I signed up for some swimming lessons last Tuesday. I missed the first lesson as I had arranged to meet up with a couple of other women who are also signed up for the Danskin triathlon in July. We met in a pub on a cold, rainy and blustery Tuesday. We chatted about our training, compared notes and arranged to meet for a few open water swims. I do not know about the weather in other parts of the US, but here in New England, it is still winter. It rains almost every day, and you still have to wear woolly jumpers! If there is one sunny day, rest assured it will rain for the next two weeks. With the open water swims on the back burner, I went to my first swim lesson on Thursday.
I got the time wrong and arrived an hour early. That was perfect, as I could swim my 40 laps. Funny thing is the first 10 laps feel awful, the last 10 were the best, and I could actually swim without stopping. The same seems true of running. It takes me ages to get into the swing of things, by which time the race is over! I am not one of those lucky people who hit the sweet spot immediately. In fact, after my laps, I felt quite fresh, and walked over to where our instructor was waiting.
I found the lesson immensely helpful. Victoria our instructor taught us some swimming drills, and for me that is one of the key elements missing from my training. As I have stated before, my form is truly awful - I have no idea where to start, there are so many things which are off. How do I know this? Well, at the Triathlon by the Sea, Cathy made a short video of me swimming, and it was painful to watch. I had no idea I looked that bad. I look like someone who actually cannot swim!
Thursday was a really good day. I enjoyed the lesson, and Victoria is a very good teacher. The surprising thing is my back stroke. Many people have commented on it, and said the technique is good. I always feel ungainly in the water. Victoria seems to think my back stroke is awesome. I have no idea how this can be, but when she told me to draw my arms closer to my ears when I stroked, it suddenly felt right. It's nice to be able to do one stroke decently, but I still do not feel that my stroke is particularly powerful - I would never swim like this in the sea. unless it is the Dead Sea. Well more on this tomorrow, after my second lesson.
Showing posts with label swimming. Show all posts
Showing posts with label swimming. Show all posts
Monday, June 15, 2009
Sunday, May 31, 2009
Water: one molecule of water has two hydrogen atoms covalently bonded to a single oxygen atom.
Cape Town, South Africa. 
Geneva, Switzerland.I have always lived near water. In Cape Town it is a 20 minute drive to the Atlantic seaboard, where the water is so cold, that the only people swimming are usually the very young - in wetsuits. Further along is Fourth Beach, Cape Town's equivalent to Bondi Beach, where the beautiful people go. No swimming mind you, as the water is still very cold, but certainly the place to be seen. Clifton is the next stop, and there is nothing beats having dinner on the beach after a long day at work. Sunset on Clifton beach is amazing, watching the sun sink so fast, rays dancing across the huge crashing waves. The salty spray on my face, and the fruity taste of a bottle of Simonsig Chenin Blanc on my tongue - is something I can never forget, whatever part of the world I may be in.
In Siena it was an hour and a half to the beach - not counting the 3 hours of traffic you had to put up with to get there in the first place! There too, swimming in the sea was secondary to the art of strolling up and down, or having drinks and chats with your friends at the little bars set up along the shore. Still, I did learn to swim properly and actually swam in the sea on Elba Island where you walk across some very pebbly beaches, and step straight into 4 metres of water. I learned to snorkel, and swam on lots of beaches like this around the island. Then another summer was spent on a yacht on the Emerald Coast. There too, I learned to jump off, straight into the crystal clear turquoise sea. The water is so clear, that you can actually see the sun lighting up the sea floor.
However, when we were living in the UK and Switzerland, I did not put a foot into the water, and so 10 years went by, until we moved to the US last year. Again, swimming was not a priority but running was. Signing up for the tri provided the opportunity to sort out my issues with biking and swimming in one go! In truth I did swim a few times at the gym in Geneva, but I did not really enjoy it, so after about the fifth time, I called it a day. Swimming seemed to be one of those things I would get around to, but not just yet. As my previous posts have indicated, I did not really train sufficiently for the swim leg of the triathlon, and even then most of the time was spent trying to get over my fear of deep water.
Today I went swimming for the first time after the tri, and guess what?! I actually concentrated on style and stroke without thinking about anything else, and for the first time ever, I actually thought about what I was doing in the water. I know I am going to have to take some lessons, as I would like to improve not only my stroke, but I wish to become a good swimmer.
I have always had an on-off relationship with the water, and now I think I am finally ready to make a commitment....I want our relationship to develop, I want to feel at ease and happy in the water and above all, one day I will go back to Geneva and swim in Lac Leman - after all, I have run around it a few times!
Tuesday, May 12, 2009
How to swim in 14 feet of water - or not
When I first started thinking about doing a triathlon, I thought the bike would be my weakest discipline since I had to actually learn to ride first. The ensuing experience, and the speed with which I learned to balance, ride, climb, change gears, coast and corner, finally made me feel that although I may not be very fast on the bike, I can finish this leg. Not for a moment did I think that swimming would become my Archilles heel.
