First I couldn’t help but share the news that the taste of Spring is starting to creep into the grocery store; the peas taste sweeter, the strawberries are arriving a bit riper. It’s a beautiful thing.
Swim
I went to the gym yesterday to practice swimming before my next lesson on Wednesday. My assignment was to hold onto a kick-board and practice breathing while I kicked back and forth across the pool. It’s hard; I have the urge to bring my head up out of the water rather than turning it to the side.
I was pleased to discover that swimming did in fact make my legs tired after only about 20 minutes, and the exercise endorphins kicked in on the way home. It felt great, even at this beginning stage I felt like I’d worked out. That’s a good feeling, because it means that it’ll give me a mood lift even before I’m really proficient at it.
Some nervous thoughts
I was practicing tilting my head to the side to get air and got some water at one point, and thought how on earth am I going to do this when there are people kicking near me and waves coming?
You could turn your head perfectly in the ocean and get a wave in the mouth. I’m going to have to take it in stride, blow out, and wait for my next chance to breathe. That’s fine, I can do that… but I’d like to get some practice first! I’d like to line up at the start of that swim in July knowing that I’ve taken waves in the face and kept going.
I’d also like to practice getting kicked in the face and recovering.
Not sure how to do that.
Actually… maybe I can put the kids in life jackets, give them kick-boards, and swim behind them. Pretty much guaranteed kick-in-the-face scenario.
I’m not sure if I’m kidding; this might be just what I need to build confidence.
That’s how we get through our fears, after all; we face them, make it through, and realize that we’re stronger than they are. Intellectually I know that if I get kicked in the face I can flip on my back and take a breather and then keep going… but there’s nothing like lining up knowing that you’ve actually BEEN kicked in the face and it wasn’t so bad as you thought.
Is it just me, or was running less complicated? Breathing was still the hardest part as a beginner, but if you needed to breathe, you just stopped running. If you just stop swimming… well I guess there’s the back-float 🙂
I’m going to be a strong enough swimmer that I can take waves in the face and swim with a crowd.
This is so exciting 🙂
Swimming totally intimidates me! I grew up in Florida, and spent much of my childhood in the pool. But I never learned to really swim correctly, so this would terrify me! Yes, I think running is so much easier.
It is… but I have to tell you I swam most of the length of the pool yesterday and felt so excited because the more challenging something is, the more rewarding. So there is that!