Sink or Swim?

Have you ever watched swimming competitions on television?  Have you noticed how easy the athletes make swimming look?  Next time you catch a glimpse, you should take a moment to appreciate the effort that goes along with the smooth, competitive swim stroke that these athletes demonstrate.

Over the holidays, a couple of friends and I ventured to the pool at a local gym.  Due to issues stemming from a foot injury, one of the two friends wanted to learn to swim in order to compensate for the unfortunate loss of ability to engage in any other form of cardiac exercise.  The other of the two friends, a kind and patient soul, offered to assist in teaching the basics of the freestyle form of swimming.  I joined in simply because I had time off from work and couldn't think of any better way to kill some time.  I figured it would be fun and, if nothing else, healthy.

We arrived at the pool, two of us craving our morning java and the third strolling in a few minutes late due to her unwavering respect for coffee first thing in the morning.  After several iterations of the mechanics of breathing as you swim, I thought that I would surely be able to complete at least one lap competently.  I was so wrong!  The intersection of the correct arm motion, correct leg motion (don't dare kick from the knee...only from the hip!) and coordinated breathing proved too much for me.  For some reason, my out breath extended beyond the time of my face being in the water, which meant that my in breath stretched beyond the time of my face being out of the water...which meant I partially drowned with each stroke.  Combine this struggle with goggles that kept bursting off of my head at every turn, and you had the makings of the perfect, not to mention hilarious, silent movie.  While I may not have taken the trophy for fastest learner, I'm quite sure I proved most entertaining to all in and around the pool, which included many regulars. 

The lesson learned was to have respect for athletes across all sports because you simply never know until you try it, exactly what efforts and skills are required.  My guess is that my next pool experience will be reserved for that time, hopefully way down the road, when I must resort to "aquacise" classes due to the deterioration of my joints.  But, should I decide I'm really up for a challenge before then, a true test of coordination and cardio endurance, then swimming will be just the ticket.