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I have a confession to make. I hate swimming.
Not splashing-around-with-the-kids swimming. I love that. I’m talking about stroke/kick/gasp/repeat swimming. It sucks. But a few years ago I decided that it would be cool to be able to refer to myself as a “triathlete.” And, by definition, that meant I had to swim. And it’s absolutely been worth it. I still hate swimming, but I do it in order to get on to the parts I really like. (Although, as I’m sure Brandon would point out, I could just skip it altogether and call myself a "duathlete.")
Here’s the deal though: If you’ve ever toyed with the idea of attempting a triathlon, there’s one coming up that looks like a PERFECT starter event.
The swim is indoors.
No mud. No seaweed. No fears of hidden Northerns or snapping turtles or escaped alligators. Indoors means swimming in a pool. No freezing-cold water or awkward wetsuits. A pool means lane lines to follow. No pausing to check your location and discovering that you’ve veered 45 degrees off course (and there’s a volunteer in a kayak desperately chasing you down). Swimming in lanes means floating lane lines. If you REALLY get tired, just stop and grab the line. You’re not going to drown. Swimming in lanes also means a manageable number of people swimming with you. No elbows thrown. No goggles kicked off.
Plus, the swim is short.
It’s a quarter-mile long. In the swimming world, that’s 450 yards. (Don’t tell that to track people. Not sure how it’s 400 in one and 450 in the other. Must be a “nautical miles” thing.) That’s 9 laps. That’s 18 times across the pool. And, while right now that might sound like a lot, I’m here to tell you that it IS something you can do.
This race seems a little underpublicized. At least I’d never heard of it before. It’s small. They don’t have many people signed up. And it’s local. So it’s really easy to get to.
The distances are all so short that you can make just about anything work. Not much of a cyclist? It’s only 11.7 miles. Not a big runner? Come on; it’s only 5K. And if you’re not into ANY of those things…what are you doing on this blog? Really.
I think you should do it. You know you could. And if that’s not enough pressure, let’s try this: My mom’s signed up. Now don’t get me wrong. My mom’s awesome. But let’s face it; these days she’s just one careless teenage date away from being a great-grandma. And she’s going to be a "triathlete." What’s your excuse?
http://www.isd47.org/schools/saukrapids-ricehighschool/whatshappening/hsnews/index.php
~ Skoog
