1st Day in the Pool!!!

Yay!  First day in the pool!  I've been waiting for this one for a while and it was exciting to get going!  I had my first session with Jacki Hirsty today who will be my swim coach so I can learn proper and economical form so I'm not exhausted after an hour of dog paddle going into T1. 

I must say I really had no idea what to expect today.  The best part was right out of the gate she asked me to swim to the other side of the pool (25 Yards) to see where we were starting from.  This was kind of fun for me as it reminded me of the time I first stepped on a treadmill forever ago and just how hard that first 1/4 mile was.  Today swimming one length made me realize that swimming 40 lengths (roughly a 1/4 mile) was not going to be easy and that every bit of economy I can learn in swimming is going to be worth it.

That was the only real bit of freestyle I swam today.  We spent most of the time together working on kick form and body position.  Let me tell you it gets confusing quickly!  Theres so much to think about already and the arms aren't even involved yet.  Remembering to:

-keep your knees locked in straight (mostly)
-head pointed down
-shoulders relaxed and back and sticking out of the water
-core firm
-glutes tight

isn't easy.  Then try and put all that together so your swimming in a straight line nice and level in the water without sinking and it gets harder.  Then add to that drills where your rolling onto your back and then back again all with your hips while your arms stay straight ahead and it gets even harder.  As soon as my brain thinks about one thing it seems to lose track of another and my legs bend and my form breaks and I'm sinking again.  Its a lot to think about!  Still...   I definitely think working with a coach now is going to save me a LOT of frustration down the road and leave me a lot fresher coming into T1.

So all in all a good day.  I have another session with Jacki on Friday and then I'm away again for a little bit.  Hopefully there will be a pool wherever I'm going so I can keep doing these drills.

In other news my hamstring is feeling really good today.  No problems at all in the pool.  So hopefully the swimming is helping.  I think I'm going to try and take the bike out this afternoon for a quick relaxed ride to get my legs moving and because I don't really feel like I got a good workout in today yet.

Then tomorrow its back to the pool in the morning by myself to practice and then a bike ride I think.

It was nice to get in the pool today.  I can't wait till May when I'll hopefully be running again and working on all three disciplines in earnest!