Meet Faye. A year ago, she was afraid of the water, and could not swim. She did not let that hold her back from completing her first Triathlon. She got the coaching she needed, put in the work and conquered her fear of water since childhood. She actually swam the course backstroke. Faye has shown that determination, and triathlete spirit. Congrats to Faye, and read her inspiring report below.
I had a blast! The event took place on Sunday and it was a sprint triathlon which entailed a 800m pool swim, a 10 mile bike ride and then a 5km run. I’d chosen this particular event because it’s local to me but mainly because the swim was in the pool – this was because when I signed up for this event I was unable to swim. I’ve always hated swimming – my mother insisted it was the best form of exercise and since it was an essential survival technique, I should just get on with it. But I never did – I was always terrified of drowning and crucially, I never learned to float or to tread water. My husband tried again with me on holiday many years later – after some frantic flapping and splashing, we gave up and I retired to the beach while he swam on himself! Once I’d signed up for the triathlon I then visited my local pool and purchased a block of adult-only swimming lessons. My first lesson was conducted in the kid’s pool but before long, I’d graduated to the ‘big pool’ where my coach helped me learn how to float and to tread water. Before long, I was managing a front crawl (of sorts) and finally completed my first ever length of the pool!
First Time Triathlete 