Too Cool for Pool

When I was a kid, I was quite a little swimmer. My parents had a hard time getting me out of the pool. All summer long my girlfriends and I swam in the pool every chance we could. However, as we got older, they became competitive swimmers and lifeguards, and I - well, I just had a really fabulous tan (FYI, still do.) So my swimming knowledge kind of ends at dog-paddling and treading water.

And then I married a record-holding former competitive swimmer. (I kid you not, check out the third line under freestyle.)

And I discovered how much I love sports where endurance is a victory all in itself.

And I decided that the idea of three of those type of sports in one competition was genius. And that required me to get back in the pool with the above-mentioned competitive swimming husband.

I am not a very good *swimming* swimmer. I've never swam laps as my idea of a good time. But I need a change of pace from just running, running, running and if I ever want to do a triathlon, I might want to try to work on the sport that comes hardest to non-swimmers (aka, stubborn runners used to making gravity work for them, not against them). I have read part of the Total Immersion swimming book, but none of it really sunk in (pun intended), so I am packing B off on his next business trip with the book and making him read it. I'll give him credit; he's a good coach.

I am just maybe not a good student. Maybe. I really didn't want to go to the pool because I feel like a total 'tard trying to swim as you're supposed to, but Rome wasn't built in a day and neither were Amanda Beard's abs. So I did about 5 lengths (25 m) of just swimming on my side, building up a decent flutter kick, and then on the last 5 lengths threw in trying to turn from one side to the other. First every 10 seconds, then every 5 seconds. And I got a little bit better... right about the time my flutter kick turned into the "Okay, I'm tired now" scissor kick.

But all in all, 250 meters, getting over my fear of looking ridiculous, and actually enjoying myself. It ended up being fun!