Third Time Trial of Twenty Thirteen

Morning morning at the pool was time trials. This is the third time we have done them since getting back in the pool after Christmas break.

Each time is the same - half of us get out of the pool and time the other half who will swim. Then we switch. The distance is also the same which is helpful for comparison. We swim 3 x 300m with two minutes off in between to recover.

The first time we did them, I swam the three 300m in: 5:12 5:21 and 5:15.

The second time we did them, I swam them in 5:09 5:12 and 5:15.

Monday, I was set to do them again. I had forgotten to check the times from the previous two trials before going so I really didn't know what I was trying to beat. It's kinda nice in a way because the pressure is off. Just swim hard and fast and then find out later how I did.

Christine looked me in the eye before we started and said "I want you do to flip turns. It will make you faster." I responded with "I can do flip turns or I can go fast - you're not going to get both".

I compromised by saying that I would do flip turns for the first 300m and then push off the wall on the next one to compare.

I was the second group to go and I was swimming at the same time as Chantal and Leslie - both fast swimmers - faster than me.

My goal - hang on as long as possible before losing sight of them.

"GO!!"

I swam 25m, hit the wall and flipped. I was panting already and, you guessed it, slowed down during the flip and, by the time I was headed back towards the wall, I had lost sight of the two other swimmers. At 50m I flipped again. This time I missed the timing AND I was panting so, by the time I flipped, I was completely out of air and had nothing left to blow out my nose as I did a somersault.

Great. Now I'm panting and choking AND feel like someone rubbed wasabi on my brain.

The hell with this! I threw the flip turns out the window and just pushed off the wall. I sped up immediately and managed, by the end of the 300m, to almost catch Chantal.

5:13.

The second 300m, I didn't even waste my time trying to flip. I just pushed off hard every time I touched the wall. I kept pace with Chantal and finished two seconds behind her in 5:08. Woot!!

The third, and final 300m, I kept pace with both ladies for the first 100m when (gasp!) I actually started pulling ahead. In fact, I pulled ahead and stayed ahead for the last 200m. I felt tired but not in a bad way and I pushed hard at a speed I thought I could handle for the entire distance.

I hit the wall first in 5:06.

First time trial
5:12 5:21 5:17
Second time trial
5:09 5:12 5:15
Third time trial
5:13 5:08 5:06

Getting faster little by little AND getting stronger too. This time I got faster with each 300m rather than getting worn out and slowing down.

I love time trial days! They make me feel so FAST.