I am not a great swimmer. I learned to swim as an adult and can only do 2 styles: front crawl and backstroke, and let me add that I do neither very well. I have always been a bit afraid of deep water, but have learned to manage my fear over the years. Indeed I have even jumped off a yacht, straight into the sea and snorkelled off the Costa Smeralda or Emerald Coast in Sardinia, Italy. Last summer I went swimming at the local Y, and I also managed to control my fear in 7 feet of water, which is the deep end in that pool.
This year however, because I spent most of my time trying to learn to cycle, I found it too challenging to start swimming as well. Anyway, I thought I would be able to manage my fear as I have always done. When I finally started the tri course, and started swimming on Mondays, I found I could not jump into a pool where 7 feet was considered to be the shallow end, and 14 the deep!
So I swam lengths in the shallow teaching pool, improved my stroke and learned to breathe on both sides. Last Monday I finally went to the 'big' pool. Although I had a few faltering starts, I managed my fear and I think I swam more than 700 yards that day. I felt I had taken a huge leap, and now all I needed to do was practice, and I would be fine come race day.
Well, yesterday we did a 'mock' triathlon. I had been dreading the swim, and the anxiety had been building all weekend. When I set off for the pool after work, I had to go back home 3 times to fetch various items I had forgotten. Stuart joked that I was secretly hoping the swim would be finished by the time I got there.
Well, no such luck - not only was I early, but the pool was relatively empty. My anxiety level was sky-high at this point. I got into the pool and clung to the side. After a while, feeling most unready, but urging myself to take the plunge so to speak, I started swimming. I only went a few yards when I had to clutch onto the side of the pool. I stayed there for a bit and found that I could not go on, so I swam back to the start.
I made a second start and stopped at exactly the same place. I swam back, spoke to myself out loud and tried to analyse what I was doing differently from the previous week and then started out for the third time. Yes, you guessed it, I stopped at the same place, only this time the lifeguard came over and asked me if I knew how to swim! This was not what I wanted to hear, and I explained to him that sometimes it took me a while to get into the swing of things. Still, I recognised that that was not going to happen that afternoon: I could either stay in the pool, desperately clutching the wall, or I could get out and actually swim a bit in the shallow pool.
I chose the latter. Naturally I felt a bit disappointed at having given up, and even more worryingly, how on earth am I going to swim on Sunday? Last night was not a good night, as I felt a bit lost and concerned about how to sort out this situation. I spent all of today thinking about it, and appealed for help in a triathlon forum. The response was amazing! I got so much encouragement, and help from so many people. It would also seem that quite a few people struggle with the swim.
Most importantly, I read something in one of my Buddhist magazines which I am still chewing over: when you take a leap from point A to point B, that is progress. But you cannot always go on to point C. You have to go back to point A and fill in the gaps which span your leap to point B otherwise you have a shaky foundation. Translated into swimming terms this made me understand that although I had made that leap when I swam in 14 feet of water, and in the sea in Sardinia, I never went back to fill in the gaps. Now I am trying to understand what are these gaps that need filling, and above all, how did I feel last Monday and what enabled me to swim in deep water.
I have decided that I am not going to manage my fear as I have done in the past. I do not think that I am going to overcome it in a few days either. However, I want to try and understand what I need to do to trust myself more when I am in the water. Most of all, I am trying to understand how I can be in deep water, and not associate that with feelings of fear. After all, water is the cradle of life - the place where human beings first came from....
I am not a great swimmer. I learned to swim as an adult and can only do 2 styles: front crawl and backstroke, and let me add that I do neither very well. I have always been a bit afraid of deep water, but have learned to manage my fear over the years. Indeed I have even jumped off a yacht, straight into the sea and snorkelled off the Costa Smeralda or Emerald Coast in Sardinia, Italy. Last summer I went swimming at the local Y, and I also managed to control my fear in 7 feet of water, which is the deep end in that pool.
This year however, because I spent most of my time trying to learn to cycle, I found it too challenging to start swimming as well. Anyway, I thought I would be able to manage my fear as I have always done. When I finally started the tri course, and started swimming on Mondays, I found I could not jump into a pool where 7 feet was considered to be the shallow end, and 14 the deep!
So I swam lengths in the shallow teaching pool, improved my stroke and learned to breathe on both sides. Last Monday I finally went to the 'big' pool. Although I had a few faltering starts, I managed my fear and I think I swam more than 700 yards that day. I felt I had taken a huge leap, and now all I needed to do was practice, and I would be fine come race day.
