Confessions of a Non-Swimmer

The swim is what I’m most worried about in the triathlon. Like I mentioned in my first post, I haven’t swum laps in over 10 years. I’m more of a “treader” than a swimmer. I can swim to the dock in a lake, to the other side of a river, but any further than that I’d rather use a boat.

My first day in the pool was probably the most disheartening day of my training so far. I was really excited to get in the water; I even brought a swim cap and goggles. Apparently looking like you know what you’re doing doesn’t actually influence your ability… After struggling to swim just 50 metres, I couldn’t help but admire the speed and impeccable form of the swim team in the next lane. As I tried to catch my breath while clinging to the wall at the end of the lane, the team took to the deck for their post swim de-brief. That was when I realized that the team whose skills I was just admiring had the average of 9… I wish I was kidding. Those kids weren’t even old enough to have survived Y2K. To further add to my frustration, I learned later that night that the length of the lanes in the UBC pool was 25 metres, not 50m like I had previously thought. This meant that I had only swum 300 metres instead of the 600m I thought I had. Oh man did I love swimming after that day…

I am happy to report that with a little help I’m now swimming 1200+ metres each time. Here’s a tip: learn how to swim effectively and you won’t hate yourself after a workout. It’s commonsense I wish I had when I started swimming. So what has helped me the most swim more effectively? A nose plug. That’s right, the nerd with the nose plug you’ve been making fun of at the UBC pool for the past month is me. Embarrassingly, I can’t swim my face under the water without sucking up a litre of water through my nose. But hey, it works for me and you’ll figure out what works for you too. Just get out there!