I finally got brave enough to join the "Y" yesterday and use their indoor pool. Thankfully, fellow Trigirls Katie and Kelly met me there, so I wouldn't feel all weird and awkward my first time - yeah, I've never shared a lane with someone before, so that alone seemed strange to me. (Thanks gals!) I was excited all day about getting back in the pool, especially since I haven't been in the water since June. But on the drive to the Y, I was wondering what the hell I was thinking - me do a tri? A non-swimmer???
Fortunately, once I saw Kelly and hopped into the pool, I was feeling better. And thanks to Kelly's tips, I actually improved in the 45 minutes I was there!
Last summer, I realized that my whole problem stems from putting my face in the water and remembering to breathe. It's not that I'm afraid of putting my face in the water...I just forget to exhale! The whole experience is horrible:
I forget to breathe out, so when I try to take a breath I try to exhale and inhale in the split second that I "roll" for a breathe (which is not really rolling, but me putting my head up to gasp for air). This usually results in me getting air, but getting even more water. And that results in my stopping mid-lap to sputter, gasp, cough and generally look stupid next to the lane with the 6 year olds swimming effortlessly back and forth. Yep, I can get my 6-8 glasses of water a day during my swim...does chlorinated count?
So yesterday, I didn't worry about form or stroke or anything else....I just worried about exhaling. And you know what? By the end of my time in the pool, I was actually making it from one end of the pool to the other without stopping! And, I wasn't gasping for breath when I made it to the wall! Okay, so I was a little winded, but nothing like before. I actually feel like I may be able to do this tri-thing with some consistent practice and a few lessons, of course. For someone who can swim well, making it from one end of the pool to another seems like nothing...for me it's huge! :-) Now, if I can just make it back to the other side without having to rest for a minute, lol!
Workout Stats
Thursday, 1/22 - Swim, ~40 minutes
Wednesday, 1/21 - Bike, trainer, 30 minutes
2 comments:
You did awesome! It was a lot of fun. Glad you and Katie came to swim. It's much more fun with friends.
Awesome job! I have a car trunk full of swimming gear if you need any!! My attempts failed at best and we just canceled our membership to the Y!!
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