He said, “I miss swimming” — I took it way too seriously.
I don’t know if you saw Gonçalo Domingues’s post, where he said “someone challenged me to do a Half Ironman” — guilty! 🙋♀️
It all started one day when we went for a walk in Cascais and, without quite realizing how, we suddenly found ourselves in the middle of a huge crowd. Of course, we stayed to watch… and it turned out to be a triathlon race. It really stirred something in me. I was impressed!
But since I couldn’t even swim… I didn’t even consider the idea (or at least that’s what I thought at the time 😅).
How did we go from that to swimming… swimming in the sea… and on top of that, signing up for a Half Ironman?
Well, it all started with Gonçalo (and he won’t deny it), always saying he missed swimming, that he’d like to get back to it… but he just needed a little push to move past the “one day I will” 😄
Until one day I said to him:
Okay, I’ll go with you. I’ll sign up for swimming lessons, and you’ll swim freestyle at the same time. But if it goes well… we’ll sign up for a triathlon.
I should’ve filmed his reaction. But he said yes — having no idea what he was getting himself into 😄
So we started looking for a pool and ended up at Cidade Universitária. I went there for lessons for a while, but I felt like I wasn’t quite fitting in. So I decided to try Jamor… but the feeling remained.
Until one day, by coincidence (or fate), a Swim4Fun story popped up on my Instagram. I don’t even remember exactly what I saw, but I ended up on the classes section for Jamor and thought: “why not?”
I joined in December 2025… and what a turnaround!
Finally, everything started to make sense in the water. The technique, the breathing, the control… everything was falling into place. First in the pool… and then came the next challenge.
During a training session at Jamor, coach Bibiana asked — with full conviction — why we still hadn’t signed up for the Setúbal Open Water Race.
My answer was immediate:
I’ve never swum in the sea… I don’t even have a wetsuit yet!
Clearly, that wasn’t a problem 😄
In just over a week, I already had a wetsuit… and was signed up.
And that’s how the adventure in the sea began (earlier than I expected).
My first class was… a shock. Cold, dark, 7 a.m.… and freezing water. Everything was wrong 😅
There were four of us, plus coach Anabela. I saw everyone going in… and, afraid of being left behind, I jumped in without thinking.
The moment I put my face in the water… panic. It felt like I was drowning. Suddenly, I didn’t know how to breathe — neither in the water nor out of it. All I could think was:
But yesterday you were in the pool and you knew how to do this!
But I insisted.
And after a few very clumsy strokes… it started to happen. My breathing came back, my body calmed down… and suddenly, I was swimming.
Good or bad… but I was!
And that’s how it went in the following practices. Always a bit chaotic at first… but always managing to pull through.
Até que chegou o grande dia: a minha primeira prova em águas abertas — o Setúbal Open Water Race.
But I insisted.
And after a few very clumsy strokes… it started to happen. My breathing came back, my body calmed down… and suddenly, I was swimming.
Good or bad… but I was!
And that’s how it went in the following practices. Always a bit chaotic at first… but always managing to pull through.
Then the big day arrived: my first open water race — the Setúbal Open Water Race. I signed up for the 750 meters, and I keep saying it was the best decision. It allowed me to experience everything without pressure — the atmosphere, the day, the team, the incredible energy around the event. When my turn came… I wasn’t nervous (which is rare!). I was excited. Confident. I knew the work was done.
And everything went well. I came out of the water happy. Really happy. With that wonderful feeling of “I did it” — and an even stronger desire to go back.
At that moment, I realized: I’m truly on the right path to the Half Ironman.
And of course… this didn’t stop here. Fueled by the excitement of this first race, I’ve already signed up for 3 more open water races.
Next stop? The Oeiras Open Water Race — this time, 1500 meters 👀
If there’s one thing I learned from all this, it’s that I just needed to start.
Now it’s just a matter of keeping going… because stopping is no longer an option 😄
Ana Calção