friday night swim race
Swimming ... the bane of my existence ... my achilles heel. It's very clear that I'm not built to swim. I'm built to ride a bike 😁 Though, I'm still proud of where I have come. 27 weeks ago I've never really swam before, at least nothing beyond your doggy paddle, or frog swim, haha! So to go from that, to competing in full on swim races is a tremendous feat. That's something I'm not blind too, and fully understand that achievement alone is monumental. But, I'm a competitor, always have been, and always will. I want to be, I need to be in the pack ... maybe not in the top 10, but I want to be in the peloton - so to speak. So swimming is very frustrating. I fully understand that I just need to survive, and make up the time on the bike. But seeing my results, and just feeling how I'm doing during a swim does take a toll mentally.
results
1.2 mile (wetsuit) overall: 29/31
the swim
I didn't make the same mistake I made at the Lake Wilderness triathlon, starting out way too fast, and trying to follow the other swimmers around me. This time I went out with a pace I'm comfortable with, and could sustain for the whole 1.2 miles. I felt much better at the beginning, compared to being dead exhausted at Lake Wilderness.
I still have this problem of having a struggling first half of any swim distance, to finally finding my rhythm in the second half. Same happened at yesterday's swim race. I struggled the first 1,000 yards. Needing quick little floating breaks to recover. Then dialing it in the last 1,000 yards making it feel like I'm on cruise control.
This is pretty much the case with any open water swim I do, race or training. It's a little annoying, but I'm not really sure what to do. I guess it just takes a while for my engine to get going. I'm strange I guess. My engine is always quick off the line, but then drops and needs to gradually warm back up again.
Anyway, the last 1,000 yards felt good, better than the first. I used the buoys as mental milestones. Turning the final 1.2 mile buoy, locking onto the next distance buoy, telling myself "just make it to the red buoy" ... then the green buoy, then the last red buoy, and finally the finish line.
It was a hard swim, they always feel hard. But I didn't give up, despite not even wanting to enter the water in the first place. I wish my result was better, as I've done 2,000+ yards faster consistently before. But, every swim is going to be different. I'm just happy I didn't come last! I know I'm not a swimmer, I know it's my achilles heel, but I still keep myself to one goal with the swim ... don't be last out of the water. So far I'm meeting that goal, and I hope to continue to meet that goal in my upcoming races!
photos
take aways
- Staying in my box works. Don't worry about how fast others around you are going. Stay in your box, and in your zone.
- I still struggle with breathing in a wetsuit. Feeling like I don't get enough air, even with breathing every three/two/one strokes. This results in just swimming with my head up.
- Still having issues with goggles. Fuck goggles!
- When approaching the beach (or shoreline), I still don't know when to stop swimming and begin walking/jogging out of the water. I feel like I waste a considerable amount of time, trying to navigate out of the water ... moving in water, as well as moving around in a wetsuit that's transitioning from having water to no water is very cumbersome.
- When out of the water, still dealing with being disoriented. Not sure how to overcome it without just muscling through it until it passes. Not sure if it's normal or not.
- I still don't like swimming