In preparation for the Oakland Triathlon Festival (coming up August 29th!), last Friday I swam a half mile in open water at the Dolphin Club in San Francisco. A half a mile! Yay. Sure, I stopped to cough up water *and* caught myself swimming in the total opposite direction of where I wanted to go a couple of times, but all in all, it was a success!
This workout starts with a 4 mile bike ride from the Embarcadero BART station along the wharf. The touristy hustle and bustle down there is always entertaining and merits a mention on this blog because it's a segment that I always look forward to riding for various reasons. From Pier 29 to Ghirardelli Square, the sidewalks are flooded with droves of tourists from all over the world walking around taking pictures and noticing everything (which turns this run-of-the-mill ride into a kind of parade of urban American traffic). Instead of cutting off tour buses, I all of the sudden feel like waving to them (Miss Oakland style of course: elbow, elbow, wrist, wrist, middle finger... ooops! jk). One time I was overwhelmed with the urge to just start chanting USA USA USA! Haha.... Anyway, I don't know why I'm so weird, but I enjoy the idea of sending tourists home with crazy cyclist stories. :)
Back to the swim though - the first time I went to the Dolphin Club was before my second tri and I barely made it to the first buoy and back. The second time, two Fridays ago, I went with a friend who encouraged me the whole time. She was like, yay, first buoy! Yay. Second buoy... ONE MORE BUOY! ...and so on and so forth. She helped me prove to myself that the distance was possible. So, this last Friday I finally did the whole 1/2 mile by myself. Definitely a milestone! So that felt great. Woohoo!
I love the Dolphin Club so much now! The water is 68 degrees and has an absolutely gorgeous view of the Golden Gate bridge. Also, in addition to the beautiful swim and the wild ride that gets me there, the sauna there is incredible (that is a story for another blog post though - hehe!). I'm hoping a few more open water swims is enough to get me ready for race day. The Oakland Tri Fest Sprint has a swim of .6 miles which will be the most swimming I've ever done in a race! Eyeyey. Oh my gosh... I have butterflies in my stomach just thinking about it!
Alright - that's all for now. More later!
Showing posts with label breathing. Show all posts
Showing posts with label breathing. Show all posts
Wednesday, August 19, 2015
Tuesday, May 26, 2015
Swimming Milestone #1
Timed 100 @ 1:45ish. I can also tell the difference between fast and slow in the pool now. So yay for that. Haha.
Swimming is by far the area of triathlon racing that I stand to improve the most in a short period of time. The first real milestone actually may have been a few practices ago where I actually felt like I was *swimming* instead of *not drowning*... My goals have progressed each week and now just about every time I get in the pool I feel like I'm getting more comfortable and faster (which is the goal - ha!).
Lately, I've been practicing a method called Total Immersion (the site was recommended to me by Coach Chris at the OTC Mills swim workouts), which the basic gist I've gathered is as follows:
1. Relax the recovery arm (high elbow, but fingertips almost drag along the water's surface before dropping into the water)
2. Emphasize feeling the surface area of the arm catch the water at a target point in front of shoulder
3. Kick once at the same time and with the same leg as the entry arm upon entry
Now, this last point is what has helped me the most with my anxiety in the water. If ever I feel scared like I might drown I just go back to this rhythm (kick and stroke same side just once together!)... This really helps my body calm down. I'm not sure what it is about this that actually works, but - for some reason seriously I have no idea why - it calms my whole body down and gives me the confidence I need to keep going. If my kicking is frantic and I'm gasping for air, I just go back to this easy rhythm (kick and stroke on the same side together). It brings my heart rate down immediately and I'm able to focus on other things like relaxing my neck and catching the water and rotating my body to take breaths. Anyways, I'm definitely learning a lot in the pool. I'm starting to crave harder workouts, but I know I still just need to hit my stride...
Swimming is by far the area of triathlon racing that I stand to improve the most in a short period of time. The first real milestone actually may have been a few practices ago where I actually felt like I was *swimming* instead of *not drowning*... My goals have progressed each week and now just about every time I get in the pool I feel like I'm getting more comfortable and faster (which is the goal - ha!).
Lately, I've been practicing a method called Total Immersion (the site was recommended to me by Coach Chris at the OTC Mills swim workouts), which the basic gist I've gathered is as follows:
1. Relax the recovery arm (high elbow, but fingertips almost drag along the water's surface before dropping into the water)
2. Emphasize feeling the surface area of the arm catch the water at a target point in front of shoulder
3. Kick once at the same time and with the same leg as the entry arm upon entry
Now, this last point is what has helped me the most with my anxiety in the water. If ever I feel scared like I might drown I just go back to this rhythm (kick and stroke same side just once together!)... This really helps my body calm down. I'm not sure what it is about this that actually works, but - for some reason seriously I have no idea why - it calms my whole body down and gives me the confidence I need to keep going. If my kicking is frantic and I'm gasping for air, I just go back to this easy rhythm (kick and stroke on the same side together). It brings my heart rate down immediately and I'm able to focus on other things like relaxing my neck and catching the water and rotating my body to take breaths. Anyways, I'm definitely learning a lot in the pool. I'm starting to crave harder workouts, but I know I still just need to hit my stride...
