Facing My Fear: From Learning to Swim to finally Taking on a Triathlon in 2023

Hey Galera, in my recent post about "Learning How to Swim," I talked about how I decided to face

my fear of deep water this year. What did I do to motivate myself? I signed up for a triathlon, a goal I've been thinking about for two years, and swimming was the big roadblock.

I used to tell my friends I was thinking of doing a duathlon because, truth be told, I couldn't swim, and I thought I would never learn. But this year, I said, "Enough!" and took the challenge seriously. The past years of doing things consistently and seeing results showed me that I just need to keep going and do it.

In 2023, I found the courage to do that, and doing a 42km marathon for the first time helped to create even more confidence that I could achieve anything I put my mind to.

I went all in by signing up for the Vancouver Sprint Triathlon on September 4th. Training was a mix of tough and fun – a 20km bike ride and a 5km run. While I tried to get faster on the bike and run, getting better at swimming was my main goal. Picture me hitting the pool up to four times a week – that's how dedicated I was, and honestly, I loved the process. I love the fact that I would spend my summer afternoons at the outdoor pool – such a thing is very new for me.

As race day approached, the weather got a bit chilly with cloudy skies. The cold made me a bit more nervous, but deep down, I felt ready to face whatever came my way. With fear or not, I was going to do it.

On race day morning, I was up super early and, as usual, afraid of missing my alarm, feeling those pre-race jitters. A friend came by to help with last-minute prep, and off we went to the race venue. I stood in line, got my kit, slapped those race numbers on, and changed into my race gear, including the wetsuit.

Now, when the swimming part started, reality hit me – I had no clue how to handle those waves without swallowing half the ocean, but I swam through the entire 750 meters almost without stopping. If I stopped, I was swallowing water, ahaha. I didn’t practice swimming with waves.

I gotta say, I'm pretty proud of that. My brain tried to trick me, telling me to take more breaks because, hey, I was tired. But nope, not falling for it.

With the swimming challenge behind me, the rest of the race became a mix of fun and giving it my all in biking and running. The initial fear turned into this awesome sense of achievement, and I would say, finalizing off a journey from learning how to swim to testing my courage, determination, and self-discovery, but it is just the beginning. So much to learn and improve.

Now I've signed up for the Ironman 70.3 in Victoria next May: 1.9km swimming, 90km biking, and 21km running. As I increased the distance, I increased my chills and nervousness, and I love this feeling of uncertainty. I know that achieving that is all on me, myself, and I.

As 2024 starts, my real training begins as well. I have 5 months and 26 days to get ready! And I'm sooo ready.