I came home from my swim on Monday exhausted. I complained to Gary as I sank into the couch next to him: “Oh, I’m so tired. I just swam 150 yards shy of a mile – my longest swim ever!”Accepting my statement that I, indeed, was tired but still puzzled by why I didn’t just churn out another 150 and call it even, he asked in all seriousness, “Why didn’t you just swim 1 mile?”
After laughing at how silly I must’ve sounded, I told him that I was in Week 3 of Week 6 of a Swim One Mile in Six Weeks plan and it just had me swimming 1,500 yards this week.
“Oh, okay,” he said, assuming I was practicing some super-secret triathlon training method and must know about what I was talking. “Really great job!” he enthusiastically congratulated me.
Here’s a little background. When I started swimming in December of 2007 by taking swim lessons at the Y, I couldn’t even put my face in water. My first trip toward the other end of the pool was doing that swim where you keep your head out of water, turn it with every stroke and splash like the dickens. Oh, and after the first lesson, I went out and bought noseplugs.
Toward the end of my 6-week lessons, I could not quite swim 100 yards. During my first tri last Jun
e, it took me 27 minutes to backstroke 400 yards. During my last tri this past September, and after 2 months of Total Immersion (TI) swimming 2-3 times per week, it took me 47 minutes to swim freestyle 900 yards.Today, still swimming TI, I can swim 400 yards in around 11 minutes and 900 yards has recently taken me about 25 minutes. Oh, and, I’ve recently given up the noseplugs.
If you would have told me a couple years ago that I would be swimming one mile – without noseplugs – someday, I would have told you that you must be looking into the wrong crystal ball.
I wasn’t just a beginner swimmer. I was a beginner’s beginner. I came from absolutely nothing! So, the fact that I just swam “150 yards shy of one mile” is something I just needed to take the time to celebrate.
Thanks so much for stopping by!
29 comments:
Yes, celebrate girlfriend!!! :) This is quite an accomplishment! Our stories are SO similar. This is very encouraging!
Lora, that totally rocks out! I tell people that all the time when they say - I'd love to do a tri but I can't swim. You can learn! You're never too old to learn. Got to work on the part we suck at the most and keep at it. Part of the journey...
Celebrate, very exciting stuff.
Great job, Lora! Keep up the great work! Swimming always makes me tird and hungry.
I like round numbers, can't help it. Round numbers are nice, but don't necessarily mean a lot-- whatever the yardage, that's a PB, baby! And you'll have another one when you get to a mile... and a 1.5 miles... and :)
Nice swim-- and a nice retelling, too!
Great job! I recently started following your story and love reading your posts. They are encouraging and informative. I am training to do my first tri in June, with some experience in all three areas, but with much needed improvement. It is nice to hear other's experiences. Keep up the good work!!
Great work!! Swimming lessons and keeping with training really pay off. Way to go!
What a great accomplishment. I love stories like this, I hear "I could never do that" all the time in my classes. I don't think people realize how strong they really are.
The journey is really what this is all about. Learned to swim last year as well and can relate to every word. I love the journey, it's crazy hard some days, but always rewarding in the end. Great job, I am so impressed with your hard work and determination!! Celebrate your amazing milestone!!
~J
Nice job with the swimming! You have come quite a long way!
Bravo on a great swim!! You have come a long way!!
Good job. Before you know it, you'll be making postings about your 2 mile swims..
Congratulations.
Great job Lora! You definitely have come a long way and from the sounds of it... are going to go far! :)
I think that is awesome! I know where you are coming from. While I could swim enough to stay afloat, I did not know anything about "real swimming". I still take private lessons at the Y because I know I can always learn more and get better!
This is awesome! I'm curious, how to you keep count? I try to count lengths in my head, but I typically lose track at some point.
Nice job! I am a horrible swimmer myself. I just decided last year I should do some tris, but my open water swim experiences were no the best. I will get back into the pool someday! I think...
Woohoo, nearly a mile is awesome!!
I remember how difficult it was to get started swimming a few years back. I'd taken swim lessons as a kid but hadn't put my face in the water for 30+ yrs and basically had to start from scratch too. Every yard swum is a celebration :-)
Lora that is awesome! Swimming is difficult to learn, and even harder to master. 150 yards short of 1 mile is certainly worth celebrations !
What an inspiring post. I just started swimming, I know how to swim, but I am awful and need a lot of work! Your post has given me hope. Awesome job.
WOOT WOOT for you girlfriend. I'd tell man thing to go swim 150 and report back. :D
You give me hope about the swimming! I am in week 7 of I hate swimming. I am calling about lessons in May in hopes I can do better than a 16 min 400 which is waht I am averaging. Swimming is crazy hard!
Keep it up! :)
Congrats on your progress with the swim. I'm going to be doing my first triathlon in June, so I enjoyed checking out your blog. I'll check back in!
thanks for stopping by my blog! Huge inspiration you're providing! :D
Great great job! Way to stick to your plan. Thats what it is all about. resist temptation to do more. Someone thought this plan out and wrote it that way for a reason. Could you do a mile? Sure. But the point is to get to that point and feel strong.
Great job!
WoW! You have come such a long way! I love Total Immersion! That's how I learned to swim too. What a great program and I completely agree with you, I have finally been swimming faster with less effort so stay with it - you're doing great! You have quite the blog here..I'm impressed! I've got to get you on my following list so I remember to check back and see how things are going. If you ever need anything (not that I will know the answer but I'll try - just let me know!) I' m happy to help!
Great job on the swim - you have come a long way! Gary's comment sounds like something my hubby would say without thinking. Yeah just churn out another 6 laps.... I'm proud of you for starting from scratch - that is impressive!
Yay! That's how I started swimming and now I'm churning out 2000 y like nobody's business. Isn't it amazing! I bet you feel like a rockstar!!
What an awesome story!! Congrats on ALL of your achievements!!!!
WOW! Great job! What an accomplishment!!!!
I'm in awe of you :)
You are doing great! A mile is just a number.
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