Swimming

Did I mention I'm taking a swimming class? One night a week it's a beginner triathlon swim class to teach me the basics of swimming efficiently. It's really going good! The teacher has broken a swim stroke completely and started off showing us how to do the most basic piece, then she adds to it each week.

First came balancing in the water, just learning that when your head is up, your legs go down... not a good thing. We had to learn to glide along the surface of the water (on our side) and kick from the hips, not the knees.

Next came switching from gliding on one side to gliding on the other side with one smooth movement. This was a little trickier, especially when we had to control our breaths to every third switch instead of every one.

This past week we learned the zipperswitch, which teaches us to bring our stroke hand up along our side and pierce the water. I'm still a little shaky on this, but we're getting there. I've practiced this twice so far this week and hoping to get in one more swim before class this Thurs (in two days).

This is turning out to be a lot of fun! I'm learning soooo much! I've already met people in my class that are well known in the community in multisport! I've seen these guys at every race I've been in so far!

I'm so ready to 'dive' right in to this multisport lifestyle! I'm loving every minute! I've signed up for my first Tri: April 18th, 2009 the Pioneer Sprint Triathlon in Petersburg, IL! It includes a "300 yd pool swim, a 13 mi bike ride on a rolling flat prairie road, and a 3.2 mi run through picturesque Petersburg," according to their website. It also says "The run will take you past century old architectural gems, past the Edgar Lee Master’s home, past the courthouse where young Abraham [Lincoln] practiced law and up and down the streets of Petersburg." Sounds awesome!