week 2

Swim Practice

The first third of the triathlon is going to be tough.  I don’t love swimming.  I am not a strong swimmer and training for a half-mile swim is a little intimidating.  The first swim practice, I have a personal goal of 10 laps that I want to achieve.  “You can do this”, I tell myself.  I am a constant counter, so this is my rhythm in the water, “one, two, three, breathe, one, two, three, breathe”.  A nice cadence keeps me calm and focused on my breathing.  Things go smoothly for a length of the pool until I start to breathe more rapidly: “one, two, breathe, one, two, breathe”.  Two lengths down.  Is that really only 50 meters?  Urg, this is going to take some practice and determination.  I tell myself to calm down, take it slow, breathe deeply and get back to my planned cadence.  Somehow I get the character Dory from Nemo in my head “Just keep swimming, just keep swimming…”  The next lap goes well.  A little confidence builds.  My arms feel strong and the stretching across my chest and shoulder feels great.  I continue to go slow and steady.  I alternate between free style and breast stroke as I get fatigued. I know backstroke is an option that I can utilize to keep moving and finish my goal for the day.  It wasn't a beautiful first swim but not a bad start.  I pat myself on the back and plan to swim just as strong next practice.