{"id":1825,"date":"2025-05-16T08:45:00","date_gmt":"2025-05-16T08:45:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/clube-swim4fun.pt\/?p=1825"},"modified":"2025-05-14T16:14:33","modified_gmt":"2025-05-14T16:14:33","slug":"do-naufragio-mental-a-vice-campea-nacional","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/clube-swim4fun.pt\/en\/do-naufragio-mental-a-vice-campea-nacional\/","title":{"rendered":"From Mental Shipwreck to National Runner-Up"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Some say swimming in the sea is liberating, an almost spiritual experience. I would say it depends: liberating if<\/em> the sea isn't trying to swallow you alive while your brain screams \"abort mission!\" with every wave that hits your face.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That's more or less what happened at the Set\u00fabal Triathlon. The plans were good: swim 1.9 km, exit the water in style, flash a photogenic smile at the camera, and move on to the bike ride like it's no big deal. But the sea had other intentions: cold, wind, and waves in full \"spin cycle\" mode. My body was fine\u2014strong, even. But my head? It turned around at the second buoy and declared, \u201cNot today, my friend.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I could\u2019ve cried in the fetal position (and maybe I even considered it), but instead, I went back to doing what any sensible triathlete would do: I dove headfirst into Swim4Fun.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I started having waves for breakfast, with Bibiana reminding me (often enough for it to stick) that the sea doesn\u2019t bite. I took several classes, built up my confidence and technique... and little by little, I started to realize that maybe the problem wasn\u2019t the sea. Maybe it was just me, being dramatic \u2014 with flair.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And that\u2019s how, with salt in my veins and training under my belt, I showed up at the Oeiras Sprint Triathlon. Here it\u2019s \u201cjust\u201d 750 meters of swimming in calm sea water \u2014 it looked like a zen pool \u2014 but of course, with a plot twist:<\/em>: an almost simultaneous start for all the athletes, on the vast and spacious Praia da Torre (irony, in case you missed it). The result? An aquatic pandemonium of arms, legs, swim caps, and panicked expressions. That wasn\u2019t swimming \u2014 it was aquatic boxing with human obstacles.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But you know what was different? Me. I managed to stay calm. I swam like someone navigating a crowded supermarket at rush hour: strategically, with focus, dodging carts (read: other athletes) and choosing the best line to avoid being smacked by a floating elbow.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I came out of the water calm, no drama, no escape plans, thinking: \u201cHey, turns out I can swim.\u201d Not bad for someone who, just a few weeks ago, thought they\u2019d drown just from the sound of the waves.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But this text wouldn\u2019t be complete without a huge thank-you to Bibiana \u2014 the coach who\u2019s seen me on good days, bad days, and those with tsunamis brewing inside. Thank you, Bibs, for helping me turn near-quits into victories \u2014 and for believing in me even when I want to give up and go sell custard-filled donuts on the beach.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If I\u2019m here today, laughing at my own aquatic soap opera with a medal hanging around my neck, it\u2019s also thanks to you. A coach who knows when to yell, when to laugh, and when to simply get you swimming your way out of your own head.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Fl\u00e1via Ribeiro<\/strong><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

H\u00e1 quem diga que nadar no mar \u00e9 libertador, uma experi\u00eancia quase espiritual. Eu diria que depende: libertador se o mar n\u00e3o estiver a tentar engolir-te vivo enquanto o teu c\u00e9rebro grita \u201caborta miss\u00e3o!\u201d a cada vaga que te acerta na cara. Foi mais ou menos isso que aconteceu no Triatlo de Set\u00fabal. Os planos … <\/p>\n

Read more “Do Naufr\u00e1gio Mental a Vice-Campe\u00e3 Nacional”<\/span><\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1830,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[55],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1825","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sem-categoria-en"],"featured_image_src":"https:\/\/clube-swim4fun.pt\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/image-1.png","author_info":{"display_name":"Clube Swim4fun","author_link":"https:\/\/clube-swim4fun.pt\/en\/author\/geralclube-swim4fun-pt\/"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/clube-swim4fun.pt\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1825","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/clube-swim4fun.pt\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/clube-swim4fun.pt\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/clube-swim4fun.pt\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/clube-swim4fun.pt\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1825"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/clube-swim4fun.pt\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1825\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/clube-swim4fun.pt\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1830"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/clube-swim4fun.pt\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1825"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/clube-swim4fun.pt\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1825"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/clube-swim4fun.pt\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1825"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}