Swimming

 Swimming is harder than I remembered. At least, “distance” swimming, which is user-defined.

In anticipation of consideration of a triathlon — the XTerra in Thunder Bay — I went for a swim this morning. 

I managed to run a few days ago and that wasn’t bad at all. Overall there’s not been a lot of running this spring and summer, partly because it hurts my leg every time I try and partly due to “other commitments” but I’ll run a few more times in the upcoming weeks to make up. 

Ha ha

Biking, I’ve somewhat maintained, including some mild trail riding which the biking portion of my triathlon under consideration will likely be, at least  I’m hopeful. I have an appointment to ride the trail on the course next week with my son, so check back next week for a final verdict. So expect no news to confirm that adventure until then.

As I write this, an hour after my morning swim, I’m far from sure I’m up for the planned event! I’m dizzy and tired and don’t think I could be mountain biking at this moment. But I do know that I am capable of swimming a Kilometer in half an hour, if the conditions are right.

Triathlons are ideal for the person who is reasonably fit but doesn’t have any other spectacular skill set. I can’t run very fast or very far, I can’t keep up with most of my friends on bicycles, and I’m not really a swimmer like a few people I know. (I also don’t ski that well, or, well, really, anything). 

My wife easily outpaces me in the water, and running, I can’t keep up in either. It’s good. What I do well is enjoy doing things, and not overly obsess about perceptions of others.

Many fit people who run and ride well would describe themselves as “hopeless” when it comes to swimming. So, as a person who likes to swim, I manage in triathlons to leave the water usually in a good position, only to be passed by many people on the biking portion or the run. Again, like skiing or whatever else I compete in, my finish is generally someplace in the middle.

Swimming transports me into a meditative state, and when I’m trained up (unlike now) I could put my head down and go a couple Kilometers in under an hour. And feel good afterwards. 

Around fifteen years ago, when our children were at an age where swimming lessons were due, I’d take them to the pool and while they were with their instructor I would swim laps. I recall the first time, trying to go one length nonstop front crawl, I thought I was never going to finish. I think I completed about six laps that time: a solid 150 meters, of which perhaps three were crawl and the rest breaststroke. However, a few months of weekly laps got me to the ability to swim nonstop crawl for as long as I wanted to, and a Kilometer or two became no problem for me.

My introduction to swimming happened when I was about 8 years old. I had gone camping with my father and saw all these children swimming and demanded from my mother once I got back home, why couldn’t I swim? She arranged lessons for me along with my sister one summer in Detroit at a neighborhood pool and was very happy to be able to jump into the water, or dive, and surprised myself that this life skill, too, could be learned. 

Swimming in a triathlon is interesting: you go out in a mass start (or in waves, depending on your category) and the water becomes a big churning mess of people kicking and splashing. It looks like a bunch of Piranhas are having a feeding frenzy. I was in one a few years ago where the weather was chilly, it was windy tge water was cold and wavy and some of the participants bailed in the first ten minutes.  

Anyway, I think I’m ready for the swim portion of my tri. 

😀