Cross training : Swimming

I love swimming. When I was a kid I was a competitive swimmer. I was also a lifeguard; taught swimming lessons; was a SCUBA diver; and participated in a myriad of water sports. But I got out of doing all those fun things while raising children and working full time. I did swim occasionally, but not in any serious way, until today. Not that it was that serious, yet…

Here’s how this all started. In December of last year, I ran with a friend who is training for an Ironman event. During the post run coffee, she was telling me about her training program. Running, swimming and cycling for kilometres at a time… I was exhausted just listening to her! I mentioned that I actually loved swimming and was quite good at it. She practically had me signed up for a tri event with her… Um, not going to happen – especially not an Ironmam. However, she mentioned that the local pool has 50 meter lanes open every Tuesday and Thursday morning so she suggested that perhaps some day we could swim after a run. I was on board with that, added it to my New Year’s Resolution list, and today we actually did it.

This morning, five of us did a beautiful 9k run through Bowen Park and Buttertubs Marsh and then my friend and I headed over to the pool. Now I must tell you, I had not swum in a pool – except hotel pools for years, so I was resigned to buying all new gear. In checking for my swimsuit the night before, I discovered I had an oh-so-chic black Speedo tucked in my drawer. I had no recollection of buying it. I’ll bet it had not been worn more than a couple of times, so it was still in good condition AND it still fit! Well, that was a good start, so all I needed was a cap and some new goggles. I picked them up at the swim shop at the pool and then committed myself to a 10 swim pass and 10 locker tokens. No excuses now.

In the water we went and seriously the first 50 meters were the hardest! But I did it and finished off 19 more lengths to complete a kilometre in the pool. Wow, that felt great! Swimming is so good for upper body movement, flexibility and strength. Plus it can be a great cardio workout (I was amazed that I was still sweating after showering, dressing and leaving the building).

One thing that came back to me from a great coach I had so many years ago, was how important kicking is when doing the front crawl. It is your propulsion unit and keeps your body streamlined while lessoning drag. All these parts combined make swimming a fabulous and wonderful cross training exercise for runners. If you are not a swimmer, I’d advise that you get some gear (it is pretty minimal), take some lessons, and get swimming!

I’m so happy I discovered my passion for swimming again after so many years. Who knows a short triathlon might actually be in my future.