My New Baby!

 

 

This morning after months of not too forceful coaxing, I managed to get somebody to come and meet me at the pool for, at her request, a few tips on her swimming. This is a woman who a have not yet known for a year. We got acquainted because a mutual friend who lives near me and is also her hairdresser recommended that she contact my husband and I when she was planning to take part in her first marathon. She was already running but nothing too long. We got in contact by phone and I invited her to come to our home to talk about her running and give her any help and advice that we could. She came to meet us, we talked and she took in all the help that we could layer on her. She came out with me for a run one day which was a lovely way to get to know each other better.

 

We became Facebook friends and so got to know each other better still and continued to use private messages to keep in touch. We, Steve and I, are very busy and she is a very busy person too. She has a family to look after and works as a police officer, so finding time for herself if not easy as all working mothers know.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

She still gradually built up her running and nervously took her place on the start line at her first marathon. She also found herself at the finish line and was happy to have achieved such a great goal.

 

Her running is still going great guns and she enjoys it very much, when she can fit it into her busy lifestyle but she is a quite determined lady. Each time we have spoken by phone, text, email or Facebook I have thrown in an invitation now and again to come and join us in our club swim session on Saturday evening in the local pool in Littlehampton.

 

 

 

She doesn’t live that far from us just a half a dozen miles. She made all sorts of excuses that she wasn’t good enough at swimming, that she would feel intimidated in a group like that. I have just kept offering to meet her on our own at the pool sometime to judge for myself if her swimming was as bad as she insisted.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

She is not even as old as I was when I took up triathlon and she is already a fit person who looks strong and runs faster than I do. It’s no good being too forceful with encouragement, so I just threw in reminders that I was happy to help any time we could both find a few spare moments.

 

 

 

 She let me know when she started going to her local pool to re-start up her slightly rusty swimming on her own. She let me know how it went.

 

 

She let me know when she had done 40 lengths in a session. BANG. Clang-clangy-clangy-clang went the bells in my head and flashy-flashy- flash went to lights in my eyes. Forty lengths eh? Forty lengths when you have not done any swimming of any note in years. I responded with a request to meet and soon, that was only a bit short of “See me in my office!”   I asked he she would please come swimming with me before she went on attempting to train herself and maybe start practicing any old bad habits from the past.
 

 

To my utter astonishment, she jumped right in at the deep end one day and sent me a message that she wanted to do a triathlon and would come for a swim session with me. That happed this morning. She turned up at my 6.30 am session that I know is challenging enough in itself but she is a police officer by profession so acquainted enough with a little discipline. Once in the water I asked her to just do a couple of lengths so I could see her swimming. She looked terrified and quickly muttered “Breast stroke”?  I asked to see her front crawl that she had been working.

 

 

 

Isn’t it a shame that confidence cannot be bought in the supermarket! Here was a woman apologising before hand, when as it turned out, she has a pretty good idea about front crawl and bashed out two lengths of the 25 metre pool arriving back panting slightly but I suspected only out of nerves. A quite respectable front crawl; face in the water, breathing every fourth stroke.

I so enjoyed getting her to try this little change and that little change and I could see immediately that this lady will be a strong swimmer and soon. It pleased me so much to see her lap up the things I was saying and try her darnedest to make some tiny adjustments. By the end of an hour we were both very happy. I asked her what distance triathlon she wanted to aim at next year and she jumped back and her eyes opened wide as she said firmly “Oh only a sprint distance”.

 

 

  

We went toward the showers, (she actually went into the men’s shower room by mistake as a first time visitor to this pool). Funnily enough she knew one of the swimmers there who is also a police officer, who has also offered to loan her a bike. Washing hair and getting dried afterwards in the ‘Ladies’ changing room I told her that quite honestly, she could do a sprint distance tomorrow because she can already swim 750 metres without too much difficulty, adding the old chestnut that is, well, sort of true: Anyone can ride a bike and she is already a strong runner.

 

 I made a suggestion of a suitable starting point for an event and said I would come and do it too for back up. Next stop will be a safe test ride on a racing bike on the turbo trainer to try out the gears and bike shoes with cleats to fasten the feet to the pedals. 

I hope that she has gone home happy and less nervous and I have gone home bursting with pleasure and so pleased with my new baby!

 

 

 

Here is my friend Christine after a fun run with her daughter. 

Photos today are mostly taken at the race that I have suggested she take a shot at. Eton Sprints. Rowing facility for the swim, traffic free bike ride around the lake as is the run.