A drowning rat

Pretty much the minute I hit submit on my triathlon registration, I had already began googling training plans. I have been running with my trainer, so I got that part. Now biking and swimming. From what I read, it seems that if you can rock the swimming it makes the triathlon so much easier. So, I guess swimming is next on my check list.

I can swim. I was a lifeguard. I taught swimming lessons. But I am so not a swimmer.

So, Friday I got the courage to go to the Y and give swimming a shot after over a decade. I got a pair of chic goggles and a swim cap and trudged out to the pool. An average pool is 25 meters. The down and back (a lap) is 50 meters. Doing the math, a half mile is 16 laps. Not so scary, right? Wrong!!!!! After the first lap my lungs were on fire!!! I had to switch to breathing every stroke. After each lap I'd pause for a breath then do the next lap. Two laps, three, four. Break. Five, six. Finally 16. Not bad. A bit winded and my left shoulder was cramping but I did it. And with 4 months to training, I think I have a chance at rocking this swimming thing.

I found out that the Y has a master’s swim Tuesday and Thursday evenings. (Masters Swimming is a national organization that provides organized workouts, competitions, clinics and workshops for adults aged 18 and over. Programs are open to all adult swimmers (fitness, triathlete, competitive, non-competitive) who are dedicated to improving their fitness through swimming.) So, this Tuesday I packed up my Speedo and headed to the Y.

I was sooo nervous. It was like the first day of school. I didn’t know who my teacher was or the other “students.” “Dear Lord,” I prayed as a walked up to the group. Coach Mark is a tall, older man with a wonderful smile. “I’m new,” I said. “Great,” was his reply. He asked me why I was here to swim and told me to jump in the water to do a few laps so he could see my swimming level. Off I swim trying to look like a snail’s version of Michael Phelps. I felt pretty proud. Not half bad. Then came Mark's critique. You need to kick less. Kick less??? Huh? In a triathlon you need to swim with your arms so you can save your legs for the bike and run. Off I swim trying to kick less. “Less.” He kept telling me. Finally, confused, I asked, “If I kick any less I won’t be kicking at all? “Great!” was his reply. “Don’t kick.”

Okay, so no kicking. I can do that. So I grab a pull buoy. Those little pieces of foam swimmers put between their thighs to work on their stroke. Between my legs it goes. Right away I see I’m going to have a probably. My bottom half is rocking back and forth like a dingy in rough water. I kept drifting into the ropes. I can’t figure out how to breathe without doing this ballet-like move with my right leg. I am trying so hard not to laugh. I pull my head up to look at Mark and he is just smiling away. I smile back and keep splashing along. After 45 minutes of swimming I was done and I thank Mark for his help and said I would be back Thursday. I laugh and tell him that I didn’t realize swimming to so much balance. He chuckles and tells me I did a good job for not swimming in so many years. “Promise?” I ask him? Because I felt like a drowning rat. I couldn’t swim straight. I couldn’t do “catch-up stokes without literally drowning. I can only breathe on my right side and my flip turns? Let's not even talk about my flip turns. But he gives me a big grin and says, “We’ll work on that next time.”

Well, today is “next time” so THIS drowning rat will be back at the Y doing masters swim tonight. “Lord, help me!”