Happy Laps where are you?!

I bought the Happy Laps DVD from eBay on 11 September and 3 weeks later it is nowhere in sight! 

The last action shown on the tracking record is it being processed through the "sort facility" in Los Angeles on 16 September.  It is a public holiday here this Monday so I will give it until the end of the week. 

The last thing I need is more excuses not to get back into the water!

My re-debut back into the pool is due next Monday.

Aquamillie

O2 in H2O - part 2

I feel a tad silly even writing this but I must be true to the experience so I will.

Today I put my face in a big bowl of water with a small mirror in the bottom and practised breathing to the side per the instructions in the O2 in H2O DVD. There I said it!

The exercises I did were:

Exercise 1: I put my face close to the water facing the bottom of the bowl without touching it, breathed in through my mouth and out through my nose and watched the water ripple.  

Exercise 2: I put my chin only in the water, breathed in through the mouth and out through my nose and watched the water ripple.   I gradually lowered my mouth and nose closer to the water so that part of my nose and part of my top and bottom lip were in the water and then later so that my whole open mouth was in the water.

The point of Exercises 2 is to start feel how little space above the water is needed to actually breathe in.  Kind of cool actually.

Exercise 3: I breathed in through my mouth, submerged my face, bubbled out through my nose and came up for air. I repeated this, turning (trying not to lift) my face to the side, each time leaving a smaller gap between my mouth and the water so that at one point the side of my mouth was in the water.

In the DVD Terry keeps his mouth open when it is in the water but only breathes out with his nose. While I managed to do that, I know that I used to always close my mouth when it was under water. I don’t think there is a right or wrong but obviously if your mouth is closed you need to factor in a second to open and then close it again when out of the water.

Unfortunately though, something I noticed as I did Exercise 3 was that I was feeling panicked.  L  My breathing wasn’t smooth or comfortable, bubbling out of my nose felt very unnatural and I felt out of breath.  I guess the anxiety around putting my face in the water is still there.

These exercises need to be practised in the pool next but in the meantime I will give the bowl another go tomorrow.  And maybe again after I post this too.

Aquamillie

O2 in H2O - part 1

I had my first viewing of O2 in H2O today.  

It runs for about 55 minutes and spends time on both side breathing (ie: for freestyle) and forward breathing (ie: for breast stroke and butterfly). 

I am going to have to watch it a few more times to absorb everything and then a few more times as I try the exercises but rather than write an essay on everything in the DVD I thought I would post about it progressively.

This first post is an overview of the key skills of breathing.  There are two.  First relates to head spine alignment, the second to breathing with your body.

Head spine alignment

I have learnt that to keep my body buoyant it needs to be balanced and in alignment from my head along my spine to my toes.  If my head is too high up out of the water my hips, bum and legs drop causing drag.  Not so strangely enough, the body also needs to maintain this alignment when I turn breathe . 

In the DVD Terry Laughlin puts it this way:

“Visualise a laser beam coming from the top centre of your head, that laser beam should always point forward and never up”.

Yep, check I get that.

Breathing with your body

Or "rolling to the air".

According to the DVD, the best way to keep head spine alignment when breathing is to:

“... minimise independent movement of your head as much as possible by bringing your mouth to the air with body movement not by lifting or turning your head. In freestyle that means rotating your torso as if you mean to breathe with your belly button. Your head should go along for the ride.”

This means I need to use my belly and hips (ie: use big muscles) to lead and roll my body to allow me to bring my mouth out of the water instead of lifting and craning my head and neck (ie:  don’t use little muscles to turn my whole body).  Guilty as charged when it comes to neck craning! I even recall coming home from lessons with a sore neck because of all said craning.

While this all makes absolute sense, I tried it out on dry land to be sure I got it.  Face down on my bed, right arm out in front past my ear, left pointing to my toes -  see what happens when you just turn your head to the left as opposed to using your belly and hip to rotate.


So put simply, when turning to breathe, keep your head as close to the water as possible and roll your body around to get air rather than lifting your head and neck out of the water.   Yep I get the drift - in theory.


As an aside – the DVD shows lots of underwater images of Terry swimming.  One thing I noticed is that when we swims he is constantly rolling from side to side.  Almost as if his spine is an axis on which he is smoothing tilting one way and then the other.  He never goes so far as to have his shoulders stacked vertically though. Hmmm, interesting.

It's time...

It’s well and truly time to get back into the water. 

To re-motivate myself, I refreshed myself on my journey so far by reading each of my blog posts.  After having done this a few things struck me:

     1.       I have had less 5 hours of instruction

2.       I have only had about 5 hours of practise

3.       I had unrealistic expectations

I should probably also add a fourth:  too much thinking, not enough doing – how unlike me!

In some of my recent posts I talked about a swim method I had come across and wanted to try called Total Immersion. Unfortunately for me though, instruction in the Total Immersion method is no longer available near me, so I am going to have to settle for some self instruction.  (As an aside I haven’t ruled out paying for private lessons but want to try building some core skills first).

