I
am 48 years old and cannot swim and that, to be honest, is just ridiculous. I have decided, therefore,
that learning to swim is essential.
There
are so many benefits to swimming; exercise being the main one. I know I need to
up my level of physical exercise because, despite the fact that I rush around like a Duracell bunny and I walk a
lot through necessity and for exercise, I don’t do any other specific exercise.
Anyone who has read my piece about accidents will know that my one lesson to
try and ride a bike ended quite badly.
Swimming
is an excellent cardio-vascular exercise so is really good for your heart and
lungs. It also works all your body and the support of the water makes it low
impact. Obviously swimming is not free like walking, but it is relatively low
cost. Technically it is free if someone pushes you in the river, but I don't recommend it.
I can honestly say that I am not that confident in the water so
building my confidence has been the most important thing.
Now
when I say that I am not very confident I mean that I expect to slip and drown
in two inches of water. I am so used to being accident prone that I do rather
expect to have a major fall, swallow half the pool, catch bubonic plague and
lose a limb. So far this has not actually happened.
Lesson 1
After
I had gingerly walked into knee high water and grabbed the handrail, the first
thing to do was learn to breathe. Yes, that is what you just read; I had to
learn to breathe. This is something we take for granted but it is hard to
breathe underwater without consuming a gallon of chemically treated water that
numerous other people have frequented. Taking a deep breath, bobbing under water and blowing bubbles out my
nose was not as hard as I imagined and I did ok with a little practice.
The
next step was bobbing about in the water getting acclimatised and trying to
float. Now this should be easy but I was slightly reluctant to take my feet off
the bottom. Holding on to the side and kicking was quite successful, and no, I
don’t mean kicking passing swimmers, I mean kicking my legs. (Though it is
tempting when they get in your way).
Borrowing
a pool noodle was a brilliant move and I soon gained confidence as I
progressed. By the end of the first
lesson I could float on my back with the noodle and even do a little bit of
front floating and leg kicking without holding on to the side Not bad for a
first lesson even if I do say so myself.
Lesson 2
I
was raring to go with my second lesson and had borrowed a pool noodle from my
daughter who no longer uses it. Clearly I had to draw a face on one end, it is
compulsory.
As
I cannot possibly open my eyes underwater...... who can; my swimming
instructor bought me some fabulous goggles. They made so much difference. Being
able to see underwater totally boosted my confidence and I cannot wait until I
can swim along under water.
After
a few minutes of breathing practice I threw myself (literally) into swimming
with the pool noodle. Having gained the confidence to launch myself forward to
start swimming and managing to keep the kicking going enough, I was soon
propelling myself across the pool. With a bit more floating practice and by
tucking the noodle under my arms, I found myself actually swimming using my
arms and legs to get across the pool. I managed 6 widths (don’t laugh) and back
so was quite impressed with myself.
Lesson 3
We
were at a different pool for my third lesson and it was slightly more slippery
underfoot. This threw me a little to start with, but sheer pigheadedness
allowed me to keep practicing. I was very proud of how much swimming I was
achieving and also how far and fast I could go.
I
was rather impulsive and decided to try swimming without the noodle. Stupidly I
launched myself forward but forgot to breathe so then took in water and forgot
to use my arms and legs..... Unbelievable!!! Luckily my knight in shining
armour was in the pool with me for rescue purposes so I didn’t drown. I did
attempt this twice more but clearly need more practice before getting rid of my
trusty pink pool noodle. (Let’s call him Eric).
Now
the problem with having a pool noodle is that it restricts which swimming
sessions you can go to so I really need to practice breathing and swimming
simultaneously. I do find sinking and flailing around easier but it is not a
long term solution and not conducive to safe swimming practices.
I
couldn’t go swimming this week and won’t be able to next weekend so I am hoping
to go mid-week. I am determined to learn to swim properly as I really enjoy it
when I get going. Having to use a floatation device is not a problem for me, I don't care what people think, but I do care about getting in people's way when they are swimming and I am being a bit of a doughnut. I think learning properly will be good for the other swimmers as well as myself.
Now
I may be being a little presumptive but I think I can hear the sound of the
2020 Olympic swimming team calling me, I must dash and check my phone J
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| Eric the pool noodle |
