The Hardest Thing About Swimming
For the past few months I have struggled with my swimming stamina. After regularly swimming for several years, I didn’t see the progress that I wanted to. Even post triathlon season I still found myself gasping at the end of a fifty yard swim. My coach told me to stop struggling and use the buoy and just use my upper body. So the next day I did 30 laps (60 lengths of 25 yd pool) for a total of 1,500 yards without stopping. Not bad but in my head I am still using the crutch of the buoy. I have done this for the last two weeks. The other day I decided to try to do fifty yards without the buoy. Guess what? I did two hundred! So what’s my point? After the mechanics kick in what’s in your head dictates your swimming ability. I can’t stress this enough. Relax and rely on your training. The rest will come. Did I mention be patient with yourself? A hard learned lesson for me.
Posted on February 24, 2015, in re-invention, renewal, swim, Thoughts and tagged 25 yards, 50 yards, laps, lengths, swim. Bookmark the permalink. 2 Comments.
First Steps the Hardest 
I spent a lot of energy last year being really discouraged about my lack of endurance in the pool. By the end, I could confidently do a 50, but anything more than that seemed impossible, even after six months. I kept waiting for that magic “click” where I’d be able to go longer. Maybe I’ll give this a try. I sure would like to know I could cover a sprint swim in one go if I wanted.
So here’s the funny thing I did two sprints last summer. Not in record time but I finished. Even with my inability to do more than a hundred at a time without gasping! My coach has me using my pull buoy (not kicking) to strengthening my upper body. I can do 1,500yrds this way. Just keep plugging