I got onto good old eBay last night and bought two of the Total Immersion DVDs.

The first one is called Happy Laps. It contains 8 beginner lessons and drills focusing on being comfortable, balanced and weightless in the water.

The second one is called O2 in H2O. It is a self help course on swimming and efficient breathing.  Sounds interesting.

More info on the DVDs and the plan from here on when they arrive.

Who’d have thought - me at the swimming pool in the middle of winter

I haven’t been to the hydro pool yet but today was a gorgeous sunny 22 degree day so I willed myself to go to my local pool.  The pool is heated to around 28 degrees so once I was in there it was very bearable.

The purpose of my trip was to do the aqua exercises my physio gave me, they being:

·         walking in water (I can see how, in deeper water, this is a good workout)

·         treading water (tried it for the first time today. Didn’t have much of a clue as to what to do but I managed to stay afloat for a burst of time)

·         kicking on my back holding my kickboard across my chest (pretty easy peasy)

·         kicking on my front holding onto  my kickboard (more on that below)

I haven’t been in the water for about 4 months so I really wasn’t sure how my kickboarding performance would go.  I remember when I first started lessons it took a few attempts to get this sorted.  Well I am pleased to say that I was able to get to the other end without gasping for air, without having my thighs burning horrifically and with only one moment of ‘oh, shite I think I am stuck kicking on the spot’.  I wouldn’t say I was powering down like an unstoppable machine but I would say that when it comes to kickboarding - I think I’ve still got it.

I didn’t submerge my face into the water today but that was more to do with my having eye makeup on, and not wanting it smeared all over my face, rather than because I was reluctant to.

More gorgeous weather this week so who knows when I might be able to fit in another mid winter session. J

Forced back into the water

After two weeks of being back from holidays and a week and a half of being back at work, I suffered a pretty bad lower back strain.  I can’t pinpoint what caused it but it was the kind where you can barely  walk, or sit, or move.  One word – ouch!

I have been going to the physio for relief which has been a helpful, if not rather expensive, exercise.  Part of the recovery and strengthening program he suggested was swimming (I told him I couldn’t swim – but was learning) and hydrotherapy.   Kicking on my back, treading water (I didn’t do that in my lessons but have been wanting to try), walking through water and then graduating to kicking on my front.

I know hydro pools aren’t intended for people to splash around in learning to swim, but lucky for me the exercises my physio gave me double as learn to swim drills.  I get to work on my back and parts of my swimming and in the middle of winter, a time I wouldn’t have ventured anywhere near a pool! See, I told myself – something good always comes of something bad.

My local hydro pool is being re-tiled at the moment so I won’t be starting until next week, but knowing that it is indoors and heated to around 34 degrees, I am quite looking forward to this!

A quick wave hello

I got back from my holiday a few weeks ago and thought I'd resurface with a quick wave hello - so hello! *waves cheerily*

It's the dead of winter here but recent events will put me back in the water sooner than I thought. More on that next post though.

Aquamillie

Aquamillie on holidays

My last post said words to the effect of "now that swimming lessons are over is this the end of my blog - no!"

Hmmmm. Given this was on 6 April, nearly 2 months ago, you could be forgiven for thinking it was the end of my blog, but worse, the end of my 'swimming career'!

Not so - although the drop off in swimming activity and focus is undeniable. I put it purely and solely down to the increasingly cooler weather and that I don't have easy access to an indoor pool. A bad excuse I know but I am just being honest.

I am also about to go on holidays and will be back in the middle of winter, so while there may be some water activity on holidays, there probably won't be much regular swimming here until spring time.

In the meantime I would love to hear progress reports from anybody else who has embarked on the challenge that learning to swim as an adult is. :)

Lesson #12 - Ended with more of a fizzle than a bang

I'm a bit hesitant to report that there was no Lesson #12 today so I have gone out with a fizzle rather than a bang.  


The boss decided late this afternoon that we needed to write a paper for one of my projects and as I won't be at work tomorrow I had to get it done this afternoon/evening. This meant I didn't leave work until well and truly after the lesson had started (and finished for that matter). So no last hurrah for swim classes and to be brutally honest I hadn't exactly been looking forward  to it in any case. I think that in my mind I had already decided I had come as far as I could with those lessons and was now turning my sights to practise and drills.


So while I want to look ahead rather than back I think I need to reflect on my 9 lessons.


Did I think they were worth it? ab-sol-utely!!!!


Being able to put my face in the water and not getting water down my nose and throat has been a monumental accomplishment for me and even if that was the only thing I got out of it it would have been worth it. It has given me a greater sense of comfort and confidence in the water and let me enjoy being in and around water more than I have in, well forever.  I can now move around in the water in a more relaxed way and am starting to do something that resembles swimming. While I was hoping to be swimming better by now I do need to remind myself that 9 lessons is really only about 4 hours of instruction and when I look at it like that it's not tooooo band (given where I started from!). I think I probably did let myself down a bit by not practising enough in my spare time though.


