Kevin Goes Swimming

Like most kids that grew up south of the 49th parallel, summer meant one thing - swimming at the local pool. I was no exception. I got up in the morning, jumped on the bike and rode that 1/2 mile to the pool, lunch in hand. Swim team went from 9-11, then everyone ate lunch and spent the rest of the day messing around the pool. We played all sorts of games like sharks and minnows, marco polo, gutterball and the diving boards were hours of entertainment. Come suppertime, everyone went home, only to repeat the entire process the following day. Those really were great days.

So when I thought triathlon and swimming, I thought "no problem", completely blocking from my mind the corporate challenge 5o meter swim from last year where I almost drown (a story for another time). I knew, however, that before I could even consider an Ironman, I had to make my return to the pool.

And I did this for the first time Monday night.

Of course, I have no idea of how to start or what an appropriate warm-up entails, so I just jump in and go.

About 20 meters.

Unfortunately, the pool is 25 meters. So I take one huge gasp of air and finish it off.

Winded.

Embarassed.

I look around to see how many people are laughing at me. No one is. Good. I start trying to think about what I did wrong and then it hit me -

I FORGOT TO BREATHE!!!!!

That could cause problems. Serious problems. Breathing is important. You die if you don't breathe. Holy crap! How could I have forgotten that.

So, after catching my breathe, I start again, making sure to breathe every 2nd stroke. And, surprisningly enough, it worked much better. I managed to swim between 1200 and 1400 meters Monday night and made it up to 1800 meters tonight.

It is all starting to come back to me....

Like riding a bicycle - which I hope to have by the end of the weekend!