Shannon Costello

I have been told I am an inefficient swimmer, and I was ok with that.   Hip issues have forced me to seek alternative forms of exercise, however, so I signed up for a beginning swimming course, since the advanced beginner specified that one must be able to “swim the length of the pool, using the forward crawl with rhythmic breathing.”  But beginning swimming was full.  Agh!

My instructor’s name is Bob, and he clearly knows what he is about.  His reaction after seeing me swim a lap?  Wondering if I had read the course description.  Straightaway I was plunged (literally) back in time to the dark days of junior high P.E., with teachers yelling at me to do something involving coordination and expecting that I will be able to do it. Hah!

I swim with my head out of the water, preferring freestyle breathing to rhythmic.  This pushes my legs down, probably making me work harder. I favor my right arm to the point of not using my left. My arm strokes are all wrong.

So Bob wanted me to put my face entirely in the water at the same time that my right arm is underwater (or is it in the air?).  When my arm is in the air, my face should be in the water so that I am looking at the bottom of the pool (buying goggles tomorrow) while I am blowing bubbles.  Meanwhile, I should be using both arms, and my strokes should be efficient- from the elbow, not going out to the side or “reaching for the stars”, and I should not be bending my wrists or tucking my hands in.

Actually, a younger woman (college age?) spent some time with me in the beginning.  I could see her straining to figure out how to go about fixing everything that was wrong.  Where to start?  Bob just tells me everything that is wrong.

P.E. instructors don’t understand that uncoordinated nerds need time to think about what they are trying to do.  I hear and understand, but I can’t do.  I was dying to say, “Do you know I can’t do a layup either?” but I figured that would have been inappropriate. But I bet Bob can do a layup.  Why, Bob wants to know, do I take off my goggles to listen to him?  Good question!  I must feel that I hear better if I can see.

The basic idea in breathing is that one should breathe in while one’s mouth is exposed to the air and out when one’s face is underwater.  Do you have any idea how hard that is?  Or how much water I swallowed?  There is now a small reservoir in my left ear, apparently.  Treated too, so it’s potable.

But hey, I made it through class without crying, though it was a near thing.

7 laps swum.  (That’s seven laps of sorrow.) (Thank you, Elmo, for helping me express my inner feelings.) And it is kind of fun, or at least the potential is there for it to be fun.  I learned something in class today.

I will follow everyone’s advice:  practice blowing bubbles in a large mixing bowl full of water.  Watch baby swim tapes.  Stand there and practice breathing and stroking at the same time (Bob did say, “practice that every day and you’ll have it by next week.”)  Join a pool and practice.  I’m going to figure this out.

Or drown trying.