Tag Archives: freestyle

Grimsey’s Adult Swimfit

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Suttons Beach

Suttons Beach at Redcliffe on Jan 31, 2016

My blogging habits are the stuff of great mystery… and will remain so because it is a very boring mystery that no one would care about.  But today I can reveal that I usually follow a fairly un-magical blogging routine.

Knowing what training sessions I have lined up each week, I generally have an awareness of what to expect in each of them: what challenges will be playing on my mind; how I am feeling towards the session; etc etc.  So I lay down the ‘skeleton’ of a blog post in draft form a few days (sometimes weeks) before I am going to post it. I write in my calendar which post will go live on which day, and make a mental note of what pictures to take when the time comes, to accompany my verbal spewage.

These opening sentences you’re reading now, where I set a scene or give you the background info to help you understand what craziness I have landed myself in, are the best bits to get down early in order to ensure I’ll be off and typing at lightening speed when I get the time.

Even with ‘surprises’ like getting my first flat tyre, I had known in advance that I was going for a long ride that morning, so I had some of the information already written down as a jumping-off point when the big day arrived (although the nitty-gritty turned out very different from what I had anticipated writing the day before)

What I mean is, each day I have the bare bones of a post ready for details to be added after the event.

But today’s post on Grimsey’s Adult Swimfit is different. Continue reading →

Oh. My. Triathlon God.

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Grimsey's Adult Swimfit

A blessing from above

The Triathlon Gods have finally pulled through.  It is a miracle.  Perhaps they finally agreed that I have suffered enough.  Or maybe King Kirk had a word with them.  Or maybe they saw me riding the Unicorn that is Improvement at a galloping pace towards the finish line of Bribie and decided that I am finally worthy of their affection.

Whatever the reason, I am sure that only their divine intervention has brought me to Grimsey’s Adult Swimfit.

WTF?? I hear you cry.  That is exactly what I thought.  Do not be afraid. Continue reading →

Still Swimming

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Back at the pool

Don’t give up

Despite the extreme regret after my ocean swim at Caloundra, and contrary to my predictions, I have not actually died of embarrassment; I am still here.

And after a few days of stewing it was time to get in the pool and set the record straight on my swimming abilities, because one bad session does not define me as a swimmer.  I decided I needed to simply absorb that day into the melange of days that is my Triathlon Training.  I am in the middle of a long, slow haul to the finish line of my first triathlon.  I am not done yet.

I will admit it wasn’t easy; I didn’t want to go to the pool.  I tried to find excuses not to go, and I don’t normally struggle with that.  After years of working out, not going to the gym is like not cleaning my teeth – the dirty sensation looms over my head all day.  When I’ve been to the gym, I feel energised, ready to take on the world.  I knew this to be true.  But I did not want to get back in the pool. Continue reading →

Half Way to Bribie

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about to burst

Holding in a scream during a mini meltdown

When I signed up for my first ever triathlon at Bribie, I had just over four months until race day. This week, I have 8 weeks to go, so I am half way though my training.

In some respects, training thus far has gone better than anticipated: I thought that the pain when running would take the whole four months to resolve, so I am thrilled that I can now run quite comfortably.

I can also do freestyle lengths in the pool back-to-back and I have a beautiful bike that I actually love to ride. I never expected either of those things to happen, especially in just 2 months.

So we should agree that Trying to be a Triathlete is so far a success… except, I am a spoiled rotten human and I can’t help but want MORE! Continue reading →

A Sudden Divorce

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It's splitsville

It’s splitsville for me and my float

My relationship with Felicity the Float has been somewhat well documented on this blog. But today I have a sad announcement – we will no longer be seen together. Continue reading →

A Tale of Two Swims

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Matilda the dog, swimming

Matilda offered to demonstrate some swimming to help me see how it should be done.

It was the worst of times, it was the best of times.  Yes in that order, sorry Charles Dickens.

Last week I did two swimming training sessions, as usual.  Ideally I should probably do more because swimming is definitely my weakest link, but I also have to squeeze in running, cycling, a mash-up session (which I have brought into the training mix earlier than I originally anticipated, following the disastrous first attempt) as well as strength training.  So basically I have found that for now, two swims is my limit.  Maybe when I’m good enough to do more mash-ups I’ll be able to increase the swimming because I’ll get my running and cycling done in one hit – stay tuned on that I guess.

[Incidentally, I did my second ever mash-up last week and the best way I could describe it would be to say that it was like I had turned into a chicken trying to climb a tree.  Leg coordination = non-existent. Approximate distance gained = negligible. Hilarity factor = medium. Oh who am I kidding, hilarity factor was high. There is muchos work to be done on this element of my triathlon training; it aint pretty.  Look out for a report after next week’s attempt.]

So anyway (last week, two sessions of swimming, stay focused Lauren) my first session of swimming was – how do you say? Sh*thouse. Continue reading →

The Great Pool Panic

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This post, although edited, originally appeared on Instagram where I started this blog.

what to wear for your first triathlon

Ah, swimming. Or should I say ‘ARGH! Swimming!’  If you go too far wrong, you can drown or get eaten by a shark – so it’s pretty important that a triathlete gets this bit right.  I am confident that I could breast stroke just about any distance, but I would be too slow (I know this because I timed myself, in a desperate bid to convince the planet that I could be the first triathlete to complete all swim sections doing breast stroke) Continue reading →