Social Training

Why is it every time I go to the pool I sit on the edge for at least 5 minutes contemplating getting in?

It's almost like a routine.

I feel the water.  Dangle my toes in.  Tell myself it feels cold. I hate being cold.

I swim between 3 and 4 times a week and I do this every . single . time.  Yeah.  I might need some professional help with that.

Moving on.

Triathlon is really a solitary sport, but still an incredibly social one as well.  A lot of my training is done with others, because it makes it fun and helps take my mind off the monotony.  Lets face it...swimming up and down staring at a black line can be boring.  And I'm far more likely to turn up to the pool when others are holding me accountable or I'm looking forward to catching up with friends.  Once we get in the pool we do actually get down to business and it makes the time go so much faster.

My swimming has definitely improved in the last 18 months and that is solely because 3 days a week every week, 52 weeks a year for the last year and a half I have turned up to coached swim practice with my team.  Now I am not super fast, but I am strong and consistent and a way better swimmer than when I started but now I'm at this strange crossroads.  It seems everyone else has the same idea as I had.  Swimming together is fun....so more and more people are turning up to practice.  The great side of this is I get to see lots of fun people...the down side is that the pool isn't getting any bigger.

To mitigate it coach added a second practice for beginner swimmers to try and make more room in the pool but the gaps were quickly filled by new swimmers.  The last few times I've swum I have had between 5 and 6 people in my lane....and this is a 20m pool. The downside ( and maybe the upside depending on your point of view) is that you never really get to swim at your own pace.
This is what it looked like last night...and this was taken before everyone got in the pool



So I have decided that despite the fact that I LOVE these swims, I am going to have to supplement them with some solo adventures to the pool.  Can you imagine how long I will be sitting by the pool trying to talk myself into getting in when I'm there by myself.  God help me!