Yesterday was a great day for our club. Our student Olga finished her first Olympic distance triathlon. One of her coaches Anna was there with her, another one Oxana was following the process online, so now we want to share with you our conversation just minutes after her finish.
Anna: – OK, Olga, you just finished the Olympic distance of triathlon, how do you feel about it?
Olga: – I feel amazing, I think it is one of the best things I have done in my life.
Anna: – Will you do this again next year?
Olga: – Absolutely!
Anna: – What was the most difficult part for you?
Olga: – The hard part is to not start crying, to not get emotional, not because it’s too hard, because you can do it, but cause of all this people around, all the volunteers who are there spending Sunday for u, cheer for you, all this kids with parents who come there to cheer for the mommy. It’s just overwhelming!
Anna: – Were you expecting, two years ago, when you started to swim with us, that in two years you would finish triathlon Olympic distance in open water, in suit with sixteen degrees water-
Olga: – No, not really.
Oxana: – I have a question: Do you remember your first time in the pool, when you came to the first coaching session for breaststroke? Can you compare how you felt and how you feel now?
Olga: – It was a very very long time ago the first time I made a breast swim and the next Oxana told me that it was not actually breast swim, so i can compare with first session with Oxana, then I would never believe that this is possible but it was so!
Anna: – What would you wish or advise to the students who just came as beginner and try to swim their first fifty meters in the pool and try to get over their fear of water?
Olga: – To train hard and to believe that you will get there! It is the most difficult part of any newbie, especially in swimming, you just feel that it is not happening, you don’t move your arms and you don’t have a breath, you feel it is not happening, but then it is just happening and you get there, you just have to keep trying and believe in yourself!
Anna: – What is the most difficult technic, crawl or breaststroke?
Olga: – To be honest I still think that I have problems with a breaststroke but crawl is no problem.
Anna: – Crawl is your favorite?
Olga: – Crawl is the best!
Anna: – Why?
Olga: – Because it goes so fast and then if you can catch this wave, and if you can catch the propulsion and you do it right, then it feels that the water is pulling you, not you doing some effort but that’s the water that is pulling and get you there!
Oxana: – How much did you train for the Olympic distance, like how many times swimming, how many times biking etc?
Olga: – That’s really hard to say but the last month I’ve been training at least five/six times per week and at least two sessions with swimming and then the rest, depending, it could have been one brick and then the rest the swim and run or bike and run.
(A brick workout refers to the stacking of two disciplines during the same workout, one after the other with minimal to no interruption in between)
Anna: – Have you done bricks?
Olga: – Yeah, actually a lot of them.
Anna: – Did you train transition zones?
Olga: – Yes and no, I trained to take off my wet suit in the pool several times then I went to “try triathlon” every Tuesday in Sjöhistoriska, and I made the whole one 2 times, and this was very pedagogical, this is a must which can can recommend for anyone who want to do Olympic triathlon.
Anna: What is the next?
Olga: Maybe “Ironman”(An Ironman Triathlon is one of a series of long-distance triathlon races organized by the World Triathlon Corporation (WTC), consisting of a 2.4-mile (3.86 km) swim, a 112-mile (180.25 km) bicycle ride and a marathon 26.22-mile (42.20 km) run, raced in that order and without a break. It is widely considered one of the most difficult one-day sporting events in the world).
Maybe not next year but in two years more, the only thing which i would change in this competition is that i need to train more so it’s up to me!
Anna:– Are you happy with your result?
Olga: – Yes, I am absolutely happy (crying)…