How to become a more confident swimmer

Thankyou all for your sweet comments about our new house. Obviously we have a lot of work to do before we can officially move in, but I love how much of a 'blank canvas' it is at present.

Mr BBB and I spent a long time selecting our flooring, and I am super excited to see how it looks by the end of the week. If anything, it will certainly add a little more colour as it is quite "white on white" at the moment while the floor is just a concrete slab!

Training: Swim 1km / Run 1.6km

While today was not necessarily a ‘run’ day, after work this evening I met up with some members of my triathlon club for a Christmas Relay.

 

This was a casual event in which teams of 8 completed one lap each of a 1.6km course – relay style.

I am not sure where our team placed, although with a couple runners ‘tapering’, and another couple injured, it was nice to just get out and enjoy  a casual run in the warm summer evening  - with no pressure. 

Even though there is a good chance the swim leg of the Half Ironman will be cancelled due to water quality issues, my main ‘training’ for the day was an early morning  'short' swim session. It was strange only swimming 1km, and even stranger that I now think 1km is short!

A little while ago, Fallon asked how I got into swimming. I guess the simple answer is...that I never officially did.

    

I never swam competitively as a child, but I also don't remember being scared or apprehensive of the water. Rather, it was quite the opposite. Nearly every Christmas was spent camping near the beach, spending hours on end ducking under and diving over waves. As children do.

Fast forward to my university years, spent in a 'land-locked' city,  and I don't even think I owned a bathing suit! No bathing suit = no swimming (well .... unless you are inclined to swim without one....which I am most certainly not hehe).

My very first "triathlon" took place in 2008. At that stage I was a keen runner, owned a bike, and figured a 500m swim could not be that bad. I think I did 1 or 2 swim sessions prior to the race - in a 25 metre pool, stopping after every 50m for a rest. My maximum training session, with breaks, was 500m, and I was exhausted afterwards!

To say that I underestimated the importance of 'training' for the swim portion of that triathlon was quite clear when I panicked 30m into the 500m swim. Sure there were arms / legs flying everywhere (ie. just the 'usual' mass swim start), but I could not control my breathing. I seriously considered pulling out of the race then and there, but my stubbornness would not let me quit. So, I completed the 500m in all manner of backstroke / side stroke/ breast stroke I could muster.

This experience really weighed on my mind for some time. I knew that I had a good level of fitness, it just didn't show itself in the swim leg.

I did the only thing that I could think of. I started to swim. Regularly. I ditched the 25m pool, and headed to a local 50m pool. At first I could only manage 50m before I would need to take a break. Then it was 100m, then 200m, until I had worked up to 500m non stop! I found that if I slowed down my stroke, it also slowed down my breathing, and I was able to keep swimming for a longer distance.

From there, I joined a "novice" program run by a local triathlon club. During the program, I had access to coaches and a weekly swim squad, where they were able to guide me as to technique and style. I also learned a range of drills that were designed to 'perfect' each aspect of my swim stroke.

I cannot express how much this squad training benefited not only my technique, but also my confidence in the pool. It seems that I had the 'fitness' all along to swim longer distances, I just needed to overcome the mental barriers.

Sure, I may never be a fast swimmer (or hey - even a graceful swimmer), but in two years I went from a girl who could barely swim 50m, to someone that is hopefully going to swim 1.9km in open water!

My tips for gaining swimming confidence

1. Swim regularly
2. Join a local swim squad or masters program
3. Consider having some 'stoke correction' classes
4. Include some 'drills' in your swimming session
5. RELAX
6. Get out there and give it a go. The first time will probably be scary, but it gets easier after that….I promise :)

What about you? Are you a swimmer? How did you gain confidence in the pool / open water?

Happy Baking :)