That’s how well I swim. If it were a race I would beat the rock pretty soundly, but lose to the log, especially if the wind was blowing. I bring this up, because I went to the pool and actually swam for the first time. Up until this point in my life “swimming” has meant going to the pool, lake, river, or wherever and splashing around in the water. Maybe jumping in or poking around underwater, but never going in a straight line with the purpose of getting somewhere. When it came to water, that is what boats are for. But swimming is good exercise, easy on the joints, and a great cardiovascular workout. So I’m trying to become a swimmer or at least someone that could pass for a swimmer if he had to.
I started by heading down to Lane 4 Swimshop here in Austin on the Chris H’s recommendation. I decided that I needed some goggles and Chris insisted that I needed what are known as jammers. Basically they are like bike shorts or boxer briefs made out of spandex. Low drag, but a little bit less waggly (if you know what I mean) than your typical Speedo brief. I was glad to see that basic swim gear is pretty cheap and I made it out of there for $40. I proceeded to go home, model my new gear for Wesley and Amber and then let it sit for the last two weeks. I’m always reticent to do new things, especially when I will clearly appear to everyone else to be very new at the activity.
I finally got up the nerve to make a fool of myself and hit the pool. The weather was nice yesterday (mid-80s) and I timed it right around dinner time so that the pool was mostly empty. I didn’t have the guts to wear the jammers and stuck with my normal trunks. I hopped in, swam down to other end of the pool, took a breather and swam back. Swimming is hard. Breathing while swimming is harder. The hardest part is that apparently when you swim most of your air is made out of water. The little air I did manage to get in me seemed to be getting swallowed rather than breathed. I was pretty winded at the end of each leg.
I’ve been watching videos on youtube on swimming, but if I don’t get better quickly I may have to get a few swim lessons. So far I’ve swum 12 half laps with breaks in between. In the 25 yard pool that means I went a whole 900 feet or .17 miles. It may be a while before I can swim the 2 miles or so without stopping that I’d need in order to do a full triathlon.
Tags: swimming