Old dog, new tricks …

I was 40 last year and I’ve never learned to swim.  Well, that’s not entirely true I could do about a width of breaststroke, just.  I’ve tried a number of times but have never quite managed to get the hang of it.  Part of the problem is I hate swimming pools, so it’s something of an effort to get me there at all.

I doubt I’ll get far in a triathlon if I can’t swim, so over the last few weeks I’ve been going for lessons at the local pool, sometimes, when I can’t think of an excuse not to.   However, it’s time to step it up a gear or I’ll never learn, so with that in mind, this weekend I’ve been twice.  Both times through a combination of swapping strokes and stopping for a rest at the end of each length I’ve just about managed to cover the required 16 length distance, the problem is it takes me over 30 minutes.  To put that in perspective, the slowest time from last year’s Derby triathlon was 20:26 so I’ve a way to go yet.

The good news is that I’m now swallowing a lot less of the pool than I was which does, at least, make the experience a bit less unpleasant.