The Swim

OK. It's official. I hate swimming!

Which is a problem because I am working towards an IRONMAN![said in a manner like Phoebe from friends]

Yesterday, well, last night really, I got in my car and drove to the pool. Did you get that? I DROVE TO THE POOL!(That's a big deal people!) Alright, never mind how I got there. The point is I went. And on my Birthday. Yes it's true. I went SWIMMING on my birthday. (This is my ego talking. Someone please give me a little SOMETHING?) I'm a hero. Right?

So, I'm beginning to think that this training is not as glamorous as I had once thought.(sigh)

I'm reading Lance Armstrong's books about his life, which is also about his MILLIONS of hours of training for the Tour De France(which he won 7 times! SEVEN!)and they inspire me and leave me feeling like I can do anything. But swimming...

You see, the problem here is that I'm really not good at swimming. OK, so that's an exaggeration. I can swim, just not very far. Which again, is a problem when training for an Ironman where you are required to swim 3.8 kilometers!

At the age of four I got on a bike(without training wheels)and I just started to ride. I'll never forget the look on my Dad's face when I took off. The weeks before he took the training wheels off I begged, and begged and then BEGGED some more until he finally gave in and agreed to take them off. The training wheels were taken off in the basement of our house. My Dad figured I was too young, wouldn't be able to bike without them and he'd be putting them right back on again. WRONG. I took off doing figure 8's all around the basement. As a kid I rode my bike everywhere and to this day, biking is just something I can do and do relatively well.

When I was about 9 months old I found my legs and I started running(so I'm told)and I haven't stopped since. Yes, there is specific technique that can help you run faster but basically you put one foot in front of the other at a fast speed and away you go. I ran everywhere. Sprinted. At one time I was even on the provincial track team as a sprinter. I'm learning to run long distance now and it's going well. I enjoy running in a slower gear.

My mother expected me to take swimming lessons because she nearly drowned as a young teen. After that experience, any confidence she had as a swimmer was completely gone and to this day she loves the water but rarely goes into it. My swimming lessons started at such an early age that I can hardly remember it. But I LOVED the water as a kid and still do. I loved being IN the water, ON the water and BY the water.

So you see the real problem here is that I can't swim.[laughter] OK. The REAL problem is that I don't find swimming easy like biking and running. Apparently, I only want to work on things that come easy to me.

I have problem with breathing during swimming, which of course confuses and frustrates me. I'm a singer and I've spent years learning how to breath you would think it could come in handy while swimming. Nope. Not so lucky.

I can swim about 200 meters and suddenly I'm gasping for breath. It's really ugly. I think about breathing and then suddenly I think I can't breath and then finally I'm not breathing and I have to stop. STOP.

So last night I asked the coach why do I feel like I can't breath? She evaluated my stroke and my breathing technique and the conclusion is simple. PRACTICE! I've only been in the water 3 times this year. THREE.(perhaps I'm expecting a little much) Breathing while swimming and breathing while running or biking is very different. Endurance on land means being able to breath whenever you want. In the water you breath every third stroke. It's all about conditioning.

I should be swimming three times a week. Not once for and hour and a half.

FYI.
I felt really good towards the end of the swim last night. I actually felt like I was making progress and not just floundering around.

I guess I don't HATE swimming. Hate is a strong word. Perhaps I should say I DISLIKE swimming. I dislike getting wet, being in a bathing suit, (especially around other athletes with rock hard bodies) and having to figure out my breathing while swimming. Simply, I don't like doing something I'm not good at.(Who does?)

So here's hoping I can progress towards swimming three times this week and maybe I will even enjoy myself.