thought hit me like a dump truck loaded with cinder blocks. For a brief moment I thought about giving up. Then insanity resumed control of my mind and I got dressed, came home, and started thinking about getting on the bike trainer tonight.

The biking has gotten easier. So has the running. The swimming will get easier too. Until it does, I just have to swallow my pride and try not to count how many times the old man sharing my lane passes me.

Oh, the answer to my question is "I have no idea why I'm doing this."

5 comments:

  1. I don't even know where to start with my comment but here goes. I had a very humbling first few years in triathlon because of swimming. What I've learned from that is unlike the other two sports swimming is very, very technique oriented. What ultimately worked for me was spending as much time on proper technique if not more than "fitness" swimming. The result of this was becoming more comfortable in the water which in turn made it easier later to pursue other goals like time or speed. But basically put the time in. If you are planning on a sprint tri then anything more than a 45 min workout would probably be overkill anyway. I've routinely used 15, 20, and 30 minute blocks of time for swimming so 12 minutes is perfectly adequate.

    February 2, 2009 10:53 PM

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  2. That's funny about the old man...so true! I get so frustrated when I'm running and some older person...or a mom pushing a stroller...passes me. I've never trained for a triathlon..I found your blog bc I want to be a yoga teacher! Although a friend of mine did...he said he found good information in this training guide: http://is.gd/ib8y

    Good luck!

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  3. Swimming is hard. I am a slow triathlete. On race day especially I have to remind myself, to keep the focus on me. That no one can make me feel inferior without my permission. (E.Roosevelt.) I like John the Penguin Bingham's quote about running, that it's not how long, how fast or how far that makes you a runner. It's that you run that makes you a runner. The joy is in the experience, though I'd love to experience some quicker swims too.
    :-) Sara

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  4. I have spent many post-swims crying in the public shower like a baby!! Swimming takes so much resolve and determination. It is a FIGHT somedays just to make it happen at all. THEN you have that one great swim, where it all comes together almost like magic, and you're on cloud 9. Just 'show up' is my motto. Relax and find that rhythm. Somedays it happens, somedays it don't. BUT you showed up. It was a success because you did it. :)

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  5. Swimming is so different from any other sport. I used to play field hockey in the fall and swim through the winter (and lacrosse in the spring) --- so I was in decent shape all year long. EVERY YEAR when I'd get in the pool for the first time I'd feel awful. I could swim. I swam last season. I swam kind of fast last season! ... and then it would come back.

    The swimming will get easier --- just like the bike. just like the run.

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