Swim Squad Awards: The Punch The Air Moment
Sometimes, a performance makes you stop in your tracks and punch the air in delight.
At least it does with me!
We’ve mentioned this before, but we had loads of great performances this year. From athletes at the front of races, winning medals and trophies, to athletes breaking barriers and setting new personal best times, to athletes starting out on their multisport adventure.
We’ve mentioned some of them in our previous Awards posts.
A few other performances definitely got me up on my feet, raising that fist high into the air!
Here are a few of them …
Marc
Ironman race day. We’re all following trackers aren’t we? I have a good idea what I think an athlete will do on race day – based on their training and previous race performances. I can usually be quite accurate on the swim times.
Not this time.
As Marc exited the water, his Ironman swim tracker stopped at 1 hour and 20 minutes, 23 minutes quicker than his swim the previous year.
Punch the air, goosebumps, this one had everything! A marvellous effort.
Carmel
This wasn’t a performance. This was a moment after a 1-1 session.
Carmel, who is a brilliant runner (3 hour marathon runner), couldn’t actually swim earlier this year. She plucked up the courage to come for an open water 1-1 session – and with great determination, actually became a swimmer that day. She was that delighted, she had seen enough progress in those 60 minutes, she decided to become a triathlete – and entered Ironman Bolton 70.3!
Get in!
‘100 Metre Night’
Again, not a race performance but a training session.
After a great summer of training and racing, our swimmers were looking brilliant in the water. Having seen how good swimmers looked in one session, we included a 100m time trial in our very next session. I knew what was coming, but I wanted the swimmers to experience it and to feel it. We set the session up with a warm up and a pre-main set that got the engines purring.
Go!
Almost everybody in the pool hit new personal best times. Some by big, big margins.
The delight. The smiles. The buzz. The moment.
I will remember that session for a long time!
Paul
Paul isn’t a regular Swim Squad swimmer, but an athlete who approached me five weeks before his first Ironman, terrified he wasn’t going to be able to swim the 3.8k. After an open water 1-1 and some advice and guidance, Paul raced his first Ironman, completing his swim in a calm and composed 1 hour and 28 minutes!
Yes, Paul!
Paul not only completed his swim – and his first Ironman – but actually enjoyed the swim!
“Even on the start line before the swim I felt relaxed and ready to take on whatever came, thinking of your advice of taking my time, just long easy strokes to begin with and to make sure I breathe to the same side rather than bilateral until I was happy.”
“And it worked 👍🏻.”
“I’m even contemplating another full distance 😊”
Sara
I’ve worked with Sara for two of her marathon performances this year – Belfast and Dublin. The first one – Belfast – will stick with me. We had been working for months and months on getting Sara ready for the London Marathon. Less than one week away from race day, Sara messaged me.
“Hi Bryan – bit of an update. I’ve had a complete shocker. Emailed London to find out why I hadn’t got a start time and apparently I hadn’t completed my payment so haven’t got a place. I mustn’t have pushed the final pay button.”
Argh!
“I’ve managed to get a place in Belfast on the 30th (week later) so training not all in vain. Trying to tell myself Belfast will be as good as London (having done both before I know it’s definitely not!)”.
Well, Sara avoided the TV on London Marathon day, enjoyed the unexpected extra week’s taper … and managed a 10 minute personal best in Belfast! What could have been a disaster resulted in a brilliant 3.36 for her marathon.
Sara went on to beat this time in Dublin later in the year, running a super 3.32.
Punch. The. Air.
Matt
Not many people swim the English Channel. Not many people who aspire to do it ask for your help. Not many people who do do it, have no real swim background. Most of summer, whilst I was coaching our open water swim groups, I would look over and see Matt, lap after lap, putting in the work.
So when he landed on French soil in September, I punched the air in delight for him.
What an effort and what an achievement!
Some amazing moments in there, making me smile as I write them!
Again, I’m sure there were loads more.
Did you have any moments like that? Anybody’s performance blow your socks off? Anything make you beam with pride?
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