this weeks swimming training

I must remember to keep my head down in the water.

Keep my legs long and straight rather than bending them.

Roll my shoulders when I do arm strokes.

Pay more attention to the left arm movement ... I have to exaggerate it so that I am aware what I am doing. I am so busy preparing for the 'breathing' that I am not really even aware what I am doing with my other arm.

Fingers have to break the surface of the water in front of you, then go forwards and then push the water down and back....

As soon as your left hand touches the water you can start turning to the right for air.

Keep left arm and hand extended in front of you as you turn to the right for a breath.

I have to keep practising leaving my arm out in front of me for the count of 3 ... i.e. left arm in front 123 as I am taking a breath on the right, stroke, then right arm in front 123 then stroke.

Have to refer to my mental visual image of Jennie doing this to remember what I am aiming for.

I was in a lot of pain by today ... having difficulty turning my head and neck and with a very sore shoulder (all on the right hand side). I think this is because I have been straining and tensing so hard to make sure I get my head up and out of the water for a breath.

I was considering not going swimming today and maybe visiting a physiotherapist instead ... but decided I would try and keep working everything and just be very conscious of keeping my movements relaxed and controlled rather than frantic.

It seemed to work ... I don't think I made the situation any worse ... and at home I started doing as many different kind of stretching exercises I could think of. I also massaged myself as hard as I could with the other hand ... and tried tensing and then relaxing the muscles to see if I could convince them to let go.

Jennie had given me a tip about putting a tennis ball in the sore spot and pushing the tennis ball against a wall or cupboard so that the curved surface is pushed into your muscles and rolls around eventually relieving and removing the knots.

This was impossible for me to do because of the position of the ache.

I have been feeling very sympathetic towards Uni lately because I am pretty sure that what I feel now is very similar to what he feels when his neck is playing up. His physiotherapist gave him the same "tennis ball" advice so it obviously is believed to work ... if you can get the ball and a wall anywhere near where it is meant to reach.

I am still feeling very tired after swimming ... I went for about an hour today and I think I overdid it ... but I definitely recognize what the correct body position in the water feels like now and I tried to do a lot of work without flippers, trying to concentrate on even steady kicks.

I briefly got into the right rhythm of arms etc ... I just have to try and maintain the correct body position while I swim and pay more attention to what I do in my non breathing stroke.

Now that I also know what the right position for floating on my back is I am doing better at backstroke too. I can't for the life of me steer straight though and constantly end up crashing into one rope or the other. Lucky the lanes are wide!!!

About an hour and a half after finishing I got the swirly patterns of light in the eye thing (no headache though ... as my goggles are comfortable ... even to the point of loose enough to let in some water). I lay down for a few minutes (and was so tired that I could actually have gone to sleep) .... and then went to pick up KT from school. I think if I had only gone swimming for 30 minutes I would have avoided any hassles completely.

how did I get here

In order to be ready to learn to swim I needed ...

1. good visibility (contacts and goggles) and good gear (flippers).
2. individual tuition and the opportunity to learn
3. a strong desire and motivation to learn (and a bit of a push from a swimming enthusiast).
4. 4 years of learning and enjoying another physical activity and wanting to try something new once those classes finished.
5. 5 years of watching someone else get swimming lessons LOL!!!

• to pick up a few tips that I could try myself
• to help them learn by doing extra swimming at the lagoon and making it a fun warm weather activity
• to realize not to take directive or coaching comments personally (much easier to do when they are not directed at you)
• to realize that there are lots of things that need correcting and you can be doing well while still being corrected.
• to realize how precise and beautiful and graceful correct swimming movements are.

More Headaches ... or perhaps war and peace

Well I went swimming yesterday and I was determined to wear a different pair of goggles to the ones that gave me a horrible headache last time.

None of the chemists I visited had them and I had put on my contact lenses specially so it would be easy to try them on ... and be able to see what I was doing.

I ended up buying some at the pool. I tried a few pairs on and the one that "sucked onto my face" the best was Vorgee missiles. One other pair seemed OK too I think it might have been Vorgee Viper but I picked the one that stuck the best.

In the pool it stuck to my face so well it was near impossible to break the suction. Apparently you are supposed to dip your goggles into the water then put let the water run out and then put them on. You are not supposed to rub the lenses or you will damage and remove the anti fog coating.

I put them on and slowly went under .. my contact lenses stayed put and were in absolutely no danger at all of getting wet.

I swam in a pool with full vision for the very first time and it was fantastic!!!! I didn't realize how close to you the bottom of the pool looks in the shallow end ... as if you are going to scrape your knees on it if you are not careful. And how clear the black T at each end of the pool is ... I always thought it was fuzzy and black ... not sharp and dark and soooo close. I could also very easily see the markings on the bottom of the pool for the one quarter, halfway and three quarter mark.

I wonder what the other swimmers thought of the girl chuckling away to herself in lane 8!!! LOL!!!

