Facing your fears

Facing your fears to get where you want to go. 

During the last few days I have had an exchange of emails from a man who had told his,  (our) massage therapist that he wanted to try a triathlon. 

Hi

I’ve been given your details by Vicky Vickery who’s giving me massages.

I’m 57 years old, a stone overweight, and not particularly fit.  I want to sort myself out and have set a target of doing a triathlon next Sep/Oct.  Vicky mentioned that you and or the Tuff Fitty club would be good in helping me achieve this goal.  I’d appreciate hearing from you.

 

G 

 

Hi G,

Why not come along to Littlehampton pool on Saturday.

We have a club session just two lanes (Animals and real people).

If you want to have a chat with Steve and I, we can come down a little earlier to meet.

The session starts at 5pm.

It’s not as scary as the new clown menace.

You will also be able to meet people from Tuff Fitty; their session follows ours at 6pm.

Both clubs are very friendly and you are not asked to join until you have given us a test for a few weeks.

Then you can choose which club to join.

Because they are on poolside for their own session, some of the Tuff Fitty coaches will swim with us before their own session.

That's how friendly it all is.

Hope to see you

Daphne

 

Hi Daphne,

Thanks for your prompt reply.  The 5pm session sounds great.  I’m a rubbish swimmer and definitely need help with my technique.

Regards,

G

 

This new man G, said he had done marathons and biking but it was the swimming that needed attention and he did want to do a triathlon. When he appeared on poolside he did not have any goggles and that alone spoke volumes, because it meant that he did not put his face in the water.

Steve loaned him one of his own pairs and sent him along to me because he knows that I love beginners.

I asked him to have a bit of a warm up swim so that Steve and I could see how we could help. He did a little breast stroke with his head well up and his toes close to the floor of the pool because of the upright position. He swam about half way down to pool looking a bit nervous and then came back.

I thought I might as well cut to the chase and asked him how his front crawl was. And he told me that it was really awful. I chatted to him for a while and went through a few demonstrations before asking him to show me how awful the front crawl was so I could see where to start making it less awful. He looked horrified as I thought he would but with me adding that I just wanted to see four or five strokes to start, he face his demons and plunged in and did six or seven very fast strokes but with his face in the water. Of course he got that far without actually breathing. He stood up and walked back, crimson. I chatted a bit of stroke guidance with him including showing him how I would like him to blow into the water and turn his head to breathe, until he looked a normal colour again. I told him that I’d like him, in his own time to try that four of five times again but much slower and less strokes and try out the blowing into the water. 

I left him in the next lane to me where I could see him under the water while I swam.

He bravely did what I asked for a while, each time stopping until he was breathing normally again. While he was doing that, Steve came along and hit me on the head with the long stick he sometimes carries. “Your man is not exhaling” he said, (Steve misses nothing). I said that actually he was, a little bit, as I could see under the water, but obviously not enough”. 

I went back and got ‘My Man’ got him out of the water and walked him down to the deep end. I explained to him what we were going to try. He sat on the side and I showed him what I wanted. I dropped under the water and blew out, sculled my hands and came to the surface again and again. Then before he slid in a showed him that actually the deep end of this pool is not very deep, because if I drop to the bottom to touch my toes on the floor, my head was only a little way under the water.  

I positioned him so that he was very close to the lane rope and cornered by the wall. I told him to hold the wall if he wanted to, or the lane rope, or grab me. We started the breathing exercise doing five dips at a time and rest. We had done some push off and glide practices in the shallow end earlier. I pointed out how well he had done for his first shot at all this in a strange pool with strange people. Told him that if he did what he had practiced at the shallow end but starting at this end, that in four of five stokes he would be able to stand on his feet with his head above the water and showed him that was so while he stayed by the wall. 

How about giving it a shot? You will swim right up close to the lane rope and I will be by your side and I am a life saver. Ok? Ready? In your own time. Five or six strokes. Slowly.

He did about ten and I could see that he was exhaling into the water but he got to the centre of the pool and looked pretty pleased about it too. 

I told him that was not going to ask anything more for this week and if he wanted he could stay and do a few more practices. He knows his stroke will need a lot of work but seemed happy. He thanked me and shook my hand and asked to join our club but I said again that I’d like him to get to know us first, then join of he still wanted to. I pointed out another club member who when he first came refused to put his face in the water or go to the deep end and now he does Ironman races. 

Facing your fear and doing it anyway is fantastic from anybody and this man was not twenty one.  I was as happy as he was. He is firm that he wants to do triathlon. 

I made contact with him today by email: 

I hope that you are recovering from your first swim set with us and that you will come and join us again.

You did very well and made massive progress from your starting point.

To reflect on your main achievements;

First try at Front crawl.

Major progression with the breathing.

Push off and glide went well.

Swam roughly half a length front crawl breathing into the water a number of times.

Swam from the deep end to a standing point mid pool. 

Great stuff, well done. 

Daphne

I just had an email back: 

Many thanks for your help and encouraging comments.

It all makes sense, need to calm things down and put all your advice into practice.

Already looking forward to next week's session!!

 

I am so pleased, I love doing this, I love this sport.