83 Days to Ultraman Mexico

07/26/25 — 83 Days to Ultraman

New Hampshire with Zach

Another day with Zach in New Hampshire.

We went to Newfound Lake with Mel. It’s one of the ten cleanest lakes in the United States. We spent most of our time drinking beers and admiring the lake. Wildfires in Canada made the air hazy, but the quality was still fine. Zach and I went swimming while Mel floated in a tube. I worked on my swim for a bit, doing a few laps back and forth.

I still don’t kick my legs when I swim. This causes my legs to drag, slowing me down. I over-rotate and stroke unevenly with my arms. When I swim, I feel the need to rush with my arms. This is partly due to my legs not kicking, which affects my body position. The misalignment travels up to my head, which tilts up, causing my shoulders to hunch, shortening my reach.

So how do I fix it? I’ll start by doing just a little bit of kick. I don’t need to overwork it at first—just enough to lengthen my body and gain some propulsion. From there, I can slow down my arm stroke, keep my head down, and extend my reach. Form is everything. Slow is smooth; smooth is fast. I’ll expend less energy and go faster. The most important part is stretching my hands forward and pulling back consistently.

We also practiced a drownproofing drill. I held my hands together against the small of my back, swimming using only my legs. At first, it felt too easy. Quickly, it became challenging. Using a frog kick, I could move underwater. Coming up on my left side, I could breathe over my right shoulder. Switching to a normal freestyle kick was harder—I exerted more effort and didn’t move far. It was harder to get my head above water, and I needed more air with less time to breathe. Zach made it look effortless.

We swam back and forth using only our legs. It was difficult for a while, but I found a sustainable pace. Switching between different kicks, I managed to get the air I needed to keep going. I wonder how long I could have maintained this style.

This was a good lesson for Ultraman. Just as I switch forms while running, I’ll need to find ways to swim efficiently for the full four hours. I cannot rely solely on my arms. I have confidence I can figure out the swim—the key is to find a style that doesn’t exhaust me and gets me to the bike in under six hours.