Adventures are a curious thing. If you’ve been following this blog, you’ll know that some of them happen instantly, others need to be planned. There are some that seem to elicit a “continuous effort.” This entry falls into that category.
I learned to swim when I was fourteen. Prior to that, I was afraid of the water, and would hardly go in at all. What got me over my fear was a promise from my step-father Stu Schwartz that he would buy a family boat if I learned to swim. So that year at camp I dedicated myself to learning, and although I did not pass my deep water test, I had finally overcome the fear. That was good enough for Stu and the “Gefilte Fish” soon appeared in our driveway. It was a tiny 14′ Bayliner, but was a total joy to me. We would take trips, sometimes overnight and I took a Power Squadron safe boating class and learned to navigate from charts using a parallel ruler. People would often ask us if we had any horse radish to go with the gefilte, and we kept a fake bottle in the glove box to show them!
As my love for the boat grew, my fear of the water completly faded. I was comfortable in the breast stroke, side stroke and even the backstroke. I loved to snorkel, and eventually as an adult became a certified diver.
One thing I never learned, was to do a freestyle or “crawl” stroke. How swimmers in this stroke were able to breath, while kicking and moving their arms was never clear to me, and despite the efforts of a few classes (and some guidance from my neices) I could never figure it out.
Since this is my year for adventure, a couple of months ago I started taking classes at Lifetime – with a goal of gaining a new skill. I am signed up for a group class with coach Katrina, and one other gentleman named Satish. Tom also joined us just this past week.
It was clear from the start that my mechanics were all over the place. My kick was ineffective and I could only use a kickboard for about 10 meters or so before stopping all forward momentum. My upper body was not rotating sufficiently to permit me to glide or get a breath, and to make matters worse, I was doing it all waaaay to quickly.
So now I am 6 classes in. I can kick across the pool, using my hips instead of my knees. Using a pool buoy between my legs, I can rotate my upper body and breath naturally with a steady rythym for up to 4 laps at a time. I am able to slow down and enjoy the experience. It feels really good to make progress, and I am hoping to be able to do all three of these things at the same time soon. I will keep you updated on my progress!