Comments on: Guest Blog: From The Mainland to A Marathoner– My T.I. Journey from Non-Swimmer to Open Water Long Distance

By: tommy

tommy — Thu, 07 Sep 2023 05:46:00 +0000

The adage life is like a box of chocolates has endured through the ages as a metaphor for the erratic nature of existence. This short yet deep quote from Forrest Gump, a classic movie, captures the wonder and excitement that life has to offer. The proverb life is like a box of chocolates quote This quotation stresses the element of surprise by comparing boxes.

By: Maurice

Maurice — Mon, 11 Feb 2019 13:32:00 +0000

I have no doubts that becoming a competent swimmer is possible at pretty much any age provided you are still able to move your limbs reasonably freely, but my doubts are more about my personal mental capacity to stick to a lengthy learning curve. If I don’t see quick progress, I will likely give up based on past experiences with other challenges. Having said that, I do love the idea of being able to swim effortlessly as opposed to my current frustrating efforts, so I may take a chance anyway and sign up for a workshop.
I doubt that my future includes open water swimming as I definitely don’t have any interest in doing that, but who knows, maybe that would change if I became capable of distance swimming in a pool and finding it boring after a dozen or so lengths?

By: Lorraine Wilson-Drake

Lorraine Wilson-Drake — Mon, 11 Feb 2019 00:32:00 +0000

Thanks for sharing. I learned to swim at 51. I remember going to a TI workshop with a friend and we were the only two who couldn’t swim the length of the pool. Four years later I’ve swam in two half iron distance triathlons and have inspired other African Americans to give it a try.

By: Gerhard Snyders

Gerhard Snyders — Sun, 10 Feb 2019 17:40:00 +0000

Very inspiring. I also started late with swimming,but have done an open water mile competition 2 times and also a few triathlons. I still need to improve a lot. I’ve bought the TI videos but its hard doing it on my own. The nearest workshops is in South Africa.

By: Peter Yamamoto

Peter Yamamoto — Sun, 10 Feb 2019 17:26:00 +0000

I think there are TI (as well as non TI) blog posts about starting to learn to swim or regularly swimming at a “late” age. That said I think that some people may miss one of the points/aha moments in the TI path. In the initial phase you can get caught up in the scrutiny of one or two details and feel like your progress is slow. But like you, my status before TI (at 45+) was burning lungs and energy in just one lap of a small pool. I did this for months before happening upon TI at the public library. This changed swimming for me in a very short time. In particular the relaxing and breathing part came quick. I could now traverse the pool in a relaxed manner. That’s when the size of the pool started inhibiting me… I knew I wanted to swim farther without having to turn a lap. And like the author I turned to the San Francisco Bay (also without wetsuit). This is not TI related but check out these people that swim along side the author: https://www.sfchronicle.com/thetake/article/Dolphin-Club-The-oldest-goats-in-the-bay-6762877.php

By: Maurice

Maurice — Sun, 10 Feb 2019 15:53:00 +0000

Very inspiring while a bit depressing at the same time. I am thinking of signing up for a TI workshop but reading that it took several months after the workshop to become reasonably good is not encouraging. I was hoping that within 4 weeks after the workshop I would be able to swim more than 100 meters without my lungs exploding, but I see this is going to take much longer. At 74, I really don’t know if I have the patience, determination and lifespan to wait that long. I may have to take up something easier like basket weaving or rocket science instead