FEBRUARY 10, 2014
SWIMMING
I hadn't been in a pool since last summer and the below zero temps that we had last week didn't make it sound very enticing right now. But I'd seen the outdoor pool at the Colorado Athletic Club and I'd seen swimmers out there in every kind of weather. Could the water REALLY be warm enough to keep you from freezing or were these swimmer's veins filled with anti-freeze?
I found out when I signed up for a swim lesson, the first I'd had since my Red Cross Life Guard Course when I was 12. Katie Hostetler, my instructor, was immediately drawn to my cause and my quest. She too was preparing for a triathlon in June. (She also has a wedding to get ready for at the end of June!)
Katie watched me swim a couple lengths and then gave me different drills to practice. I loved the freestyle 'catch up' drill where you extend your arm, reaching all the way through the fingertips and then hold it there for just a second longer than you really want to while your other hand catches up to it.
I struggled with the 'right arm only/left arm only' drill. Like most people, I definitely have a dominate side. The right arm only wasn't so bad but I slogged through the left arm only. It's a good thing that the IRONMAN doesn't make the challenge even more difficult by tying one hand behind your back, I'd be at the bottom of the lake:)
SWIMMING
I hadn't been in a pool since last summer and the below zero temps that we had last week didn't make it sound very enticing right now. But I'd seen the outdoor pool at the Colorado Athletic Club and I'd seen swimmers out there in every kind of weather. Could the water REALLY be warm enough to keep you from freezing or were these swimmer's veins filled with anti-freeze?
I found out when I signed up for a swim lesson, the first I'd had since my Red Cross Life Guard Course when I was 12. Katie Hostetler, my instructor, was immediately drawn to my cause and my quest. She too was preparing for a triathlon in June. (She also has a wedding to get ready for at the end of June!)
Katie watched me swim a couple lengths and then gave me different drills to practice. I loved the freestyle 'catch up' drill where you extend your arm, reaching all the way through the fingertips and then hold it there for just a second longer than you really want to while your other hand catches up to it.
I struggled with the 'right arm only/left arm only' drill. Like most people, I definitely have a dominate side. The right arm only wasn't so bad but I slogged through the left arm only. It's a good thing that the IRONMAN doesn't make the challenge even more difficult by tying one hand behind your back, I'd be at the bottom of the lake:)
Colorado Athletic Club Pool.
Air temp 18 degrees, pool temp 80 degrees.
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