I got the email last week.  Chuck my swim coach dropped me.  Something about needing time for his other clients as the season got serious and he was heading off to run the Boston Marathon.  Not exactly motivating as I was just thinking I was finally getting somewhere.

Then again, I am a glass half full kind of guy.  Maybe a fresh set of eyes might be just the thing to get me over the hump.  Coach Chuck did send me a link to someone he suggested.  I went to the link and the site looked legit enough.  However, nowhere on the site did it list a phone number.  It only had a form to fill out to send in your name and information for someone to call you or email you back.  I filled out the form and clicked submit.

I was impatient though.  One choice is not enough.  I headed for the Tri Club of San Diego website hoping that there might be a lead there for a coach.  After sifting through a few pages, I came across a couple of coaches who sponsored the club.  I looked at a few and found one that did list a phone number that I could call (Most did not).  I called it and she answered.  Now we were getting somewhere.  Her name was Julie Dunkle from Coach2Compete Triathlon Coaching.  We talked.  I sent her links to my swimming videos.  She sent me a plan and a price.  We had a deal.  The former college-level swimmer and 4 time Kona Ironman racer would meet me on Monday at noon at my pool and give it her best shot.

Later the same day of our phone call I went to try open swimming with the Tri Club of San Diego.  Afterward, we went to a pub and had dinner with the volunteer coaches.  I mentioned that I was going to have a coaching session with Julie Dunkle and they threw their hands up.  “She is not good for beginners,” one of them said.  “She is for elites,” the other one said.  Overall they felt that she would be frustrated with a beginner like me.  Talk about heaping on a bunch of fear.

I actually kind of liked the idea of getting someone who trains elites.  Maybe I would learn something new?  Maybe she might push me harder?  I am running out of time to get to where I want to be so a little tough love might be in order.  Plus, I pay her by the hour.  If I don’t like the coaching, there is no long-term commitment.  Too many people live in a fear bubble and those comments were a big reminder.

The day came and Julie had me swim 150 yards.  She said my breathing was good.  My alignment was good.  However, my head was submerged deep in the water which was making me dive even deeper with my arms during my entry into the water.  She asked me if I was looking straight at the bottom of the pool when I was swimming and I said yes.  She suggested that I look forward at a 45-degree angle instead.  I tried it.  I flew across the pool.  We tried an even higher head angle which worked well but was a bit too high pushing my legs down into the water creating drag.

She also had me practice some strokes pushing my hands back to lightly brush my hip.  Even faster I went.  We agreed, probably too fast as I was a bit out of breath.  We ended the session with this amazing leap forward and those two items for me to master until the next lesson.  It was well worth my money for the Elite coach who was supposedly going to be frustrated with me.

P.S. The other coach who didn’t have a phone number listed finally emailed me four days later.  I think I will stay with the elite coach who answers her phone.