Meeting new people, Building my Confidence, learning new tennis skills and having fun.
On Wednesday one of the members of staff asked if anyone wanted to be a part of a swimming competition.
The video you can see is of last years competition.
I felt like i wanted to give it a go and so i put my name down.
When I arrived just before 2pm On 04-02-17 I was overwhelmed and shocked to see so many people.
I was early so was not sure what was going off so i asked someone who said i have to wait for my captain to arrive and register us.
It was then i started to panic, i felt a pain in my chest as i then knew it was much bigger then i expected.
2 teams were representing Grantham Tennis club, me and 5 other people i think it was and the junior team.
we got changed, and out to the pool we went. My heart racing as i could see loads of people watching in the crowd and seeing all the teams that were there.
My anxiety was off the roof and i did not feel right being there, we got 2 lots of pictures took and i almost said look i can not do this, but tried to shut that feeling off.
We barley got time to talk and arrange things when a countdown was being called for us to get ready to start.
The first person was off and one of the other team members said this is a hour event you know.
I felt my heart race as i said you got to be joking.
I had not been swimming in over a year and whenever i did go it was just for fun.
This was it the test of a lifetime so far.
Everything i had been working on at the gym, my stamina, speed, strength was about to be put to the test.
The only thoughts in my head was i struggle at the best of time with running, how am i going to manage 1 hour of swimming relays as well as not letting the team down.
The objective was to swim to the other side tag a memeber to swim back and wait for someone to do the same to you.
The team with the most relays after a hour wins.
I shut all my feeling off took a deep breath and was ready to pounce on my first go.
Half a hour had passed when my body was falling me, pains in my chest, out of breath i was really struggling.
I did not want to let my team down and it could not end here for me after all the hard work and training i had put in at the gym over the last few months.
I pushed passed the pain for 10 more minutes.
You think oh a hour is not a lot but when you are doing a full length of the swimming pool swim every 1-2 minutes it starts to affects your body and take its toll.
With 20 minutes left i had to let my team members know i was taking a break and someone had to go in for me.
I had pulled a few muscles and swallowed a fair bit of water.
I am not amazing at swimming, i often can not get my head above the water hence the swallowing water.
Attention you have 10 minutes Remanding the announcer said.
Right Daniel get your act Together i said to myself this is it.
I pulled, i twisted i gave it my all, even though i was in so much pain.
overall we finished about 4 or 5 i am not sure, and that was out of 8 teams just on one day.
More teams had entered after us and even the day before.
I got out of the water, feeling very dizzy, my hearing mostly gone and just wanted to get home and relax.
I staggered home and as i reached a kfc which is near me i said to myself, go get yourself a drink.
I instead pushed through the pain to get home, relax and order a takeaway instead.
I had pains in my chest for a few hours but overall that day is a day i will remember for a very long time.
My will power is the only thing that kept me going and not my fitness.
It was a experience that i never expected, a experience that testing me and pushed my limits to beyond what i thought i could achieve.
Some of you might be reading this and go i bet i could do that it sounds so easy swimming for a hour.
Pff,, please, ok go do it then you will find your confidence high to start with but you will feel it half way into the event.
Its in a way a endurance race, ok speed counts to get the most relays but if you have never swam the full length of a pool there and back over 20-30 times in one hour, it can really trip you up.
I am not sure when and where the pictures of the event will be up but if i find them i will update this post so you can see.
I also Believe much like the last years video, there will be a video for this year.
As while swimming they were filming, in fact me being the clumsy idiot i am will be on there.
I was swimming back to tag my team mate as he took off quicker then expected and we bumped into each other, right at the time one of the people were filming, ahh silly me (:
I do Thank Grantham Tennis Club for letting me try it out, but i think if i ever did enter again next year i need to be ready, i need the fitness and the strength to be more up for it.
This is why i have been training so hard so that in April i can re join Grantham Running Club (:
I hope you Enjoyed This post, let me know if you have ever entered a competition of any sport, how did you find it, did you win or your team, what was the most challenging part of it all !!!
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