Tuesday, March 31, 2015
I Will Jump In Zee Pool!
After all that excruciating rest and recovery in January and February, March hit hard. I'm finally feeling back in the groove of training. I've reassessed my goals to accommodate a more realistic race schedule for this year (which I will post later) with a looser commitment to racing. In the last few weeks I've had a few little triumphs in the pool that I'd like to share here if for no other reason than just to process the gains.
Since February, I've been attending a swim practice at Mills College pool on Monday nights with a group called OTC (Oakland Triathlon Club). They typically provide a coach that gives a workout to the group (25 swimmers or so) and then walks around to give people advice. The first week I went I was basically just told by Raileigh (the super amazing female coach) to go really easy on my Achilles and give it time to fully heal (great advice that I heeded wholeheartedly). I took that opportunity to stick to the pulls (arms only strokes) and the Jacuzzi of course. Ha!
At the second practice I attended, one of the lifeguards was a Mills volleyball player so she came over to give me a few pointers (hips up and push a little extra at the end of my stroke). I also got a bonus invitation to the next day's volleyball tournament where I watched a former player of mine coach *and* a former player play. That was super cool!
Back to the pool one week later and - I swear to God - I finally felt like I was swimming. Like. I felt more comfortable with the breathing, and having my face under water, and pacing myself. Also, I was able to do a few 50s back-to-back (more or less - haha) and I can almost do a 100 now without stopping (4x down and back!). After that swim I got out and talked to the coach and she was like, "How did it go?" and I was like, "I didn't drown" to which she responded "Your stroke actually looks pretty controlled - compared to some of our more seasoned swimmers!!!! - and you could benefit from just reaching out a little further when you start your stroke." Wow. I was so excited to hear that kind of encouragement from a swim coach... and it totally felt right (like she wasn't just humoring me) because that was the first night where my self talk sounded more like "Hey, you're swimming! This is swimming!" and less like "You might drown or die or throw up soon." Ahahaha...
Last night I had another positive development in the pool where the swim coach and president of the club, Chris, helped me discover my new swim mantra: "I'm fine". He kept yelling at me from across the deck, "You're fine!" which helped me more than he knows probably... I'm now practicing breathing on both sides every three strokes which feels like a good balanced rhythm for me. SO - hooray for swim coaches and lifeguards and everyone who has ever helped someone feel less alone when they are trying something new. I definitely approach Mondays with more excitement and less nervousness now. I already can't wait for my next time in the pool, which might have to come sooner than Monday. Okay - double day today - so that's all for now. More later!
Since February, I've been attending a swim practice at Mills College pool on Monday nights with a group called OTC (Oakland Triathlon Club). They typically provide a coach that gives a workout to the group (25 swimmers or so) and then walks around to give people advice. The first week I went I was basically just told by Raileigh (the super amazing female coach) to go really easy on my Achilles and give it time to fully heal (great advice that I heeded wholeheartedly). I took that opportunity to stick to the pulls (arms only strokes) and the Jacuzzi of course. Ha!
At the second practice I attended, one of the lifeguards was a Mills volleyball player so she came over to give me a few pointers (hips up and push a little extra at the end of my stroke). I also got a bonus invitation to the next day's volleyball tournament where I watched a former player of mine coach *and* a former player play. That was super cool!
Back to the pool one week later and - I swear to God - I finally felt like I was swimming. Like. I felt more comfortable with the breathing, and having my face under water, and pacing myself. Also, I was able to do a few 50s back-to-back (more or less - haha) and I can almost do a 100 now without stopping (4x down and back!). After that swim I got out and talked to the coach and she was like, "How did it go?" and I was like, "I didn't drown" to which she responded "Your stroke actually looks pretty controlled - compared to some of our more seasoned swimmers!!!! - and you could benefit from just reaching out a little further when you start your stroke." Wow. I was so excited to hear that kind of encouragement from a swim coach... and it totally felt right (like she wasn't just humoring me) because that was the first night where my self talk sounded more like "Hey, you're swimming! This is swimming!" and less like "You might drown or die or throw up soon." Ahahaha...
Last night I had another positive development in the pool where the swim coach and president of the club, Chris, helped me discover my new swim mantra: "I'm fine". He kept yelling at me from across the deck, "You're fine!" which helped me more than he knows probably... I'm now practicing breathing on both sides every three strokes which feels like a good balanced rhythm for me. SO - hooray for swim coaches and lifeguards and everyone who has ever helped someone feel less alone when they are trying something new. I definitely approach Mondays with more excitement and less nervousness now. I already can't wait for my next time in the pool, which might have to come sooner than Monday. Okay - double day today - so that's all for now. More later!
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