learn to swim

Yep I think I can definitely swim now! Not really well and I could learn a lot more but yes, I can swim.

and it’s gone pretty well. Have been practising a couple of times a week and was happy with yesterday’s lesson. Had a practice swim in the gym pool today and felt for the first time that I was swimming ‘properly’, it did not feel easy exactly but as if I was doing everything right.

Encouraging feeling. I am tempted almost to say I can swim and check this off but I think I’ll wait a while yet and see how I get on over the next few weeks.

It has taken just under a year to get to this point. A long slog, it’s up there with learning to drive…

My current set of classes finished last week, I missed the last one because I was on holiday. I’ve already booked the new session, 14 weeks of lessons, no slacking!!

On my holiday there was a pool, not huge but big enough to swim in and over my head in depth. On holiday this time last year if I got in the pool at all I could only cling to the side and I was very uncomfortable. This year I felt so different, it was great! I could jump in the pool, swim lengths of it and didn’t need to cling to the side at all. I think I can actually swim now – just need to get the practice in and work on it.

But I’m not checking this off the list just yet, still have work to do, feeling pretty happy with my progress though :-)

“Think I need to focus on going slower, relaxing and letting it happen, rather than thrashing around frantically and gettting a panic. Easier said than done though.”

That was my last entry and it still applies! I have had a revelation though, about my feelings towards swimming. I realised that when I went to swim a length of the pool, what I was saying inside my head was “get it over with”. That explains a lot of the getting in a panic, going too fast and generally thrashing around.

So much of my difficulty is in my head and it’s the hardest thing to work on. I should get back to my visualisations. I know I am improving but still so much more to do…

got 13 of them booked now first one tonight and I am aching all over!! I am making progress, feel a bit fitter (the gym seems to be helping with that).

Think I need to focus on going slower, relaxing and letting it happen, rather than thrashing around frantically and gettting a panic. Easier said than done though.

More practice needed….

Last class of this course tonight. I can tell I am improving, but it’s still a struggle. Im doing much better on the drills and exercises with the kickboard, but still find the actual swimming without the board a huge effort.

We finished with 4×25 metres of backstroke a daunting task but I relaxed into it, slowed down and managed it in two goes with a bit of a pause between the two.

Booked for 13 more weeks of classes tonight. I have to crack it by the end of that!!

When I got in, had to sit on the sofa for ages, totally worn out and still sweating. Feeling pretty good now though.

Time for another update…

Missed last week’s lesson as I was unwell, but I’ve had a few practice sessions because I’ve joined a gym with a pool!! The little and often practice sessions seem to be helping a lot. It is also helping that the pool is shorter – only 17 metres and has no deep end. I find it much less scary so I can relax and concentrate on the swimming.

Lesson again tomorrow so I’ll see how I get on…

Much better tonight! I feel very happy with my progress, actually had moments when I felt I was ‘getting’ it and could feel I was moving through the water with a bit of power.

I had a practice session on Sunday, went to the pool at opening time when it was pretty quiet. Didn’t do much and did not feel good at all, still panic-y but was good I got back in. I also did not cycle to work today, so less tired, too.

Have been doing some visualising of gliding through the water, feeling relaxed and moving my arms more slowly. Maybe that has helped too. Tonight I managed to take it more slowly and not thrash around so much. Hope it continues.

Two more sessions on this course. I can sign up for a new course on Monday and am going to do it. Am not stopping until I can swim :-)

and I really struggled :-( Felt exhausted the whole time also had a minor panic attack/freak out kind of thing. It all seems very difficult at the moment but I am sure things will pick up I just need to keep at it.

I think I will not cycle to work on lesson days so I am better rested for the lesson. My swimming fitness seems to be at a stnadstill, it has not noticeably increased at all. It is strange because for cycling or running I have had noticeable improvements in a fairly short space of time. Possibly with the swimming it is using muscles that have had very little use before which might explain the slow (or non-existent) improvement.

More practice needed, too. I need to make an effort to get in the pool more often.

The instructor says I am making progress! I also (at times) feel I am making progress, it is feeling slightly more ‘natural’ and the elements come together better, more often. I have a loooooong way to go though.

It is very hard work, I am exhausted by the end of the class. We must have covered about 12 lengths of the big pool which obviously is not a lot to a proper swimmer but is massive for me!

Four more weekly lessons to go. I am already thinking about signing up for more if they continue.