Well in the particular episode I saw, they turned a pretty overweight, inactive teenager into a triathlete. He went from not being able to even jog to completing a sprint triathlon. I decided right then and there that I too would do a triathlon and found a race and signed up for it. The only problem was, I didn't know how to swim.
So in January of 2009 I took some swim lessons and I really learned how to swim. I took 5 lessons with a private instructor and she taught me all the basics. I went from not even being able to swim 15 continuous yards (yes really) to swimming a mile. I was slow, but I could swim and I completed my first triathlon swimming in the Allegheny River in July of 2009.
Since that time, I haven't taken a single solitary swim lesson. I hardly ever swim, yet I've been able to muddle through every triathlon I've done. This year I literally have only swam 4 times. It's so sad really because I really do like to swim.
I have my eye on a really big triathlon goal for 2013. Spoiler alert 70.3!!!!! I can NOT muddle my way through a 1.1 mile swim. So, I've committed myself to swimming at least once a week until actual training begins. They only problem is (and it's a big one). I don't know what I'm doing.
Later on, as training begins, I might sign up for some lessons with a swim coach, but right now I'm doing my own thing. Enter the Swim Planner App. I just went to the App Store on my iPhone and found this free App and it's pretty awesome.
First you set up all your parameters. You set your desired workout distance and the type of pool you are using. You also include the typical amount of time that it takes you to swim a typical distance. I put that it takes me 2:00 minutes to complete 100 yards. That would be my slow and steady pace.
Swim Planner then develops a workout for you. Here was the workout it came up for me for today.
It was a pretty good workout. I liked that it was broken up into 75 yard chunks. I could go a little faster knowing I had a 15 second break coming up. I wouldn't want to do this workout EVERY time, but I liked it for today.
The good thing is, if you don't like the workout that was chosen for you, you can just hit new and automatically get a new workout. Here's the one that came up next.
The Swim Planner App is good for a girl like me. A girl that doesn't know what the heck she's doing. A girl that only learned to swim at 35 years old. It really helps and it makes me feel less discouraged about getting in the pool. I've actually managed to do it 2 times now in 3 weeks time, which is the same number of times I've managed to swim ALL year. So things are looking up in the swim department and I'm excited for what's to come in 2013.
If you're following along in the Adventures of the Elf on the Shelf: Lulu (which I'm updating everyday so it will become a full list of all Lulu's adventures... click the link to see ALL the ideas) then here is what she was up to yesterday.
Lulu zip lined from the second floor to the first floor dining area on a candy cane. She's becoming quite adventurous. |
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