Swimming

Well, this post has been a long time coming. However, for a long period I could not bring myself to write this as I did not want to think about swimming unless I was in the water. What a long trip it has been.

So I went to the pool with a friend who was a swimming to start to learn how to swim. It turns out that knowing how to swim, and knowing how to not drown are two completely different skills, and I only possessed 1 of them. The lesson did not go well for me. I was also so far from where I needed to be that he was not really in a great position to help. There was some bad news.

I went by myself a few times. I tried using a pull buoy, mostly correctly, but I just couldn't do it. I would struggle to go even 25 yards, 1 length, without having to pull my head out of the water to breath, and/or reach for the side. I hated going to the pool. Then my brother called me as I was on my way to the pool and we talked. He asked what I was doing and we talked it out. He asked if I was breathing every other stroke. I of course said yes since I was. He then showed me that meant that every time I stroked with my left arm I should turn my head to the right to breath. I of course was stunned. I was breathing half as often, or every 4 strokes. He told me that if he only breathed every 4 strokes he wouldn't be able to swim either.

I thought that each stroke of an arm was half a stroke. He laughed at me, but then set my head straight. It turn out that was a huge missing piece for me. Now I was able to make it 25-50 yards easily. From here I spent time in the pool swimming 50s and a couple 100s, mostly with the pull buoy. I wanted to make the breathing feel natural. I even used a nose plug for some time to take water up the nose out of the equation. I stopped that later. I still struggled to swim freestyle for 100 yards without being gassed. Even with a pull buoy that was tough.

My brother's advice was to slow down. Great, because I know how to do that while swimming. I can easily run slower, or even bike slower. I felt like if I slowed down while swimming, that my swimming would turn into just floating. I spent a few sessions trying to wrap my brain around this idea. Then one Saturday, I was in the pool alone, and I thought I would try. I had been matching my breathing to my stroke so that I would be ready to breath in when it was time to do so. However, I figured I would try something else. What if I times my stroke to my breathing? It sounds the same, but perhaps I was breathing out too quickly. I figured I had nothing to lose. So I would breath out while moving my arms, and at the end of each stroke, with one arm forward and the other backwards, I would glide for a bit, like a second if that. I tried it and low and behold I was able to swim 200 yards continuously. I did that 3 times back to back and excitedly called my brother to tell him.

I was able to recreate this feat during my next swim, I swam 300 yards, took a rest, swam another 300 yards, took another rest, and then finished with 400 yards. It felt great. The only problem in my mind was that I was still dependent on the pull buoy. That is right, I had done all of this with the pull buoy. It was great progress, but I knew I still had a ways to go.

I then started working on 50s of freestyle without the pull buoy. I could do those relatively easily. However, 100 yards was just too much. I was tired and my arms hurt. I thought about that for a bit and decided to try something new one night. What if I didn't swing my arms so forcefully, and didn't pull with all my strength through the water? I'm not trying to speed at this point after all. So I gave it a try one night after a few 50s, and low and behold I swam 300 yards continuously, this time without a pull buoy.

Once again I gave my brother an excited call and he told me that if I could reproduce that again, I could finally get on a training plan since I could do anything. Well I set out for the pool that weekend with a tentative plan in mind. I was going to try something that I knew was probably a bit too much, but I have always pushed myself, and I knew that now was the time to prove to myself that I could swim. So I got into lane 4, out of 6 (foreshadowing: this will be important later). I began to swim. I set out to do 825 yards. Yes that is a bizarre number, but it is about 750 meters which is my race length. I just swam that day and it was  peaceful and relaxing. I got to 825 and decided that 1000 yards sounded like a nice number, and it was only 7 more lengths of the pool, so I kept going. I finished the swim without having ever stopped. I was riding high at this point. I thought there was nothing I couldn't do. I felt like I could complete the race finally.

I decided to get out of the pool, but not wanting to swim across someone else's lane to get to the ladder, I pulled myself out on the side of the pool using the starting blocks. In the process I managed to pull a muscle in my right leg. All that hard work and I managed to hurt myself because I did something that I knew I shouldn't do. It didn't set my training back too much as I heated it and took it easy, but it was another reminder to not do things that could jeopardize my training.

So that is the story of how I taught myself to swim. Am I fast? Not even close to it. I am, in fact, quite slow. But more to the point, if I kept up the pact I had for my 1000 yards, it is well under the cutoff time for an Ironman. At this point that is what is important, and what made me so happy about it. I called both my Dad and brother to tell them about my swimming and they were both as happy as I was. Neither could believe I set out for 1000 yards, or that I completed it.

