Here’s how it feels…
During the first 25 yards I feel fine. My stroke feels smooth. I’m relaxed. I reach the wall, take a deep breath, and push off. About one third of the way there I begin to feel tightness in my chest. It’s as though large rubber bands are constricting my rib cage. I continue to swim. Rolling onto my left side, I breath deeply but it doesn’t feel like I’m getting any air. I can tell the wall is getting closer because I can see the water becoming shallower but it seems like it’s still a full length away. I see the “t” thingy and I reach for the wall and pop my head out of the water, gasping for breath.
That’s what swimming 50 yards feels like to me.
I repeated that ten times today.
Because I was the only one in the pool I asked the lifeguard to watch me swim a lap and tell me what she thought.
She said it looks like a normal swimming stroke. It seems as though I have a good rhythm going for breathing. She noticed how I seem to be swimming on my side and gliding across the top of the water. It looks pretty good, she says.
Huh?
Why is it so freakin’ hard!
Why!!!
Tomorrow I intend to try to push the envelope a bit. I want to swim 75 yard nonstop. If it’s a mental wall I can eventually break through it, right? If it's a physical wall I can work through it, right?
Right.
right?
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~John Collins, Ironman founder~
I'm that guy
- todd
- Just another runner...probably below average to slow...but still a runner nonetheless. Well, I did do a triathlon once. Um, I am working on my doctorate too. But that's it.
Sisu
Sisu is a Finnish term that could be roughly translated into English as strength of will, determination, perseverance, and acting rationally in the face of adversity. The equivalent in English is "to have guts", and indeed, the word derives from sisus, which means something inner or interior. However, sisu has a long-term element in it; it is not momentary courage, but the ability to sustain the same. Depending on context, "sisu" can refer to spunk, attitude, self-confidence, and so on. However, sisu is not bravery, nor strength, and needs to be distinguished from courage, especially when talking about the military. In contrast, sisu is an ability to finish the task and get things done.
"The credit belongs to those people who are actually in the arena...who know the great enthusiams, the great devotions to a worthy cause; who at best, know the triumph of high achievement; and who, at worst, fail while daring greatly, so that their place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who know neither victory nor defeat."
- Theodore Roosevelt
- Theodore Roosevelt
"Bid me run and I will strive with things impossible." - Shakespeare, Julius Ceasar
6 comments:
50 meter pools are your friends.
Winz - How? Why? I don't get it!
Longer, less wall pushing and screwing up of your rythem.
Duh! Guess who the newbie is?
Wanna get better at running? Run more....Wanna get better at cycling? Bike more...Wanna get better at swimming? Get a swim coach.....Swimming is ALL technique.
Todd, how often are you breathing? Try every stroke (head to the side, ear resting on the water... not head to the front). So, for example, when your right arm reaches back to come out of the water your head turns to the right side and you take a breath, then your head goes back in when your right arm reaches back in and you blow all the air out through your mouth and nose. Just like regular breathing. It sounds like you must be holding your breath. There should be a sea of bubbles all around you if you're breathing.
When you get used to that, then try every third stroke if you want (right/left), but it's alot harder.
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