Well, another day of training has come and gone, and I've had the pleasure of learning more than I thought I ever needed to know about swimming. Yes, my master's swim training was yesterday. The water hasn't fully drained from my ears yet (I tried some earplugs the other day...it felt worse!) but I wanted to detail my training.
200m warm-up
Drill set (with flippers) 6 sets
- doggie paddle, head up 25m
- freestyle stroke, head up 25 m
- freestyle 25 m
Main Set
- 4xbreast/back/free (25m each)
- 4x100 freestyle (right side breathing only)
- 3xbreast/back/free (25 m each)
- 4x100 freesyle (left side breathing only)
Cool down--100 m
I felt a little bit like 'Baby' in the movie Dirty Dancing when she's going over all the things she going to do that night when she was going to perform ('I'm going to keep my head up, my arms...'), basically some positive self-talk. So as I swim I'm saying to myself...keep you head in the water, tuck you chin, after you stroke-glide, breath like you're putting your chin on your shoulder and your looking behind you at the 'moon'...I actually feel differently in the water, not drastically different, but a little different. I am still terrified that I'm going to swallow water and drown. But I am breathing differently...that little advice the coach gave me about rotating my body, looking behind me, not to the side, but behind me, really paid off. I added the part about looking at the moon...nobody gets it, I know that, I'm not that crazy (well, maybe fans of 'Harold & the Purple Crayon'), but I get it, so I tell myself to look at the moon & I do.
I have a lot of work to do. I told the coach I think I know why I'm having trouble getting my whole head in the water...because water splashes into my mouth when I breath and then I get scared that I'm going to drown. She said, 'well the edge of the pool..' I stopped her right there. Like I explained, no excuses. In a triathlon there will be a a hell of a lot more splashing...I just need to work through it. I don't want to make excuses, I want to understand the barrier, work through it, around it, over it, under it--whatever--it just needs to be gone! So there. I know the issue, and now it's time to figure out how to get out of my head and into the game!
Oh, and I am now the proud owner of the official-unofficial swimmers swim suit. Yep, took the plunge (ahem) and bought the suit, actually got a pretty good deal--it was $68, on sale for $43 & I had a Dick's $10 certificate...so I felt like it was worth it! Now, if only I looked as good in my suit as the other women...I will!
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