Would I recommend lessons? yes!


I still think it is important to look around before committing to anywhere though and if I had my time again I would be asking for more information about the teaching style and program. I also think one on one is best for the first half a dozen or so lessons but I admit that it was nice to share stories with the other girls in my lessons and also be left alone to try things out.


Will I re-enrol next term? no.
As I have said before, I think I have come as far as I can with Jackie and freestyle for now. I do think that in time I will go back to some form of lesson for stroke correction but that's too far off to think about at the moment.


Where to from here?
As I mentioned in my last post I am embarking on the Total Immersion form of self instruction. I have no idea how this will go but given it relies heavily on moving through a series of drills I can do it at my own pace. I figure I have nothing to lose by just giving it a try.  Whilst the cooler weather is already a challenge I can't let that be an easy excuse. Swimming will however now most likely take place only on the weekends and I already have my sights set on a buddy who may be willing to commit to regular sessions at the pool with me.


Is this the end of my blog? No. :)
Just because the swimming lessons are over doesn't mean the end of my blog. I am still committed to this learn to swim mission and almost feel accountable to my blog if I give up!

Enter centre stage: Total Immersion, or just TI

I have mentioned in earlier posts that I was going to look into some different swim teaching styles because I  felt I couldn't get much more out of my current swim lessons and the 'just keep trying' style. I wanted to focus on balance, buoyancy and breathing and find some drills to help me do that.

Enter centre stage: Total Immersion. Or just TI.  

An excerpt from their Facebook page if I may...

"Traditional swimming focuses on pulling, kicking and endless laps. TI teaches you to swim with the effortless grace of fish by becoming one with the water. TI emphasizes the same patient precision and refinement taught by martial arts masters. We start with simple skills and movements and progress by small, easily-mastered steps." 

The ultimate aim of the TI style is to teach people to become relaxed, balanced and aligned with the water and to practise graceful, fishlike and efficient swimming. While that is certainly something I aspire to let us not get carried too away - I am far from that right now! lol  The TI philosophy and teaching style does however fit well with my philosophies and the way I like to learn.

TI instructors can be found in many countries but they are predominantly in the USA.  There are a handful in Australia but unfortunately for me they are not located in an area close to me. There are 3 day TI workshops run in various cities around Australia (not for beginners) as well as 1 day demo workshops (better for beginners).

So where does that leave me you  ask? Running myself through the drills is where. Or as my sister says 'being a Sheldon'.  For any The Big Bang Theory fans you might remember an epidose last season (I think) where Sheldon was teaching himself to swim on dry land in his apartment via the internet.... Well I at least will be getting into the pool every now and then! :)

I am currently in the process of equipping myself with some books and dvds. I haven't yet decided which I will get but hope to do so shortly. I will post back when I do though.

In the meantime the link to the TI site for anybody who might want to go have a look is: 

http://www.totalimmersion.net/home 

This website is very very resourceful.  It has a forum - I love forums! - links to all sorts of blogs by coaches and instructors, information on workshops, video clips and some really good free papers in the 'free stuff' section (being free when you register).  It is mainly targeted at people who can already swim and how they may improve their swimming style but is useful nonetheless.

The Australian site is:

http://www.tiswim.com.au/

or you can get there via the TI worldwide link on the TI home page.  

I actually spoke to Dunstan who is referred to as the Australian contact on the TI home page a few weeks ago when I found the 3 day workshops were available in Australia.  He was extremely helpful and spoke to me for around 20 minutes about where I was up to with my swimming and whether the 3 day workshop would be useful at this stage. Answer was 'probably not' and it would be better to try the demo workshop or private TI instruction first but talking to him about the issues I was having and hearing his approach to them gave me hope that this teaching style could help me.  He also referred me to the pyramid diagram on this website http://swimallday.com/  as a description of how TI is taught in logical and systematic steps.

Other TI resources include facebook pages (Total Immersion Swimming and Total Immersion Australia), a TI iPhone app, youtube clips - you almost don't need to bother buying any of the books or DVDs! 

Before I embark on TI though I need to get through my last swimming lesson on Wednesday. Expect some reflection in my next post. :) 

Lesson #11 - Three weeks between lessons and I felt it

It's been 3 weeks since my last lesson and while I was not exactly looking forward to going today like the trooper I am trying hard to be I went. I was chatting to a girl who has been coming to the Wednesday class and interestingly enough we both commented on how we thought we would be a bit more advanced by this stage. I know, I know - expecting too much - but there you have it anyway.


So todays class seemed to go very quickly. Two laps of just plain kick boarding - which I am now pretty good at :), 2 laps of kick boarding incorporating breathing and arms  - which I am ok at, and 2 laps of 'swimming' - which  I am not so good at. :(


Still getting out of breath after only a few breaths and my left arm is dipping too soon relative to my breathing. 5 consecutive breaths and half way down the pool is my best so far and that seems like moons ago. