Day #1 – Swimming For My Triathlon
Today was the first day of swimming class. As of today, there are 157 days until the Celebration Sprint Triathlon in Columbia, Maryland. This year I set a goal to not only do a triathlon, but learn how to swim. I know, a bit crazy and to top it off, that’s a 0.62 mile swim. The swim instructor said it would take about 22 laps to complete 0.50 mile swim, so I have some training to do.
When we got into the pool, I was psyched until he said, “Shawn, swim to the far end while doing a front stroke, then coming back, do a basic back stroke”. The machismo in me was like, “Yeah, I got this!!!”. So I perked up, put my chest high and went for it. If you were a bystander, you would have needed goggles just watching me (lol), but I made it. Then coming back, who told me to play Mister professional back stroke man? I’m in the water, alternating arms like I was in a Speedo commercial. I gulped about 2 gallons of water while coming back, but I made it. To make a long story short, I think the old man was on the verge of demoting a few of us to the beginners class, but he said he’ll work with us. That includes my lovely wife Nadia who hadn’t been in the water since the end of time as well.
So they showed us the basics and I took every mental note that I could. I practiced breathing, I relaxed and treaded more than I should have, in order to get over my, “I’m going to sink” fear. As the 1.5 hour class went on, I felt more confident and I was getting the “much better” head nod from old man. I ended the night doing 14 laps (28 lengths), which was a little under 1 mile. This was day 1, but truly an eye-opening experience. So my homework until next week is to fill up the tub and fit my big @ss in it and practice breathing:) This is going to be fun!!
Julie & Lisa were in the class after mine, so I’m curious to know how their experience was.
Goal for next week: Do 15 laps, relax more and stop swimming into the wall as if I were drunk.
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Way to go Nadia & Shawn! Swimming it will kick your butt, it is a tougher workout than people realize!
You rock, Shawn! This is awesome! What a journey! YAY! So excited for you!!!
Thank you so much guys!! I will keep you posted on this. I refuse to have this fear of the water get worse, so I’ll take advantage of open swim days prior to class to get more comfortable:)
Great job!! What a visual you gave us. So glad you and Nadia are taking the class.
Way to go, Shawn! Very Proud of you! Its hard to learn how to swim as an adult. As kids, we are fearless with unlimited energy, so it easier. Just try not to kill yourself and my girl Nadia in the process!!! LMAO. When I was learning (YMCA!!!!!), my biggest mistake was holding my breath rather than exhaling under water – nearly passed out a few times!! Please dont do that!!! LMAO. Keep it up, you will be giving Micheal Phelps a run for his $ in no time!!! Love ya always!