Had fun at the pool session last night. Despite being told to move out of the "slow lane" I opted to stay with my lane mates and Coach Dee. I like it there!
Word had gotten around my being rescued on Saturday, and Coach Dee made a point to say that it was a good experience for me to go through early in the training rather than later. She's very good at accentuating the positive! But I know she's right - the next time it happens, I will know what to do: relax, keep breathing, float if I need to, and just try and keep calm. Once panic sets in, it's a downward spiral that's very difficult to get out of, so the aim is to try and not get into the state of panic in the first place.
It's also all about getting into a rhythm with swimming. The thing is, I have no trouble getting into a rhythm when doing laps in the pool - it's when I'm in the surf when I'm so focused on keeping myself together that I can't seem to get into the "zone". I just have to trust in the process and be confident that the more I swim in the ocean, the less daunting it's going to be!
I am having heaps of fun with the drills though. I am loving the fists drill (swimming with closed fists) and am getting a little bit better with duck diving too (three strokes then duck dive, repeat). A hard one I learned last night was the breathing one - that is taking a breath every 3, 5 and 7 strokes if breathing out both sides, and every 2, 4 and 6 strokes if breathing out of one side only. I've been challenging myself to breathe out both sides, as it's easier to keep in a straight line in the ocean when you can see from both sides, so I opted for the odd numbers. It was interesting trying to rationalise the fear of not being able to breathe when it came to the 7 strokes bit of the drill. It's such a silly, stupid fear that I get a bit cranky with myself for even thinking it. But as Coach Dee said, the more we think we can hold our breath for a period (specially in case we're caught under a wave or something), the more confident we will be out there in the big bad ocean. So more practice for me on that front.
We also had a dietician chat with us about what to eat before a training session and before a surf session and on race day. I got into a bit of trouble about nominating a bacon and egg roll (not 'fessing up that it was exactly that I was worried about chucking up last Saturday!), but it's really all about common sense. Cereal with fruit, yoghurt and milk is good, but best eaten 2 hours before a swim. Otherwise, fast-acting carb for energy if eating an hour or so beforehand. It was stuff that I've been over with Sarah (my nutritionist, also invoked as "The Wrath of Sarah" when I feel tempted by that Tim Tam), but always good to be reminded.
The aim is to now ramp up the distance in swim training in the lead up to Christmas, so I better get my laps in!
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