If I can't swim - how will I ever race?

Although I had spent months that summer learning how to run and getting back to riding on my 25 year old steel bicycle - my triathlon journey officially began on a cool morning on the 20th of September 2012.  I arrived at the YMCA at 5:40AM for the very first swim practice of my life.  To say that I was apprehensive is an understatement.  Up until that month I had never swam more than the length of a pool, was relatively scared of putting my face in the water.  I was both embarrased by this fact and excited by the prospect of taking on such a challenge.

My reality was that I was capable of treading water, but I was equally as scared of making a fool of myself as I was of the seemingly real possibility that I would never be able to swim at all.  I had put the idea of swimming in a race very far from my mind.

In preparation for the Triathlon Swim program at the YMCA, I had decided weeks before to extend my research to the many online learn to swim resources available.  I watched videos on YouTube and read article after article.  Each day I would go to the pool and experiment with the drills I had seen.  A few weeks later, much to my relief, I was able to move across the pool in a front crawl position.  It was not pretty at all, and utterly exhausting - but I had a start.  I remember telling my wife with a hint of excitement that "I think I may be able to do this".

This notion would be put to the test quite a few times in the weeks ahead as I struggled desperately to move back and forth across the pool at a fraction of the pace of the other participants - struggling to make even the smallest improvements in either my form, speed or swim fitness.  The celebrations were few and far between.  I got minimal feedback from the coaches, as there was so much to fix.  They likely expected a higher minimum swim standard and were not able to spend much time fixing major issues in body position and overall technique.  Surviving the one hour swim was extremely difficult.  I swallowed water, felt incompetent and was lost in swim coach jargon most of the time.  But, despite it all - I didn't give up.  I attended 80% of the practices and continued to do technique research online and extra swimming at lunch whenever I could. I'm sure it wasn't pretty, but on January 29, 2013 I swam my first continuous 750 meters - the necessary Sprint Triathlon distance.  It had taken 5 months of focused effort, but I finally let the idea of swimming in a race creep back into my mind again.  Perhaps I could do this.