Well, yesterday we did a 'mock' triathlon. I had been dreading the swim, and the anxiety had been building all weekend. When I set off for the pool after work, I had to go back home 3 times to fetch various items I had forgotten. Stuart joked that I was secretly hoping the swim would be finished by the time I got there.
Well, no such luck - not only was I early, but the pool was relatively empty. My anxiety level was sky-high at this point. I got into the pool and clung to the side. After a while, feeling most unready, but urging myself to take the plunge so to speak, I started swimming. I only went a few yards when I had to clutch onto the side of the pool. I stayed there for a bit and found that I could not go on, so I swam back to the start.
I made a second start and stopped at exactly the same place. I swam back, spoke to myself out loud and tried to analyse what I was doing differently from the previous week and then started out for the third time. Yes, you guessed it, I stopped at the same place, only this time the lifeguard came over and asked me if I knew how to swim! This was not what I wanted to hear, and I explained to him that sometimes it took me a while to get into the swing of things. Still, I recognised that that was not going to happen that afternoon: I could either stay in the pool, desperately clutching the wall, or I could get out and actually swim a bit in the shallow pool.
I chose the latter. Naturally I felt a bit disappointed at having given up, and even more worryingly, how on earth am I going to swim on Sunday? Last night was not a good night, as I felt a bit lost and concerned about how to sort out this situation. I spent all of today thinking about it, and appealed for help in a triathlon forum. The response was amazing! I got so much encouragement, and help from so many people. It would also seem that quite a few people struggle with the swim.
Most importantly, I read something in one of my Buddhist magazines which I am still chewing over: when you take a leap from point A to point B, that is progress. But you cannot always go on to point C. You have to go back to point A and fill in the gaps which span your leap to point B otherwise you have a shaky foundation. Translated into swimming terms this made me understand that although I had made that leap when I swam in 14 feet of water, and in the sea in Sardinia, I never went back to fill in the gaps. Now I am trying to understand what are these gaps that need filling, and above all, how did I feel last Monday and what enabled me to swim in deep water.
I have decided that I am not going to manage my fear as I have done in the past. I do not think that I am going to overcome it in a few days either. However, I want to try and understand what I need to do to trust myself more when I am in the water. Most of all, I am trying to understand how I can be in deep water, and not associate that with feelings of fear. After all, water is the cradle of life - the place where human beings first came from....
Wednesday, April 15, 2009
Getting more organised
Monday was a swim day. I had been dreading it, and after a difficult day at work, thought I would take the day off but then found that I had to go. I had arranged to meet 2 young women there, and they had not accepted my cancellation, but wrote and told me they would meet me there. More about the young women in a separate post - but was I glad that they had been so forward thinking.
Because Monday was the day that I learned to breathe on both sides - properly. Super thanks to Jane, who also helped me improve my technique so much, that breathing on both sides has suddenly become so easy, and has made me swim a little faster. I do not know if it was the enthusiasm of the moment, but it was also a lot less tiring than the previous week. In fact, after the swim I felt like going for a 5 mile run, but I had to hurry home and get the dinner on.
So no run on Monday night, nor yesterday - made a quick dinner after the cycling. OK the truth of the matter is I am in bed by 9pm. I get up around 5 (usually), do my buddhist chanting for an hour and then do either circuits or a run. Lately I have been feeling knackered, so have only been managing the chanting. Now however, I think I need to go to bed at 8.30pm, also because I would like to try and do 2 training sessions a day. The circuits seem to be falling by the wayside, and I do not like that!
I managed to get the run in this morning, but no chanting. That was not good, but it was an emergency: it was almost a week since I had last run, and I had to do it - pity I could not get up in time to get it all in. I had also hoped to go swimming after work today, but another dramatic day, led to me feeling depleted. I managed to do some chores with Stuart, and then had a lovely pizza.
Tomorrow is another day, said Scarlet O'Hara, and so tomorrow I will get the chanting in, as well as my run in the morning. And the evening is reserved for a zip down the bike path on the Charles River. Maybe on Friday I'll get in a swim and a spinning session....
Because Monday was the day that I learned to breathe on both sides - properly. Super thanks to Jane, who also helped me improve my technique so much, that breathing on both sides has suddenly become so easy, and has made me swim a little faster. I do not know if it was the enthusiasm of the moment, but it was also a lot less tiring than the previous week. In fact, after the swim I felt like going for a 5 mile run, but I had to hurry home and get the dinner on.
So no run on Monday night, nor yesterday - made a quick dinner after the cycling. OK the truth of the matter is I am in bed by 9pm. I get up around 5 (usually), do my buddhist chanting for an hour and then do either circuits or a run. Lately I have been feeling knackered, so have only been managing the chanting. Now however, I think I need to go to bed at 8.30pm, also because I would like to try and do 2 training sessions a day. The circuits seem to be falling by the wayside, and I do not like that!
