1 month has passed since my super-sprint triathlon (I do feel a bit fraudy saying that as there was nothing particularly sprinty about my attempt!), but anyway as I said in my previous blog post it was a brilliant weekend for the whole family, and I was pleased to have improved on both my bike and run time. However today I’m going to talk about the bit of a triathlon which I think most novices worry about ... the dreaded lake swim which kick starts the whole event!
I’ve always had a decent breast stroke, but never learnt to swim front crawl as a kid so that stroke is very new to me as I only decided to give it a go a couple of years ago. It’s been a slow ploddy/spalshy learning experience - basically I watched how my children were being taught to swim front crawl then had a go myself.
I can now swim ok in a swimming pool, but it has proved to be a real struggle to swim front crawl in the lake. Part of this problem has been physical, my front crawl isn’t strong but it is getting better with practise. It’s the mental side to open water swimming which I’ve found tricky. In a pool I’m relaxed, I feel safe, my breathing is calm. In a lake I just can’t get my breathing under control, I’m thinking of the dark and the depth and the “oh my god was that a fish!”.
It’s been getting better, the temperature has been good on my swims so far this season and I’m learning to take my time when I get in the water to try and sort out my breathing and be calm before I start swimming and I have had some great swims - much better than last year. It’s still very stop start but there have been moments where I’ve felt it is finally coming together and I’ve been enjoying it although still a bit frustrated that I can't really cover any great distance without having to resort back to breast stroke.
So yes - so far this year me and the lake are becoming friendlier - not best buddies but we can make polite chit chat well enough. One week however the lake and I did have a major falling out! The hot weather had meant the weeds in the lake had grown a crazy amount - so whereas before I was swimming and looking down at them - one week I got in the water and found I was having to swim right through them. I’d never swam through weeds before and was totally freaked out by the feeling of the weeds wrapping around my arms and legs - didn't help that it made me think of the Harry Potter merpeople in the blacklake! Anyhow as I swam on the weeds were unrelenting and my panic grew and basically I ended up having a panic attack and had to be helped by a person on the side to calm down and swim over and get out of the lake. Game over! I was so embarrassed!
I did wonder if that would be the end of my open water swimming, however I got back in the following week for a group training session I had already committed to before my panic attack. I think I knew if I didn’t get back in there was a good chance I might not go there again. There was a (very) wobbly moment to start and I could feel the freak-out beginning to build, but thanks to some amazing and calm support from the local tri coaches running the session I sorted my head out and got over my weedy-phobia.
The weather in recent weeks has been really great and I’ve even braved swimming through the weeds in just my tri-suit. The water was toasty warm, and the cooler pockets of water were actually nice to come across, I did miss the buoyancy of the wetsuit though!
So all in all - progress has been made with my open water swimming. I know what I need to do now is improve my front crawl in the pool, working on all areas of breathing, technique etc. I need to get it right in the pool rather than trying to ‘learn’ front crawl in a lake. I wish I had learnt as a kid as I watch my boys (age 7 and 5) in their swimming lessons being fearless as they improve in all their swim strokes with each term. It really does make me realise how important it is for children to learn to swim. The weekly mum and toddler swim classes I attend with my girls (age 2 and 3) tend to involve them taking much delight in drenching me but I see they are also getting the start they need to be safe and confident in the water. Hopefully my children will never have the problems I’ve had with open water and one day it would be great to swim with them - although I suspect I’ll struggle to keep up!
