So I started the swimming part of my triathlon training by attending my
first swimming lesson at the MIT aquatic center. I have to say the
Z-center swimming pool is one of the best indoor swimming pools I have
ever swum in (but do keep in mind that I have not swum at many places). The chlorine level in the water is very low and you can
tell that the pool is well-maintained from the overall cleanliness.
I have always struggled with swimming since I self-taught myself to swimming when I was younger. However, I am usually athletic
enough that brute force had work well for me in the past but with the
upcoming triathlon, I need more efficiency; hence my motivation for the
swimming lessons to improve my swimming ability. From today's swimming drills, I think I
still have a lot to work on, especially breathing, fewer strokes, and
buoyancy. Right now, it takes me 26-30 strokes to swim 25m. It takes
Michael Phelps, the freestyle Olympian, 12 strokes to cover the same
distance. I still have a lot of strokes to reduce.
On other sports news, it looks like I am kicking ass in the SDM NCAA
bracket. However, Creighton is losing to West Virginia with 2.4 seconds
to go at this very moment. If Creighton loses to West Virginia, it can
seriously jeopardize my No. 1 standing... And darn it (1 minute later), Creighton did
lose. On the other hand, UCLA is losing too. Oh well, I got 11 out of
my 13 first round picks correct so far anyway.