Old dogs and new tricks

I have always held that any day I learn something new is not a wasted day. This applies both to my professional and personal life. I have never wanted to be one of those people whose response to something new is always “well, I’ve never done it that way”. What a boring way to live. Life is such that if you aren’t moving forward, you aren’t staying in place either; you are losing ground. Dinosaurs became extinct because they were unable to adapt to changes in their environment. I don’t want to be a dinosaur.

I’ve never taken swim lessons other than as a small boy one summer in Miami. Those weren’t for the purpose of teaching us to swim competitively; they were to prevent us from drowning. Although I never did swim competitively in, or out of, school, I have spent a good part of my life in the water, snorkeling in the keys and SCUBA diving in such diverse places as the Bahamas and the Great Barrier Reef in Australia. You could safely say that I am comfortable in the water.

When began to participate in triathlons, a necessary step in saving my legs from the unrelenting impact of running as my sole activity, I envisioned the swim as the most tedious of the three disciplines. It was a pleasant surprise to find the swim not only enjoyable but truly enjoyable. I felt good in the pool, comfortable in a mass of splashing people during a tri, and this soon became one of my favorite parts of the triathlon. Even so, it was discouraging to swim freestyle thinking I was moving along pretty well and smoothly, only to watch every kid, and most adults, in the pool gliding past me, seemingly with less effort. Something obviously needed to be done. Enter the National Training Center in Clermont. It would seem a no brainer that, having a premier training center for triathletes practically in one’s back yard, one would take advantage of this. It took getting serious about an ironman to make me turn to this great resource for some help.

I met Misty Becerra, one of the NTC’s aquatic specialists, last Friday for a swim stroke analysis. Not knowing what to expect, and not wanting to embarrass myself with my untutored swim form, I arrived a bit nervous for our session. An hour later, I was swimming in a way I had never imagined using changes to my swim stroke that she suggested. I would never have come up with these on my own as I thought I was doing pretty well, except for being slow. As a result, although it may be my imagination, I feel 50% faster in the water. I am using my arms and legs differently and so I tend to fatigue a little quicker but I can feel that my stroke is more efficient. Hard to believe that at 60, I am finally learning how to swim properly. My previous, "overcontrolled" piercing stroke, has been replaced by a freer, "chopping" style that is more relaxed, yet faster. It was an added bonus to watch some of the elite triathletes in the world, including Sarah McLarty, doing their pool drills right next to where I was “learning to swim”.

The videos Misty took clearly showed the changes in my stroke. Now I just have to make them instinctive and then dial the yardage back up. It was surprisingly exciting to learn something new like this. I believe that as long as we continue learning, life will remain endlessly fascinating and we will stay younger longer.

Florida Ironman Training Log:

Karl, at the NTC, gave me my first month’s training plan for February. I have never had something like this made for me. He is pushing me to start out so that any twinges or aches will come out early and can be dealt with before they become problems. Between Misty and Karl, I feel like I have a team helping me along with this little “project”.

Week’s Training Summary:

Mon 1/28- Swim 2000 yds, 2.24 min/100 yds, 47:57 total time

Tues 1/29- none

Wed 1/30- Run 6.23 mi, 8.54 min/mi, 55:56 total time

Thur 1/31- none

Fri    2/1- First NTC plan run, 6.17 mi, 8:54 min/mi, 54:59 total time

Fri    2/1- Swim stroke analysis at NTC, 1074 yds, 2.27 min/100 yds, 1:02:57 total time

Sat   2/1- Bike ride on trainer, 23.73 mi, 14.1 mph ave., 1:41:16 total time

Sun  2/2- none