Open Water Swimming Success!

The end of the swim. That's me with my arms up high-fiving and hugging.

Today was a big day for me. I woke up at 5:30 a.m. and could not go back to bed. My stomach was turning because I knew in a few short hours I would be on my way to the beach and facing one of my fears. Swimming in the ocean.

I'm not going to lie I was scared so scared and nervous that I had to hug and kiss my kiddos about 10 thousand times before I felt I could leave, they thought I was crazy. When my husband told my son that I was going to swim in the ocean and not the pool this morning he looked at me and said "I hope a shark doesn't get you". So much for not thinking about things that live in the ocean.

I got in the car with my friend and we started to drive she kept telling me that it was all going to be okay and that I could do this. I just started crying. I cried for about five minutes and then felt much better. I was still nervous and scared but I think the cry helped release some stress. (Thanks K for putting up with my teary self.)

We got to the beach and it was beautiful and peaceful. There were already people in the water swimming, paddle boarding and kayaking. The waves were calm and the water was super calm. Which helped me feel much better.

We met up with the rest of our group and got our wetsuits on. Wetsuits are really tricky to get on. Luckily I wasn't the only first timer we had one other person today trying this for the first time. That helped me feel better too.

Going into the water was a little more scary than I thought it would be but lucky for me my friend Tiffany brought her husband out with us. He is a great swimmer and really good at instructing and keeping you calm. He helped us get out past the waves told us to get under them and got us to the first buoy without any major panic attacks.

This was right after a wave.
I tried to go under but hesitated and got hit a little harder than if I would have went under.

Once we got to this buoy I felt good. It was great to feel how buoyant the wetsuit was and that I definitely wasn't going to drown. Plus if I had to I could have probably floated back to shore. We swam all four buoys stopping for breaks in between. It's harder to swim in open water. 25 yards felt like 50. I'm sure I will feel better over time.

I think we look pretty cool coming out of the water!

I had a really hard time putting my face in the water. It was really cold so cold it would take my breath away and I would feel my chest start to constrict. I got better at putting my face in on our way back. Tiffany's husband stayed by my side and every time I came up for a breath I could hear him saying "Good job" "Good" and that helped me feel relaxed. I kept my eyes closed underwater. I tried one time to open them and felt nervous so I shut them quickly.

I ended up swimming all four buoys and back which is about 1/2 mile. My original goal was just to get to the 1st or 2nd buoy.

I am extremely proud of myself! YAY ME!! YAY to our other first timer!! She looked great. And a big thank you to the whole group for their encouragement and support! Thank you Kim for all the awesome pictures!

So if you haven't been swimming in the ocean because you are scared please just give it a try. It was a great experience and I can't wait to go again. If I can get out there so can you!!

Our group minus two, one in the water and one behind the camera. The boy on the end was amazing he did this swim without a wetsuit and I believe he did three or more laps, future Ironman for sure!

Easy swim workout

Last night I decided that I was ready to ease back into my normal fitness schedule. For the most part I am feeling better and done with my medicine. I still feel a little tired but planned on taking some naps this week to give myself extra rest. Who doesn't love a nap?

So my swim workout was fairly easy. Here's what it looked like:

800 meter swim workout


200 meter --warm up
200 meter --paddles
200 meter -- fins
200 meter-- cool down

I've mentioned paddles before but didn't really explain them in any detail. Probably because I am still very new to swimming and I'm learning the details myself. I can tell you that I love using my paddles and that my deltoids have more definition because of them.

I use them to help improve my stroke, they will pop off your hands if your hand enters the water wrong. I know my stroke has improved some because when I first started using them they popped off all the time. It was frustrating. Now they stay on for the whole time. There are many different uses and many types of paddles. I found this great video on You Tube about paddles. Take a look and you will see that most people can benefit from the use of paddles in their swim training.



I bought mine from SwimOutlet.com. This site is my favorite place to buy my swim gear I still haven't found a place that sells name brand swim gear at a better price.

Here are the swim paddles and pull buoy that I use:

ClubSwim Power Swim Paddles

Speedo Pull Buoy

**I am an affiliate with swimoutlet.com. If you click on the above link and purchase an item I will make a small percentage from the sale. Even if I wasn't an affiliate I would still recommend them. :)

Lap Swimming

Need to get your laps done with the kiddos in tow? Bring a friend with kids and trade off swimming. My neighbor came up with this great solution to getting your swimming done with the kids. We headed to the pool with a three year old and almost one year old ready to conquer some laps. We took turns watching the girls while the other one did laps, my daughter (3 year old) played in the kiddie pool while her daughter (1 year old) hung out in her stroller. 

This was easy to do mainly because we just had two kids to keep an eye on while the others were in school.  It was a great swim.

Here is what we did:

200 meter - Warm up

200 meter - Paddles

200 meter - Fins

200 meter - Cool down

Not a big workout but a small workout is better the none. Plus I know we both pushed it with speed trying to get done quickly before the kiddos decided they were done.

The best thing about the workout was that later when my daughter and I were showering she started flexing her muscles and told me that: 

"We are girls and we are strong and we loooove exercising!!".

Her words have played through my mind for the last couple hours and I can't stop smiling. Teaching my children how to live healthy, active and a balanced life is a goal of mine. I have learned that the best way to teach them this is to live it myself. They soak up everything you do and sometimes tend to tune out what you say.

Do you have a great idea when it comes to working out with kids in tow?

Buy good swim gear cheap!!

Do you ♥ SwimOutlet.com too?

When I first started swimming laps at the beginning of summer I realized I needed some basic equipment. A friend of mine recommended swim outlet, I am soo grateful she did because I have saved a lot of money buying my gear online. I didn't have anything and if I would of had to pay full price for each item I wouldn't have them.


I received an email yesterday that they have just started a twitter account and for the next 10  9 days they are giving away $100 dollar gift cards, all you have to do is become a follower to be in the running for the giveaway!!


Here are the details: