Personal Narrative: My Goal Of Improving My 20 Mine Swim

It is hard to think that in one instant an entire years’ worth of dedication, hard work, and countless hours of training can come crashing down without a single ounce of control over the situation. I never thought this would be something that happened to me. I am careful, I do not take many risks, I do not engage in any dangerous behavior, and I try not to make any stupid decisions. Apparently in the summer of 2015 none of that mattered and life just decided to throw its biggest curveball of my short 15 years of existence.

My parents tell me that I took to swimming like... a fish takes to water. It is a safe place where I can float free of worries. Driven by passion and dedication, I decided to begin swimming competitively. Competitive swimming requires an intense level of determination and discipline. Forcing myself to get out of my warm bed at 5:30 in the morning to put on a still-slightly-damp swimsuit and stand in 40-degree weather waiting for practice to start. Putting up with limited lane space and irritating swimmers who think they are faster. Making a conscious effort to work on my stroke form, turns, touches, and techniques. The water becomes a whirlpool of injuries, losses, wins, friendships, enemies, and sickness. The water becomes home.

Imagine taking one step into a chlorine-filled arena. The humid air rushes onto your skin. An immense smile spreads across your face. This is because you know everything is about to change. In less than 24 hours you will be holding a glistening gold medal in your hand, standing up on the podium while the Star Spangled Banner blares for the whole world to hear and tears will stream down your face. Taking one look back at your coach, Teri McKeever, you realize if it wasn’t for her you would not be here. Graciously, you run up, swing your arms around her body, and embrace her in a powerful hug that says it all. Swimming is a very intense sport and consumes every second of a swimmer’s free time. However, putting in hundreds

During the spring of 2015, I missed all of the time cuts to make Speedo Sectionals, forcing me to compete in a much slower meet at the end of the season. There are few things I have experienced that are more crushing than trying my hardest and falling short of my goal. Despite the heavy disappointment, I used the opportunity to harden my resolve and use my strengths to my greatest advantage. Along with my coach’s help, I used my ability to think strategically and hone my technique through focus on the smallest details from how I would approach a swim mentally to how I would warm up. My coach had many important and useful suggestions and lessons from his past experience that required me to be an active learner that could apply his information.

During Phase 2 the physical training becomes more intense as do the qualifying times for the timed runs and the swims and obstacle courses become more demanding. The only similarity between these two phases is the four-mile ocean swim and the twelve-mile timed run. The next big hurdle in Phase 2 is the "Pool Comp". In Pool Comp you will be in full dive gear with a double hose regulator on the dive tanks and swim along the deep end of the Combat Training Tank. Soon, as swift as a shark attack, you are tossed around lie a rag doll and will have all of your gear and tanks torn from your body. The underwater aggressor ties the regulator hoses in knots. You are in an unstable position and could easily panic and swim for the surface. However, if that occurs, you will fail the test and be set back for a week.

As I look at my results for my fitness scores from 9th grade baseline tests to 10th grade posttest results I see a continuous improvement. I started with 1700 meters in my 12-minute run and continually increased my score to 2100 meters in the 10th grade posttest. For the 12-minute swim, I started with 17 wall touches, and I improved to 24 walls for my 9th grade posttest, and than went back down to 23 walls for my 10th grade pretest, and moved back up to 25 walls for my posttest. The front plank test I got a time of 1 minute 30 seconds for my 9th grade pretest, and increased to 2 minutes 45 seconds for my 9th grade posttest. I then decreased to 2 minutes for my 10th grade pretest, and back up to 2 minutes 30 seconds for my 10th grade posttest.

The school day ends, and while most students go home, swimmers still have one final practice to complete before heading home. In the time before practice starts, those who are participating in conference take a look at the psych sheet with all their times and competitors’ times with mixed emotions.

completing a run/swim/run event of 200m running, 50m swim and 200m running compared to an elite athlete competing in an ironman triathlon (3.8km swim, 180km cycle, 42km run there are several key differences between the two.

Over the course of the season, the researchers conducted individual sessions with the swimmers in which the value of performance goals and developed skills were discussed. The swimmers in the GST program learned how to complete exercises in the

Thesis/main topic – Learning how to swim is essential for being around water, it will help strengthen a person confidence, improve your physical fitness, and provide an area for stress release.

My life was changed this summer after my winter swim team received unexpected news. We were told that we would no longer be able to practice at the same pool as before, leaving all of the swimmers without a place to practice. Unfortunately, this meant that my team, the Tiger Sharks, would no longer exist. I was devastated and now forced to bring myself upon a new team with unfamiliar faces. On my new team the head coach, Coach Bill, was able to assist me in making this transition easier and he was also exceptionally inviting to me and the other new swimmers. His unique training allowed me to immensely improve my swimming.

“If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again.” Hearing the whistle, I immediately dove into the water. It was just a typical afternoon swim practice and the regional swim meet was almost here. We’ve been training and practicing all season for this event. Every afternoon after school we would go to the YMCA pool to practice. I’ve been working on long distance swimming, such as the freestyle 200 and 500. The night before the regional swim meet arrived, and I happened to get sick. I felt weak, stiff, and exhausted. There was no way I could do well in any event that was going to occur the next day. I took some medicine and had some tea to try and feel better. Nothing really helped. All there was to do was hope. The next day arrived… feeling sick

These random thoughts are simply my thought process regarding a complex topic, put into words. I am not going to draw any hard conclusions or provide concrete recommendations…just some food for thought on swimming nutrition.

physical stamina and fitness are key, you also need to cultivate the right mindset.These days should include ruck marches and running for a set period of time. A half hour is a good starting point with a break every five minutes to do squats and calisthenics, says Smith. Throughout the training, running and swimming should both be goal-based, with a good score on the SEAL entrance exam as the benchmark.

In order to acquire a more advanced knowledge on training programs, throughout this term our class has been studying the ‘Training Principles’ to help improve ourselves in the sport of Aquathlon as we are to perform a 2km swim and