I should have just looked over at them ... because I could SEE every one of them!!!! Bliss!!!

This was my third time in the pool this week and I am making really great progress ... being able to see helped enormously ... I don't think I would have had nearly as many problems learning previously if my eyesight had not been an issue.

I love swimming with flippers ... how fast they make you go and how well they keep you afloat. I got into a rhythm of breathing while holding onto the kick board. I am reminding myself to keep my head down and trying to do steady slow kicks and steady slow arms and steady slow breathing.

I can feel when I am panicking and I trying to notice what my body is doing so I can get myself back on track.

I try to spend half the time without flippers and at least a few minutes swimming completely unaided. I did "freestyle" for one quarter of the pool this way!!!

I was on cloud nine as I left ... puffing and panting but definitely still alive.

My next class is on Wednesday night, this will be my first swim with Jennie's squad ... am terrified but hopefully will be fun and not too scary.

Once I got home I was ravenous so I had an enormous lunch and tidied up and went to get KT from school.

Still feeling fine at this point ... but had indentations in my face from the goggles (it looked like these were over my eye socket bones in the right place) so I loosened off the straps later on when I rinsed the goggles in cold water.

Then as soon as I returned from school I started getting a headache again and the swirly vision in one eye. Neither was quite as bad as last time, but still a bit scary and I felt a bit like throwing up.

Both days it happened about 2-3 hours after swimming was finished. Both times I had worn goggles for the whole swim which had been tight and left face indentations (although they had not felt uncomfortable in the water).

The difference between these occasions and my first swim was that the first time I came home I had a full hot shower (rather than just a quick rinse at the pool) and washed all the chlorine off me and also washed my hair (wondering if perhaps I still have a sensitivity to chlorine) and the other difference was that when I borrowed Jennie's goggles they kept fogging up and I kept taking them off my eyes every few minutes so I could see her ... maybe I should try taking my goggles off every little and a while to give my eyes a break.

I investigated a bit on the net and discovered that you should not have the strap too tight and that if the goggles leave indentations then that is too tight. Also that you should test them on your face by pushing them onto your eyes and if they suck on for at least a second that means they fit your face well. I think my missiles fit my face toooo well ... they really suck LOL!!!

One person suggested tyr goggles apparently they have one type specifically made for the female face ... extra soft silicone etc ....

As it happened I went shopping again today and looked at and tried on many more goggles. I found a pair of these "petite femme" goggles and bought them ... hopefully they will be the right ones for me.

I have now bought 3 different pairs of goggles and spent a grand total of $50 so far.

Surprisingly Big W at duckworld had a great range including zoggs, tyr, speedo and plenty of kids size ones too so I will take KT there before we venture back to the lagoon. Super Amart and the pool only had vorgees.

I will try my new goggles tomorrow night and if they leak or are not a good fit I will continue to wear my missiles ... but will break the seal regularly while I swim to give my eyes a rest.

What I am learning from swimming.

OK so I have only done it twice so far (swimming) ... but already I have been introduced to the concept of achieving something and then trying to at least the same again or aim for better each time. You always hear swimmers talking about PB's (personal bests) and although this is not a new concept it is not one that I have previously applied to my life.

I have always been competitive, always wanted to get the best or highest score at school, win the game etc BUT I have always seen other people as the competition and have never really thought to myself I will try to do better than my own performance ... instead I try to do better than others. This is fine if the others are better or faster or whatever but it makes sense to do better than yourself if you want to truly progress forward. There are also too many variables involved in competing with others ... some will be easy to beat, some will be impossible to beat ... but improving yourself and using yourself as the benchmark is a good, more consistent way to record and recognize progress.

Hmmmm light bulb moment!!! :-D

I guess if you try to constantly better your own performance in something you enjoy, there is no end .... which is what I have observed with other motivated individuals ... Pat and Jeff with their guitar, Mum with her swimming and knitting, my sister with karate, education, fitness.

I on the other hand try something for a while, reach a point and think OK I have done that now I will try something else. For example learning to play the flute in high school ... doing great then it needs to go in for repairs and I stop. Similar with belly dance ... although I do believe that some things run their course.... and I would have to say that 4 years is the longest I have persevered with anything... so there is a PB for me! :-P

Perhaps a change in attitude and the approach to the activity that I choose, will change the outcome.

I also have realized that everything you do requires time ... (and money). If you don't practise or go over what you have learnt regularly you lose the forward momentum you have gained... not all skills that you learn remains with you for life (with the exception of riding a bike apparently!!!) To practise takes time. If I try to start and do to many things e.g. piano, guitar, dancing all at the same time, I cannot devote myself fully to each.

I was going to say more but I will leave it for another day.

Terrific day

I have had a really great day today.

Everything flowed well and went smoothly. You know one of those days where the birds are singing and it feels like you have a fairy godmother watching over you.

