It’s the offseason for most of us triathletes and many of us have already hit the pool to train for open water season.
As much as I love the open water and love the freedom I feel when I’m in the water, the pool is the next best thing.
Swimming like a symphony underwater
The other day when I was swimming, training for my next triathlon at Alpha Wins in Sarasota, FL., I was listening to my tunes via Shokz and as the song was playing in my head, I started to think about breathing.
Breathing in the water is one of the hardest things to learn when you start out, but at this point, it comes pretty naturally for me. When I breathe in the water, it reminds me of when I played the flute back in high school. My lips stay perched and I breathe in and out through them while blowing bubbles in the water.
As my arms catch the water and pull it back as if I were a conductor in a marching band.
My legs flutter like the flutter sounds you hear from a violin, guitar, or flute.
I tend to move with the beat of the music. When I hear a slow tune, I go slow, real slow as if in slow motion, or “Adiago,” which means slow in Italian. (In music, it means a piece should be played at a slow tempo pace.)
And, when the music is upbeat and fast, I go “Allegro” or fast in music.
Timing
Interestingly, when you do the catch and pull, the timing needs to be perfect, just as in music. If it’s not, the piece will fail and so will your stroke.
I never realized how much swimming is like music until recently. But it really does make a lot of sense.
What are your thoughts? Comment below.