last monday, the same night as the cmnw concert, i started swimming lessons. i purchased an ugly onesie (a.k.a. one-piece swimming suit) and brand new goggles for the experience. i already knew how to swim, but during all those summers of violin practicing & camps, i somehow forgot how to do it well. swimming has always been suggested to me as good therapy for my sprained trapezius muscle, the injury from playing the violin. so, i signed up for classes through the tualatin hills parks and recreation district. classes were 8:30-9am, MWF, and only $45 for 9 classes. my goal was to learn to do the different strokes well enough for lap swimming. one of the swim facilities is just a five minute drive from our house, so it turned out to be really convenient. i was nervous about the first class - would i sink? would i be the oldest one there? the youngest one? would i look gross in my new swimsuit? would the other kids like me?
the night before, i gathered all of my swimming things together. suit & towel laid out. i rinsed the new goggles out with cold water and left them on the counter on a towel to dry, carefully not touching the inside of the goggles to protect the anti-fog coating. when i woke up the next morning, bright & early for the 8:30am class, the glasses were missing! the towel was empty! uh-oh... VIINNNNNNYYY!!!!! i found the goggles in the bathroom down the hall, bite marks through the rubber seal around the eyes, clawmarks on the precious anti-fog coating. they were completely destroyed & unusable. stupid cat! actually, more like smart kitty, but also i'm-going-to-kill-you kitty.
my first day of school was ruined. well, not actually, but it meant i would have sore eyes. i did my best. i wasn't the oldest or the youngest; i did fine; didn't get yelled at or made fun of; and i didn't sink. i had a very good workout with a kickboard, and learned to breathe, & worked on fitting it in with the arm strokes. it was challenging for me to keep remembering to breathe IN through the mouth and constantly OUT through the nose so water wouldn't go up my nose. i'm used to breathing all the time through the nose, and slowly both ways, from running. needless to say, i had sore sinuses by the end of the class. when i went running the following day, i practiced my swimming breathing - breathing in quickly through the mouth, and slowly out through the nose, then immediately breathing in quickly again, and so on. this helped tremendously. i bought a new pair of goggles and a swimming cap, so the second day of school would be much more comfortable. no more water in the eyes, and much less water in the ears. i went to the pool early to practice during the lap swim. all my efforts helped so much that i got promoted to the deep end of the pool, and to another instructor. yeehaaw! i got promoted! i was SOOO happy! i couldn't wait to tell the hubby.
anyway, i've been going early every school day, practicing before class. i've pretty much gotten the freestyle & breast stroke down now, after 5 classes. yesterday i went about an hour before class, so i ended up leaving 15 min early because my legs were so tired from the breast stroke, and from swimming for an hour. i'm not used to using my inner thigh muscles so much, because running doesn't really use them. being in the water is fun... i hope i'll keep up the swimming after the school is over - it's just one more week - and i hope it will help the shoulder injury.
the night before, i gathered all of my swimming things together. suit & towel laid out. i rinsed the new goggles out with cold water and left them on the counter on a towel to dry, carefully not touching the inside of the goggles to protect the anti-fog coating. when i woke up the next morning, bright & early for the 8:30am class, the glasses were missing! the towel was empty! uh-oh... VIINNNNNNYYY!!!!! i found the goggles in the bathroom down the hall, bite marks through the rubber seal around the eyes, clawmarks on the precious anti-fog coating. they were completely destroyed & unusable. stupid cat! actually, more like smart kitty, but also i'm-going-to-kill-you kitty.
my first day of school was ruined. well, not actually, but it meant i would have sore eyes. i did my best. i wasn't the oldest or the youngest; i did fine; didn't get yelled at or made fun of; and i didn't sink. i had a very good workout with a kickboard, and learned to breathe, & worked on fitting it in with the arm strokes. it was challenging for me to keep remembering to breathe IN through the mouth and constantly OUT through the nose so water wouldn't go up my nose. i'm used to breathing all the time through the nose, and slowly both ways, from running. needless to say, i had sore sinuses by the end of the class. when i went running the following day, i practiced my swimming breathing - breathing in quickly through the mouth, and slowly out through the nose, then immediately breathing in quickly again, and so on. this helped tremendously. i bought a new pair of goggles and a swimming cap, so the second day of school would be much more comfortable. no more water in the eyes, and much less water in the ears. i went to the pool early to practice during the lap swim. all my efforts helped so much that i got promoted to the deep end of the pool, and to another instructor. yeehaaw! i got promoted! i was SOOO happy! i couldn't wait to tell the hubby.