New Bike and a Start

Long time no article.

Alright, alright, I suppose that is my fault. Mostly at least. A lot has happened since the last post. Most importantly, I finally purchased a bike. I purchased a brand new Trek Emonda ALR 5. It has Shimano 105 components, and this bike should get my through my entire journey. I'm not saying I will never get another bike, but this bike feels like she has at least one full distance Ironman race in her.

This is my bike. There are many like it, but this one is mine.

My bike is my best friend. It is my life. I must master it as I must master my life.

I got a few rides in outside before the weather turned cold. I spent a lot of time trying to figure out what trainer to get and how to set her up so I could ride through the winter. My personality is such that I spent more time thinking and reading than doing. Finally in January of 2020 I acquired a trainer from a friend. I took my bike in to the shop to get a training wheel put on the back, and to have a different skewer installed so that it could be mounted on the trainer. I then set her up in the basement, and setup a TV with a Fire Stick as well so I had something to watch.

I began cycling in 1 hour sessions twice a week. I have been following this plan. I'm going to race the Sprint triathlon at the 2020 Ohio Games Triathlon & Multisport Festival on June 7th in Delaware, OH. I'm both excited and nervous about this. My brother will be racing the same race with me, though I suspect that once we get in the water I will not see him again until the finish line. He will be in the top 1/3 of finishers, and I will be just trying to not be DFL.

That is all for now. The 12 week training plan starts March 16, so things are starting to feel real.

The Journey Begins

Hello readers! I plan to use this blog to chronicle my path from today (07/18/2019) to becoming an Ironman. To all of you that started reading this well into my path, Hello future people!

So as I said, I decided earlier this week that I would like to complete an Ironman race. I know what you are thinking, I must be crazy. After all, who willingly decides to subject themselves to a 2.4 mile swim, 112 mile bike ride, and a 26.2 mile run. Sure, it sounds difficult, even downright impossible when you look at it together. However, when you break it down, and look at shorter races first it becomes less of an impossibility. In addition to that, I watched my older brother run an Ironman late last year, and that is what started me down this path, though I did not realize it at the time. On a side note, if you ever have the opportunity to spend some time at the finish line of an Ironman I would highly encourage you to do so. The environment is electric, and you cannot help but get caught up in it.

So who am I? I'm not really anyone special. I live in Cleveland, OH and I'm currently a runner. Four years ago I decided to run a 5K with my wife and some friends. I spent the next few years just running a single 5K each year. I battled a couple of injuries, but I found that I enjoyed running too much to stop. I always wanted to do more, but injuries kept me back. Then in late 2018 after watching my brother cross the finish line of Ironman Louisville, I decided I wanted to do something more. I began running more, and rather than quitting over the winter, I got a membership to the local fitness club and kept running. With help from my brother, I implemented a plan to run the Cleveland Marathon in 2019. I trained for several weeks indoors and everything was going according to plan. Then it warmed up, and my first run outside was a disaster. I was running far slower than I had originally thought. It turns out the Garmin Forerunner 235 running watch I got at Christmas was not fully calibrated, and was under estimating my distances indoors. I kept at it for a couple more runs, but ultimately after a discussion with my brother, I switched my entry to the Half Marathon. We were not certain I would be able to finish before the cutoff time. I switched up my plan and kept moving forward. On May 19th, I completed the Cleveland Half Marathon, though I developed a mild case of tendinitis in the process. However, after some rest, I'm back to running, and doing some speed training to help get faster.

I have also been cycling every week as a form of cross-training. I originally did it because the plan said to, but I have enjoyed it even though it is all inside. I also had an inkling that I might be interested in shorter distance triathlons, so getting some cycling practice would be good. I haven't started swimming, but I believe a running friend from work may be able to help me with my form so I can begin swimming as well. I anticipate swimming to be my weakest sport, and thus require the most work. I have never been a good or strong swimmer. Up until middle school I was afraid of the water, and could not swim at all. Today I have no problems in a pool, and can both swim and tread water with ease. I do not, however, swim with my face in the water only taking breaths every couple of strokes. I keep my head up all of the time as the idea of swimming with my face in the water and only breathing as I turn my head terrifies me. It seems I have not fully lost my fear of water, which is something I will have to work through.

Well, this is just an introduction. I do not know how often I will post, but I'm going to aim to post at least monthly with my progress. I anticipate some months will have more to post about than others.