the triathlon pages

Yesterday, I finally got a swim cap (those of you who know me won't be surprised to hear that it's black, to match my swimsuit), and headed to the pool again with my head securely waterproofed. I never realized swimmers wear so much on their heads - swim cap, ear plugs, nose plug, goggles. And those swim caps are really hard to put on! It took me ten minutes (at least) to get all my hair tucked inside.

I can't decide quite how I feel about swimming at this point. When I first got in the pool, the strokes felt familiar. I worked on making my strokes more efficient rather than wishing I could breathe. But soon enough, I started resting after each lap, raising my torso out of the water so my lungs could breathe more easily. For a while, then, I hated swimming. I was bored and I kept having to avoid the other guy swimming laps in my lane. The laps seemed to come slowly: six... six and a half...seven...

Toward the end, though, I seemed to reach a plateau where I found a good pace and wasn't so tired. I rested less, and shaved 5-8 minutes off my time from the last pool visit. I wouldn't go so far as to say I was enjoying myself, but I wasn't miserable either.

I guess I just need to keep going, keep doing the same thing, and wait for it to get better.

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