Monday 6 June 2016

82 days to go

Tonight was our first swim training. We should have had several others already, but what with roofs coming down and thunderstorms, it kept being postponed. 

The swimming part of the triathlon is actually the most scary to me. I am not the strongest of swimmers and can only do the most basic of strokes, but I am willing to learn! One of the things I definitely need to learn after tonight is that I am not a fish (as coach J told me). Breathing in is done above the water and breathing out below. For some reason I kept breathing in below the water, gulping in vast amounts of water and then having to cough and paddle and keep myself above water while trying to get my bearings back.

After a while though, some sort of compromise was reached between my nose and my brain. If I would only put my nose under water for the shortest of time, my brain would let me breathe out. Thus avoiding any drowning attempts. 

The swimming itself wasn't too bad. I am in no way good enough to start the crawl yet (the whole breathing thing gets in the way), but if I want to do the breast stroke, that is fine too. So, for now I will be concentrating on breast stroke and getting my face deeper and deeper into the water, thus reducing the V-shape my body makes while in the water and thus reducing any back aches that pop up while being a V. 

The other thing I have to work on is my feet. More to the point: the soles of my feet. They are not used to anything resembling gravel and such and that is what we will be facing more or less. So, the soles need to be toughened up. 

Tomorrow I am going swimming again, this time with a colleague. And according to the weather reports we are due to have the warmest summer on record this year (don't ask me how they know) and for me that would be bliss: a lot of cycling, walking/running and swimming. You won't know me from Adam by the time this triathlon comes around!

3 comments:

  1. Crikey Mara ..... I had the same problems when I first started swimming distances. Practice at home. Even a big bowl of WARM water will do. Just put your head in and breath out and then lift your head and breath in and keep repeating. You can do it in the comfort and WARMTH of your own home and before you know it you will be doing it automatically. Then you're ready for the real thing. I, too, started with breastoke. It took a while to be able to do freestyle but I got there and would do a few klms every day. Do you have a heated pool somewhere where you can practice without freezing to death?

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    1. The heated pool? The one where the ceiling came down?? Or the other heated pool? Which they are renovating?

      I am planning to use the sink in my kitchen. Fill it up with water and then just dunk my face in. That way at least I won't fill up with bird-poo water!

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  2. My momma sez da swimmin' is da ez part fur her... all da hoomans round here is part fish er sumthin... Heck, evfun Whitley wuz part fish. Me, water is fur drinkin'...

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