I can already tell this is going to be a recurring theme over the winter. Those of you who know me or have raced against me know that my swim is my achilles heel. I'm a middle of the pack swimmer with a front-of-the-pack bike & run, so in every triathlon I come out of T2 spotting the leaders anywhere from 3-6 minutes depending on the length of the swim.
This summer, LA Fitness opened up a gym just a quarter of a mile up the road from my office and they included a 5-lane short course yard pool. Not as ideal as the 25-meter pool i used to swim in, but hey if i can get there 3 times a week instead of 3 times a month its a no-brainer win. So i joined up. From June to September i saw noticeable improvements in my swim, enough to podium my last 3 races, but as of September I was still a top-20% swimmer at best with a top 1% bike & run.
So into the pool I go, again and again. I usually take the Fall season to ride my bike until daylight deserts me, then run run run until its warm enough to ride again, and start cramming my swim training once the triathlon season becomes imminent in March or April. This year has been different, i've been in the pool 3 times a week since my last race of the season and i'm turning it into a habit.
I'm not making any promises of course, because in the end all that matters to me is that i stay fit and that i'm having fun at this triathlon hobby. But right now I'm already 15 secs per 100y faster than I was last year in September at my fastest. My #1 training goal is to keep motivated with my swimming over the winter so i can set myself up with some opportunities for some good results come June. I may need to remind myself every once in a while why i'm doing it, because running in the woods in October is much easier on my head than being in the pool for an hour.
As Gordo used to say, no easy way.
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