I love swimming
Who would have thunk it, that the same guy who was reluctant to get his feet wet 8 or 10 weeks ago, would now declare his love for swimming? Admittedly, I remain apprehensive about encountering open water with hundreds of others all around me. (Oh please don’t kick and scratch me and hold my head under water. <--bad flashback to a cousin who was a bully.)
Now that I have gotten beyond the water wings, I am finding that there is truth in believing the water will support you. And the fluid movement through the water is really a thrill. Not only that, I like the feeling after the workout. The chest feels even more bellowed than when you run hard, or bike hard, and I guess that’s to do with the increase in muscle. I’m first to admit I don’t have the swimmer’s body of Josh Davis, but I do like the increasing upper body strength which is coming with three encounters a week with the pool.
You want to know something else? I like not having to brush the stinging sweat out of my eyes. Maybe there’s a little burn from the chlorine, but your body temperature stays temperate. That said in favor of swimming, there’s still a puzzle in my mind which I raised 5 or 6 weeks ago. I can feel myself dehydrating. Some have said that we do sweat when we swim, it just washes away. But where I dry out is in my mouth and throat. It’s probably not a real issue for a sprint triathlon swim of 750 meters, but surely this must be a concern for the half iron and ironman swims. Does anyone else wonder about this? Is so, please post. I’m dying to know how others address the issue.
3 comments:
Yeah, you sweat a lot when you swim. I usually lose about a pound and a half during a hard hour workout (2500 to 3000 yards), all of which I presume is sweat! I don't get dry mouth, but you can always have a bike bottle of water on the deck to sip during your workout.
Good luck at CapTex. I'll be there too!
It sounds as if you are peaking at just the right moment. The event is on May 28th? Two weeks away. Look how far you've come, especially with the swimming component, and establishing positive associations. Your comment about stress breaker was spot-on, also. When your mental state is on overload, I think the very best distraction for it is physical exertion. Something you have to put all your focus on, then all those 'trivialities' dissolve with the endorphin wash. It may not solve those problems, but it does make them take a backseat for awhile.
Oh yes do keep a water bottle at the end of the pool with Gatorade (etc) or water, as for the lake swim, oh yes.... I get so thirsty. I drink almost an entire bottle before the swim, finishing at about 30 minutes prior to the start and the first thing I do on the bike is drink 3/4 of a bottle of a fluid replacement drink, not water. Then 30 minutes later I am into the water and gu thing.Then 30 minutes later a sandwich or a power bar or two (half ironman) As for the bullys around you .. blow them off they are just wasting their energy being mean. The most important thing is to swim your best at a moderate rate so you can exit the water untaxed so you have energy for your next event.. the bike..and of course, save some of that for the RUN! ouch!
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