The WOMEN FIRST SWIM PROGRAM is open to women of all ages and focuses on efficiency, drills, endurance and some open water skills to help better prepare women for their first triathlon or open water swim.
Every so often we like to spotlight a mermaid that demonstrates the qualities that Women First Swimming likes to promote: positive attitude, dedication, hard work and team spirit.
Our current Mermaid Spotlight profile is Lisa Paulson, who also won the rookie attendance award for the Winter session. The coaches agreed that Lisa showed a great attitude throughout the winter program, which is especially impressive considering her fears of joining the group and being too “beginner”.
Coach Lisa went out on a limb to get veteran mermaid Wendy Besterman to share her story about being in the beginner lanes at Women First Swimming, and convinced Lisa Paulson to put both arms forward in the pool. The fact that Lisa didn’t miss a sessional all winter and has since recruited other friends to the spring program is testimony enough that she’s hooked on swimming with her fellow mermaids.
Mermaids,
just a reminder there will be no class Saturday the 22th. I hope you’re able to find time to swim during this Easter break.
Coach Lisa found a neat Web site called Swimplan that provides FREE personalized swimming workouts for all levels of swimming. I’ll be testing this Web site out and posting my thoughts in the comments section. I encourage you to do the same or list other workout resources you’ve found. Workouts from this session will be posted soon. Have a great weekend!
Mermaids,
just a reminder there will be no class this Saturday the 8th but don’t let that stop you from enjoying swimming events happening around Austin.
Beginning today through Sunday you can watch the All-American Long Course Championships at the Texas Swim Center.
Tickets are needed for Finals Sessions. Box Office at the main entrance opens up at 4 PM, Finals start at 5:30 PM on Thursday, Friday and Saturday.
* Adults $8
* Students $5
* All Session Adult Pass $20
* All Session Student Pass $12
To get you excited, read this article about Olympic Gold medalist Kirsty Coventry who now trains in Austin and who will be swimming at the meet.
The Danskin Austin Triathlon is more than a 1/2 mile swim, 12 mile Bike and a 3.1 mile Run. For many women it’s the accomplishment of a fitness goal they’d never thought they’d achieve; for others it’s a celebration of life after a cancer diagnosis. For athletes and their fans alike it’s an undeniable touching and motivating event.
Over the past five years I’ve been a participant, coach and cheerleader and the impression I always get is how encouraging everyone is…you constantly hear “you go girl!” and see high fives along the race course. I never knew such camaraderie could exist under the guise of competition. Some women enter to break records but for the rest of us it’s a chance to get together with 3,000 of our closest gal-pals and do something we’d never thought possible.
I hope you enjoy my attempt at capturing the beautiful spirit of these women athletes through video and photography. And if you look closely, you’ll spot many Mermaids!
Spring is on the way, and it’s time to dive back into the water for the Women First Spring Swim session.
Registration is open now. We’ll have the trio of Lisa’s Angels back: coach Sara Robertson, coach Michelle Krejci, coach Gracie Alvarado, plus possible guest coaches for the 10 week program to help prepare women of all levels for the triathlon season. Our past mermaid participants have included new beginners to Ironman finishers.
This spring we will continue with Women First Attendance awards with another swim suit from Lane Four. Kathy Espinosa was the winner from the winter class for the suit, while rookie Lisa Paulson received a signed copy of my book Triathlon for Women. Lisa will also be featured as our next Mermaid Spotlight on the website.
New this spring will be sponsor support from Luna Bar (yes, you will be able to reward yourself with some yummy treats after your hard workouts!), and Lane Four will provide all Women First swimmers with an ongoing 10% discount card usable to purchase items at their store in north Austin during the duration of the spring program. This should help mermaids find all their swim gear at competitive prices. See www.lanefour.com for more info, and find your way to their store to gear up for the next session.
10 WEEKLY CLASSES: Saturdays Mar 1-May 24 (note some Saturdays off)
CLASS DATES: March 1, 15, 29 (no classes March 8 or March 22), April 5, 12, 26 (no classes April 19), May 3, 10, 17, 24
WHEN: 8:30-9:30 am
WHERE: Balcones Pool located at 12012 Amherst Dr in Northwest Austin, a little north up Mopac off Duval. Heated pool with full showers and change rooms available.
