I wasn't a kid that was on the swim team when i was little. I could swim but never very gracefully and surely never very fast. Recently, I was invited by two friends to join them twice a week for 5:30 AM swims. I am already programmed to work out at 5:15 so the time didn't scare me off, it was the actual swimming. I can muster a slow breast stroke and a crooked back stroke (watch out in the lane next to me!), but that's about it. I sink when i try the butterfly and i choke when i attempt free style. So surely joining two fairly experienced swimmers would bring me nothing but embarrassment. But, given my recent state of somewhat mental instability, I decided that maybe tackling something new would give me a sense of accomplishment and peace. Here goes nothing...
Day 1 in the pool was rough....i didn't have a sporty one piece bathing suit like my swimming partners, and i didn't have a swim cap....note to self, buy both of these items ASAP!! At least i had the foresight to buy some goggles from Target the night before and I did wear my two piece with the MOST coverage. hehe! Aside from that, i struggled with my strokes and felt all-around unathletic. But I knew I couldn't give up.
Day 2 in the pool was much better...black speedo bathing suit and black swim cap from Academey and I was ready to go...call me michael phelps! One of my swim partners had given me a few breathing tips on Day 1 and I worked on incorporating them. As the laps accumulated, i found myself getting into a rhythm, i found that if i swam a very slow free style, I could pace my breath and stroke to come more naturally. I suddenly felt myself transform from an unathletic kid who was never on the swim team to a strong 29 year old who found peace in the methodical rhythm of stroke and breathing.
I have found my time in the pool allows me to feel strong and in control. I may not be pregnant or have a baby yet...but I am growing in other ways, reminding myself that there is more to life than reproducing - which lately has been something that has been rather hard for me to remember.
ok so i totally agree swimming is fantastic and extremely therapeutic once the whole choking on water ordeal is controlled; however, a BLACK speedo...isn't that a little plain? "I know plenty of self respecting adults that wear bathing suits with fruit on it..." Love you, love the blog, and hopefully we'll have a swim date (in addition to a jog date) next week!
ReplyDeleteI was on the swim team as a teenager, and now as an out-of-shape adult, I miss the peace that swimming once brought to me. Maybe I should go have at it again. =)
ReplyDeleteGreat post!