Friday, May 1, 2009

Swimming

Why do I dread swimming so? At least swimming in a triathlon is dreadful for me.

Is it because I think it is going to be bad that it is bad?

Is it simply a matter of flipping the switch and thinking positive that will make it a better experience?

I don't know what the answer is. But one of the reasons I don't do more triathlons is because the swim is such a big deal for me. It is not that I am super slow (because I am, but that doesn't bother me), it is that I freak out in open water and those memories weigh me down increasingly during the weeks prior to a race. 1.2 miles in open water is just going to suck.

I mean, I know I will have a wetsuit on and that I would have to really try extremely hard to drown--but I still have an irrational fear. The dread is that I am going to be out there totally gassed and feel like I am not going to be able to finish. I will then start hyperventilating and then I will have to flip on my back while I trying to calm myself down. This has happened every time I have swam in open water in a race. It doesn't matter the distance of the swim in open water; sprint, olympic or Half IM. I expect it to happen. Which means that it will happen. A vicious circle it is.

The bike and run don't stress me. Water is my weakness just like Bruce Willis' character in Unbreakable. Water is my kryptonite.

I swam 2000 yards this morning and it sucked. I felt heavy in the water. No rhythm. No flow. It was a struggle most of the time to keep going rather than to get out and call it a morning.

At least the sun is out and I will have a nice ride into work.
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2 comments:

fodder said...

there's a reason I don't do Tri's, it's the swim. the swim would totally freak the hell outta me. Thus I don't do um.

If the swim is giving you that kinda anguish, here's a thought: don't do it.

do an olympic duathlon instead. do a 24 hour mtn bike race. do an Xterra race. do bear springs with Brain, hell there's lots of ways to torture yourself Dev.

while your swimming visualize yourself on that sweet SS CX, puttin the hammma down in feeling the flow. cross effin rules atmo.
think about how much fun your gonna have on that SS and forget that your suffering in the open water.

May 2, 2009 at 7:38 AM
Mr. Flynn said...

Because to not do it would be to succumb to a personal weakness. I would be a worse person for it. I will do it, I just reserve the right to bitch about doing it.

For some reason doing a duathlon seems like cheating. I know that are just as hard, but it seems a bit like wussin' out.

May 2, 2009 at 8:46 AM

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