My 10K swim adventure
By: Mike Di Marco
I hate failure. But for me, disdain for failure has a real purpose in creating my training plans and annual triathlon goals. I do my best training when I’m training for a goal that I’m afraid I can’t reach. Afraid that, if I’m not regimented with my training, I’ll fail. That’s how I wound up doing a 10 kilometer swim this January.
The Idea: My last race of 2011 was Savageman in September. Like many triathletes at the end of a long triathlon season, I looked forward to a little time to rest and recover, but knew that it would soon be time to get to work for the next season. Given the colder temperatures and fewer hours of daylight, I intended to focus on my swimming during the winter months.
Like many others, I started doing triathlons with no swimming background. To say the swim was not my strong suit is an understatement. Let’s just say I never had trouble finding my bike when I got out of the water—it was one of only a handful left in the transition area. I’ve improved my swimming since that time, but there’s still room to improve.
What better way to motivate myself than set a goal that I was afraid I may fail to reach? My new watch has a 100 lap memory--why not swim 100, 100 meter laps? Perfect. A goal that I was afraid I couldn’t achieve and an easy way to track my progress (just tap my watch after every 100 meters, brilliant!) So, starting at the end of September[1], I committed to swim a 10K on January 13th (my birthday)[2]. I figured the proximity of the date to the holiday season would give me that extra motivation to train during those days when a warm bed and egg nog can seem more appealing than the pool and a recovery drink.
The Training: I created a plan for myself that was obviously swim-focused, but also included some biking, running, and strength work. I did a long swim on the weekends and gradually increased the length of this swim. I threw in intervals, stroke work, and speed work to help me improve my form and pace. Over the course of my training, I could feel my form improve, my swimming endurance increase, and my pace quicken. One day, I swam 5000 m with significant speed work and felt fresh when I jumped out of the pool. I was about 6 weeks out from “event day”, but that was the day that I knew I’d be able to accomplish my goal. But talk is cheap, and there was still significant work to do to finish that 10K.
Event Day: So I started the day needing to go to a doctor’s appointment (not ideal, but it was either take this day or wait another month) and needing to do something for work (even though I took the day off). But just like any other event, things don’t always go according to plans. Part of being a mentally tough athlete is your ability to cope with these changes and adjust, so once I got to the pool, my focus was entirely on the swim. The water that day was perfect—set at the “just jump right in and go” temperature. Just with any endurance event, such a large part of completing it is breaking it into segments. My plan was to swim the first 3000 meters continuously. Break for nutrition (water and ClifBloks). Swim another 2000 meters. Break for nutrition. This would be the half way point. Then I would do that again. 3000 m swim, quick nutrition, 2000m swim, DONE! Well, that was the plan anyways.
The first 5000 meters went according to plan. I wasn’t exactly setting any records for pace, but I was keeping each 100 meter segment close. And I felt great. Right around the 4500m meter point, however, I started to feel a little soreness in my shoulder and triceps (something that really hadn’t shown up too much in training). But, I’d come this far and was motivated by that disdain for failure. I quickly changed the plan. Get to 5000 meters. Get my nutrition. After that, I swam 5 x 1000 m sets with short rest (about 30 seconds) in between sets. Changing the way I thought about the remaining 5000 meters made it more achievable mentally.
The last 1000 meters was euphoric. Ten sets of 100 m, each more exciting than the one before. For the last 100 m, I sprinted—gave it everything I had left. It was one of the fastest 100 meters I swam all day. When I touched the wall, I did so with a huge smile and a tiny fist pump. The euphoria powered me through my 250 m cool-down swim that was driven entirely by adrenaline and endorphins.
Reflection: Like I said, I didn’t set any records for speed on this day and a more experienced swimmer would likely scoff at my 100 meter times. But for me it represented how far I’ve come in the sport. I did my first triathlon as a high school student one summer. There was a local sprint triathlon in my town and I thought it might be a good way to stay in shape during the high school sports offseason. Knowing nothing about triathlon training, I did a little swimming (in a tiny above ground pool), biking (on my brother’s old mountain bike), and running every day for a few weeks[3]. That race’s half-mile swim felt like an eternity. I had my head in the water, felt like I was swimming forever, only to look up and see I was halfway to the first of three buoys. My first “real” triathlon was the 2007 Nation’s Tri. I’m easy to identify in the pictures. I’m one of about three people to not have a wetsuit on. And my first half Ironman? Yeah, that’s me, the one without a wetsuit, in a bathing suit with buckles on it. Talk about not being concerned about reducing drag.
So for me this 10K swim wasn’t just about a one day challenge. It was about pushing myself to improve during winter’s darkest and coldest days and doing something that I would have previously thought as impossible. I still may not be a top tier swimmer, but I’m improved physically and significantly stronger mentally. I enter this year’s triathlon season with much more confidence than I ended the last.
Mike Di Marco is a WSEM Brand Ambassador. He is also a personal trainer and President of District Fitness. To view this post on the District Fitness website, click here.
[1] It felt like I spent months away from training. Looking back, I guess I only took a week off.
[2] Feel free to put that date on your calendar and send me a birthday gift next year.
[3] In case you are new to the sport, um, yeah, this is not the most effective way to train.
