Running, Biking, Swimming....oh, my!

I remember about 3 years ago, when I decided, "hey, I think I'm gonna try this running thing, maybe a half marathon." I remember my first trip to PV High School track. I remember the burning in my lungs, I remember the burning in my legs, I remember the burning in my heart. Most importantly, I remember thinking, "can I do this?"

Fast forward to Thursday........deja vu! Only this time PV High School track became the ASU aquatic center and a lap pool. I felt the burning in my lungs, I felt the burning in my shoulders, I felt the burning in my heart.......and again I asked, "can I do this?"

I officially became a triathlete in training this week. Per the advice of many on a social network that I'm a part of "iamtri", I decided to pursue formal coaching through a swimming "masters" program at the ASU aquatic center in Tempe. Like many other roads I've travelled, my friend Trudy decided to join me in this journey. I'm thankful for friends like her, who are not afraid to go outside of their comfort zone and who are willing to challenge themselves!

Traveling down there, we both talked about how nervous we were. Sure, we both know how to swim, but that's like saying, "you know how to walk, why are you afraid of running." Upon arriving and changing, it was time to hit the deck! Well "hit the deck is what we did." Wow...we stepped outside to find 15-20 swimmers in swim lanes swimming lap after lap after lap after lap. Holy S*@T, what did we get ourselves into. Intimidating to say the least.

Finally it was time. We found our coach and the one other person in the class. She was a triathlete looking to improve her swimming. We were all on the same wavelength...that felt comfortable. After telling our coach our goals she responded with, "we got a lot of work to do!" Uh, Thanks?????

First step was to get a quick assesment of our current abilities. Swim a lap using our best freestyle stroke. Surprisingly enough, she said we were not bad. Over the course of the next hour, we did drill after drill.....working on kick and learning tempo and how to breath. We used a kick board to reinforce our posture and form.

Honestly it was the most tiring hour. Our coach said that we had a fantastic session and we all improved greatly! I don't know about greatly but I honestly felt like I began to learn the true art of swimming!

Afterwards my shoulders and lower back were on fire! I have an HUGE hill to climb with this sport, but I reflect back to that day at the track and I look at how far I've come. It takes dedication, it takes hard work, it takes commitment! A new journey started this week, no more talk...it's time to act. "Can I do this.....YES I CAN!" Running, biking, swimming....man, I'm tired!