Masters swimming torture session 2

On Wednesday I swam with the masters swim group for the 1st time. I swam farther than I ever have before in a training session. The only times I've swam farther was my 2 Iron distance triathlons.

Today I showed up after having rested-only running, no swimming- Thursday. My lats & arms were still sore & fatigued.

I tried my best to keep up but failed miserably. I was slow- even slower than usual- & I kept cramping. The others in my lane were very understanding & kind about my lack of speed & endurance. After an hour of swimming I only finished 2650 yards.

Even though I suffered I had a blast! I got beat up so badly in the water, I'm not sure if I can finish my brick today. It's been years since any workouts have hurt me like this. If I keep this up I suspect I'll be a beast in the water in no time at all!

masters swimming

Last month was the 1st time I started practicing my swimming since my youngest son was born in Oct 2009. I have my babies with me while my wife goes to school during the day & the day care at the pool won't watch my babies until they are 2 years old. For the last 21 months I never practiced swimming but was still able to maintain an average of a 6:15-6:40 swim in a sprint distance triathlon.

Although I've never been considered a particularly great swimmer, I think swimming is the event in triathlon I have the strongest natural ability for. I've never taken any swim lessons or swam with any groups or individuals. What I do in the water during races has been completely self taught.

For years I've wanted to get into a masters swim group. Since I work nights I couldn't find any where in Santa Fe that had a masters swim group that fit into my schedule.

I found out through a fellow triathlete that there is a masters swim group that meets Mon, Wed, & Fri's at the Salvador Perez pool here in Santa Fe! Yesterday was my 1st time swimming with them. I swam farther than I normally do on my own with faster splits. I got out of the water tired, but very motivated. I'm looking forward to seeing what will happen with my swimming now that I'll be practicing 3 times a week & have a masters swim coach to help me with my form.

While swimming with the masters I swam with a local Santa Fe'an named Lee who qualified for Kona while at IM St George. He finished St George in 9:56! I was thoroughly impressed! I'm glad I'll be able to be swimming with him. Hopefully some of his speed will rub off on me.