Swimming Counts

Prior to my involvement in this contest I would schedule my workouts for the week with a mix of mainly runs and bikes (or spins or other cardio) with the occasional strength session and a swim thrown in here and there when I thought I could manage to get to the pool.

The swims were always at night and if I had them scheduled I’d usually try to get in an early morning cardio session since otherwise I was ‘only swimming.’ Swimming was a pain to coordinate and technically difficult, but it wasn’t a hard cardio workout. My heart rate rarely got into my training zone. Since you’re already in the water, well, I never felt a good ‘sweat’ like I do with other cardio exercises and it never provided a decent calorie burn, in other words, when scheduling my workouts, swimming didn’t count.

Do something right and my oh my how it changes things! Since starting my training with Cadence swimming has become the most mentally, physically and technically demanding discipline of triathlon for me. I’m a ‘new’ swimmer, having started just over a year ago by taking lessons and spending my Saturday mornings last winter at a local high school pool with the ‘Swim America’ kids. So to say I’ve got a lot to learn and a long way to go is a huge understatement. Swimming takes the most thought, the most effort, the most time related to the distance covered, where I’ve got the most to learn and where I have the opportunity for the most room for improvement.

So I think I’m finally starting to get it. Like training in the other disciplines, it doesn’t help to be fatigued at the start. When you do it right it’s hard – physically and technically – but it feels good in the end. Improvements come in very small increments and coaching, guidance and evaluation by those who know what they’re doing makes all the difference in my ability to improve.
The swim may be the shortest leg of the race, but for me it is definitely the most challenging and it definitely counts!