Okay Okay so I just recently went to see Disney on ice with my husband and lovely daughter so perhaps I have fairy godmothers on my mind!

I was very tired this morning and found it really difficult to wake up and was not expecting to have a good day so I was really pleasantly surprised by how everything turned out.

It started when I took KT to school this morning and we sat down together to read a book (as we always do). A little crowd of interested kids came and sat down with us to listen to the story.... right to the end.

Then I said goodbye to KT and asked her to wish me luck for my first swimming lesson and she said .... "I don't think you are going to have a very good time" .....

bear with me here ....

I asked her why she didn't think I would have a good time and she said when she starts new things she doesn't really enjoy them the first time, but finds them much more fun the next time and the next time and the next time.

"So you are saying I shouldn't worry If I don't like this swimming lesson but that if I keep going and trying it will be better each time?"

"Yes" she beamed and gave me a big hug.

I headed home and headed into the backyard with our bin and was met by our puppy who greeted me with sooooo much joy and affection and then rushed around the yard playing happily with me! She is growing up now and although she usually wants to play she isn't always very responsive and sometimes doesn't feel up to it (possibly pregnancy related ... or phantom pregnancy related????).

Then I got changed into my painting clothes and did 45 minutes of fence painting. I discovered that I couldn't reach the top part of the fence and will attempt to paint those parts tomorrow using a ladder ... stay tuned for further adventures!!!

I headed upstairs to do banking and check my emails .... and inevitably play farm town.

They have made some great new changes to the game that took effect this morning and it is much faster and more fun to play now. They seem to know when I have just about had enough of it and then they add a new element and I am hooked again ... actually now that I come to think of it that may not have been such a good thing ... but today it made me feel great!

Some very positive interaction with Uni (tee hee) won't go into more detail as I got ready for swimming.

The class itself was full on and intense ... Jenni is lovely and I learned more in 30 minutes with her probably than I learned swimming at school.

I can only seem to take in a very small amount of information at a time ... so in the last ten minutes I was feeling tired and a bit frazzled and overwhelmed. Luckily I recorded (mentally) everything she said and have been playing it back to myself all afternoon. Wish I could have videotaped the whole thing so I could see what I did, what she said and what effect it had.

Things I have to remember and practise ...

1. put head down and look at the bottom of the pool instead of up or forwards ... this makes your bottom go up (I have heard this told to KT a million times in the pool so should be easy to remember).
2. Do deliberate slow arm strokes e.g. with kick board hold with both hands, lift right arm for breath, then left arm for bubbles. My arms were going all over the place too fast and not in the right sequence ... Jenni got me to try to move one arm all the way around and then only move the other arm once both were at the front.
3. kicking as if trying to kick off a sock ... not mad fast kicking that would be unsustainable in the long term.
4. Breathe every second arm ... get into a rhythm of breathing some air out and some air in with each arm stroke without trying to get all the air in or all the air out each time. (i am not sure if I breathed out using my nose in the water or just my mouth ... will have to see what i do next time)
5. when lying on my back floating my head is too far back (put chin down more ... as if lying flat on a bed) have head, neck, back, hips and knees in a line .. move feet rather than legs when kicking
6. Knees below the surface of the water but chest above the water (back floating)
7. Roll shoulders for arm movements but torso and rest of body stays straight.
8. Don't swim desperately ... try to be controlled and focused
9. If you are tired or struggling .. don't try to swim faster and harder, try to pace yourself, slow down etc.

I found it really difficult to be aware of what I was actually doing, hear and process what was being said and then remember it and put it into practise!!!

Oh well it was only my first lesson.

I plan to try her evening class next week ... which is 1 hour but has several people in it, some beginners some more experienced. That should allow me to have a bit of tuition time, but also to swim and practice on my own as well ... and perhaps observe and listen while others are being taught. I wonder how cold it will be in the evening ....

She also suggested practising during the week, purchasing goggles (I wonder if I could wear contact lenses with goggles and eliminate the panic associated with not being able to see properly)... and also short flippers rather than long ones.

Overall I feel pretty good about how I went and although I would panic as I started to swim, I found I was able to focus and really try with the breathing and could go further than I expected. I remembered someones recent wise words about not stopping and trying to get into a pattern of breathing ... thanks mum!

I left the pool feeling really happy, really tired and somewhat sore and throughout the afternoon I felt like I was breathing more air in and standing up straighter!!!

Feeling very enthusiastic at the moment.

Was completely ravenous and ate a tasty lunch with Uni and then very soon after went to pick up KT.

We had a good afternoon together, plenty of hugs and kisses and I managed to get dinner made and served on time AND KT asked for seconds!!!

There is a free dress and Crazy hat or crazy hair day for school tomorrow so we made a newspaper hat just before bed.

I have cleaned up the kitchen and am thoroughly exhausted now ... still have school lunches to make for tomorrow and Friday but after that I will collapse in a chair ... and head off to bed early.