Swimming Lessons Day 6: Learning to Back Float

On day 6, we decided to come to class a couple of hours earlier. We were hoping we would be allowed to practice before our actual class. We sat by the sides of the pool for a while as we watched more advanced swimmers dive, tread, do laps on the deep end of the pool. On the shallow end, there were about 10 kids having lessons with our instructor and it was the first time we saw her actually in the pool. Alright, I am now at peace knowing she can actually swim lol!

After about 20 minutes of watching the pool scene, Ma'am Bel, our instructor spotted us and told us to get dressed and jump in the pool while she's still there. She was going to teach us something before she gets out of the water. Uh-oh, my heart was doing flip-flops but we hurried on to get changed.

Day 4 and 5: Front Crawl Drill, Breast Stroke and Frog Kick

Resuming the interrupted lessons, Day 4 is divided into two parts.

Day 4
Part 1: Practicing on Free Style (Front Crawl)

After a week of absence from swimming lessons (period happens), going down in the pool felt much like I'm back to square one again. But I just can't let myself be fearful all the time so I just go ahead and do what's instructed. There were seven of us adult students at that time and it was a roll call. We were asked to demonstrate the front crawl or the free style with breathing. I was the first one to go at the sound of the whistle.  Jittery as usual but I made an effort of muffling my fear and going in, thinking I can't actually drown with six other girls in the pool and the instructor watching intently.  The worst that could happen is for me to make a big blooper.  I'll live with that, I suppose. 

Of Running and Swimming

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I had a good run last Sunday. I was able to extend my running time to an hour. Usually, it's just a 30-minute run-walk-run routine but despite the heat and humidity, I was able to last for an hour. The sun was already high up at 6 am so it's really getting hotter by the minute.  I thank God for the intermittent breeze that helps cool me down.  I was aiming to run for 1.5 hours minimum but the heat is already getting to me, so I had to wrap it up already.

Swimming Lessons Day 3: Free Styling

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I think I'm already getting the hang of it. Well, sort of. I find that I still need to shove fear and apprehension once in a while. Sometimes, I just throw my body in the water to go to the face-down floating position. I just have to remember to take in enough air through my mouth.  My little experiment with inhaling through my nose to prevent abdominal muscle pain didn't take me far enough to the other side as there just isn't enough air to sustain me.  The pain was still there at the start but it subsided.  I'm beginning to think it's just the anxiety and tension causing the tightness in my upper abs. Whatever it is, am just glad the pain was gone after a while.

Swimming Lessons Day 2 : Treading the Waters

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So, I lived to write about my first day at swimming lessons.  I must admit,  I am still having some anxieties just thinking about attending my 2nd day in swim class, knowing that my instructor wouldn't just let me stay in my comfort zone right at the pool gutter for the whole duration of the lessons.  Like I said, it's a mental battle for me.  A good way to prepare myself is by visualizing what I'll be doing next, but simply thinking about it sets my heart racing lol!  There's no escaping the inevitable and I have to eventually let go of one of my safety nets.  

Swimming Lessons Day 1: Breathe Then Let Go

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The dreaded swimming lesson has commenced last Tuesday.  

Day 1:  Breathing, Bubbling and Floating

I am just probably good at hiding the panicked look on my face. In reality, I was close to wailing as the instructor never got in the water to ease us and become comfortable in water. I felt I needed some coaxing into the water, a bit of telling me what to actually expect and give some assurances or at least make me relax. I needed her to be beside me in the water. None of that happened. The instructor simply told us where to get down on the pool while she's comfortably sitting at the edge.  

Learning How to Swim...Finally (or Hopefully)

High school swim meet

Just thinking about my impending lessons makes my heart beat faster.  I am kind of torn with the excitement of learning a new skill and the fear I have, which is the real reason I never learned it in the first place.  It took me this long (with a lot of coaxing from a colleague) to finally put my foot down  and learn how to swim...and hopefully, I will really learn.

I know...I know...I may really sound silly, specially to those of you who are seasoned swimmers.   But I know I am not the only person in the world with the fear of drowning.  Even good swimmers drown, you know.  So that makes me a prime candidate for drowning, and it doesn't require a lot of effort to drown me lol!