That's what my swim teammates and I were somehow thinking at the time. It looked to us that the faster freestylers created more of a splash than others as they swam, particularly in the sprint events. Funny what kinds of things can make an impression on you, particularly when you are six years old. That's when I began swimming competitively - the first team sport to which I was exposed in my youth.
So there I was, slapping away like a runaway windmill - flailing wildly at the water in the freestyle events. I wasn't thinking much about efficient propulsion - and more importantly, what creates drag. Perhaps that's one reason why I wasn't the one of the faster age group freestylers on my team. Eventually, I ended up focusing on breaststroke - a very different animal - and that's where I saw the most success, including one league championship in seven outdoor swim seasons during grade school.
But sadly for me, breaststroke is the slowest of the four competitive forms of swimming. So far as I can tell, a strong breaststroke doesn't do you much good in the world of triathlon - except maybe for a couple seconds mid race if you veer off course and need to regain your bearings.
Up until a couple of years ago, I hadn't taken too many trips to the pool during my adulthood. That changed in the summer of 2010 when I sought out a no-impact form of aerobic exercise to complement biking - and interestingly, to help build endurance for an upcoming hiking trip (more on that later). Our community outdoor aquatic complex features an Olympic-sized 50 meter pool with three lanes (designated, slow, medium or fast) cordoned off for lap swimming. You share lanes, swimming in a "circular" fashion by keeping right at all times.
Well, not too much had changed with my freestyle swimming form in forty plus years. I struggled in the pool and it got worse the longer distances I swam. If this was going to be an ongoing activity, something had to change. I'd seen others using training fins, so I went ahead and bought a pair. That made a big difference. I could afford sloppiness and still get in a good workout. By the end of the summer, I was swimming between two and five miles in each pool session - all with fins. And I ended up dropping eight pounds over a three month period.
Fast forward six months to January of this year. Shortly after joining a local health club (a giant complex featuring an indoor aquatic center), I saw a club advertisement for an indoor triathlon in March. I read the fine print and the sad news sunk in - swim fins were not allowed. If I wanted to enter and hold my own in the swim leg, something - actually, alot of things - in my freestyle form would have to change. I was ready for the challenge, so at age 54 I registered for my first triathlon ever, albeit an indoor format - with a scant two months to prepare.
. . . to be continued . . .
