Crystals Triathalon
For the last two years, at the start of the year at Fitzone, every member of the staff makes a goal that they would like to achieve in the year, something that challenges them and pushes them out of their comfort zone. Ideally something you’ve always wanted to do, but feel like it’s too big for you to achieve, something you put on the back burner.
At the start of last year, I wasn’t able to swim. I hadn’t done a length of the pool since I was about 14 in school where I couldn’t even get to the end without stopping
5 years down the track in 2018 and I obviously still couldn’t swim
Swimming was definitely going to be a challenge for me
Swimming was definitely out of my comfort zone!!!!!! 😬
Swimming was definitely something I would love to be able to do, but how would I possibly learn without being terrible to start with?
However, “Swimming” itself wasn’t so much that measurable. We always follow the SMART goal rule- Specific, measurable, achievable, realistic and time bound.
A triathlon for me was the best way to make swimming a smart goal! It would mean I’d have to be extra fit which was a bonus, I’d have to pick a date and event, and it would obviously have a distance that will be measurable
THE REST IS HISTORY! Doing a Triathlon was my big goal for 2018! 😁💪
Before anything else, I learnt to swim! I was lucky enough to have help from Graham Laing who is an amazing teacher! It definitely wasn’t a quick process. Swimming definitely requires its own fitness, and there is so much to think about! I can think of about 10 different techniques I would try to focus on, and as soon as you started focusing on one thing, another fell apart. It was definitely a step by step process
With becoming the manager of Fitzone here in Matamata near the end of last year, and without a triathlon booked yet, I lost focus on this goal and I definitely wasn’t at a good enough level with my swimming to enter a triathlon for 2018. Emma and the rest of the team kept me accountable at the start of this year, and the first thing I did was enter the event for April! This meant I had a very specific goal I needed to build up too. The Xterra Triathlon was based around the Blue Lake in Rotorua, the swim was 500m, the bike was 12km and the run was 5.5km
When the day came on the 6th of April, it’s fair to say I hadn’t been that far out of my comfort zone in a while. It’s also fair to say I took a few shortcuts with my training. I had only done one lake swim, but had known the blue lake beautiful and clear and shallow, and I was prepared for that! Plot twist, they had changed the course from when it had been done in the shallow in the past, it was super windy and the lake had white caps, and by the time everyone else had swum in front of me, it definitely wasn’t very clear 😟😱
I needed a bit of help in my swim, they have awesome help done there! Men in kayaks would find who was struggling and move with them as a way for them to have a break, just holding onto the front of the kayak. With my heart-rate at its maximum, and waves I wasn’t used too, swimming was pretty rough and pretty challenging.
Regardless of what happened though, I still completed the swim (and the rest of the triathlon), and even without that, I can say “last year I couldn’t swim, and now I can” which is pretty wicked!! 👌🏊♀️🤸♀️
I definitely recommend setting goals for yourself all the time! Especially ones that you’re not comfortable with, it makes it even more rewarding to achieve! I have also learnt from doing this that the process is so important! It might seem long and tedious, but when the big goal comes, the more prepared you are, the better!!
Massive thanks to Emma and Lennie and the team for helping me get there, and keeping me motivated and accountable! 😊
Onto new big goals for 2019 now!!!
