Getting up at 5:00 AM to drive across town to a cold swimming pool is not fun. In fact, it's downright painful. But I've done it twice a week for three whole weeks now and I'm mighty proud of myself.
My plan is to continue to swim on Monday and Friday mornings throughout the winter but I gotta get myself there by 6:15 AM so that I can be home to get kids ready for school. Once I get there, I'm fine but getting out the door is tough.
Yesterday I got some great advice from Tom M, one of our local Greeley Guppies (nickname for Greeley Masters Swim Club). My husband, Kurt, has been a Guppy for years. Tom was swimming two lanes over from me and he overheard me talking to Todd, another Guppy, about how bad I swim and he commenced to give me advice on what my hands should do once they enter the water. He showed me how to use paddles and showed me how to "push" and not pull the water, to propel me forward faster.
I tried what he suggested and wow, what a difference it made. The hardest thing for me with swimming is what my hands and arms should do under the water. I got the "upper" part of the stroke down but not the underwater part of the stroke. Everyone talks about an upside down "S" but I could never figure that out. This felt easier and it gave me some things to work on.
So, even though it's been hard to get my butt down to the pool, I'm starting to feel like I'm really learning how to swim. Next summer, it will be so nice to enter triathlons feeling confident about the swim part, unlike last year when I panicked every time I put on my wetsuit. I'm hoping to improve in the run and bike as well but not as much as I will in the swim.
No comments:
Post a Comment