I managed to get the run in this morning, but no chanting. That was not good, but it was an emergency: it was almost a week since I had last run, and I had to do it - pity I could not get up in time to get it all in. I had also hoped to go swimming after work today, but another dramatic day, led to me feeling depleted. I managed to do some chores with Stuart, and then had a lovely pizza.
Tomorrow is another day, said Scarlet O'Hara, and so tomorrow I will get the chanting in, as well as my run in the morning. And the evening is reserved for a zip down the bike path on the Charles River. Maybe on Friday I'll get in a swim and a spinning session....
Tuesday, April 7, 2009
A dawning realisation....
My adventures with the bike have been so-so up to now. I usually have my lesson on a Saturday, and since my venture with Christine, my confidence took a bit of a knock. It has taken me a couple of lessons to get back to where I was, and the true test came when Pata took me on a bike trail.
Two Saturdays ago, on a bright sunny afternoon, off we went amidst children, other cyclists, runners and mothers with prams. It was hair-raising! Up and down, up and down we went and I managed to avoid knocking into anyone. Last Saturday was cold and rainy, and the bike path was almost deserted, except for the few die-hards out riding. This time Pata tried to get me to change gears, but it would seem that I cannot concentrate on cycling and changing gears! So the first change took me off the bike, the second had me wobbling so much I had to make a very undignified stop. The third attempt at a gear change resulted in the chain getting stuck between the rings. OK, so I have to work this one out in a hurry, but in the meantime I have added Tuesdays and Thursdays to the biking schedule, and have more lessons with Pata as I definitely need to get out on the bike a lot more. Today for instance was bitterly cold - but I actually had a good ride. I felt a lot more confident on the bike, and could control it a bit better. Still, I can't actually change gears yet, but I am working on that.
I am doing a pre-triathlon conditioning course at MIT, so Mondays we swim, Wednesdays run and bike (or spin) on Fridays. Yesterday was the first time since the Summer that I set foot in the pool. Funny thing that, I arrived a bit late, and the others had already started on their laps. Jane, our coach told me to "just jump in". I looked down and saw that it was 7 foot, and told Jane I was going round to the shallow end to get in. She looked at me and said, "Natalia, this is the shallow end - its much deeper over there".
Well, the truth of the matter is, I just could not jump in. Luckily there is a teaching pool just behind and I told Jane I would do a few laps there. I managed to swim the full hour, as fitness is not the issue - the issue is my fear of deep water. Last night I actually realised the enormity of this undertaking. Not the distances and training, but the mastery of the mind - how to ride a bike confidently, and how to overcome the fear of deep water! Today I still felt rather overwhelmed at the thought of doing this triathlon next month. Time is so short and I still have so much to do. Lance Armstrong seems to think that a triathlon is "a wash, a shampoo and a blowdry", which it might very well be. However it does help to have a good head to work with in the first place!
Two Saturdays ago, on a bright sunny afternoon, off we went amidst children, other cyclists, runners and mothers with prams. It was hair-raising! Up and down, up and down we went and I managed to avoid knocking into anyone. Last Saturday was cold and rainy, and the bike path was almost deserted, except for the few die-hards out riding. This time Pata tried to get me to change gears, but it would seem that I cannot concentrate on cycling and changing gears! So the first change took me off the bike, the second had me wobbling so much I had to make a very undignified stop. The third attempt at a gear change resulted in the chain getting stuck between the rings. OK, so I have to work this one out in a hurry, but in the meantime I have added Tuesdays and Thursdays to the biking schedule, and have more lessons with Pata as I definitely need to get out on the bike a lot more. Today for instance was bitterly cold - but I actually had a good ride. I felt a lot more confident on the bike, and could control it a bit better. Still, I can't actually change gears yet, but I am working on that.
I am doing a pre-triathlon conditioning course at MIT, so Mondays we swim, Wednesdays run and bike (or spin) on Fridays. Yesterday was the first time since the Summer that I set foot in the pool. Funny thing that, I arrived a bit late, and the others had already started on their laps. Jane, our coach told me to "just jump in". I looked down and saw that it was 7 foot, and told Jane I was going round to the shallow end to get in. She looked at me and said, "Natalia, this is the shallow end - its much deeper over there".
Well, the truth of the matter is, I just could not jump in. Luckily there is a teaching pool just behind and I told Jane I would do a few laps there. I managed to swim the full hour, as fitness is not the issue - the issue is my fear of deep water. Last night I actually realised the enormity of this undertaking. Not the distances and training, but the mastery of the mind - how to ride a bike confidently, and how to overcome the fear of deep water! Today I still felt rather overwhelmed at the thought of doing this triathlon next month. Time is so short and I still have so much to do. Lance Armstrong seems to think that a triathlon is "a wash, a shampoo and a blowdry", which it might very well be. However it does help to have a good head to work with in the first place!
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