learn to swim

I guess swimming half a mile without stopping qualifies me as someone who knows how to swim. It was really weird, as I’ve never swam that far before, and the furthest I swam before that was a mere 350m. I got in the pool yesterday, thinking it was a fluke, but apparently my body has figured out this swimming business now. Of course, I’m not exactly fast, but I’m nowhere near drowning either. Awesome.

For what it’s worth, Emmett Hines’ book Fitness Swimming is credited for teaching me how me how to swim. I never took any lessons.

I just called the local community center about private lessons – they’re relatively cheap, and honestly, I wasn’t sure if I was beginner or intermediate level for group lessons. I can backstroke and I (probably) won’t drown if thrown into a lake, but I remember the last time I tried to front crawl across the length of a hotel pool a lifeguard asked me if I was drowning. That must have been some incredible flailing. Doh! At the very least some technique pointers will definitely come in handy.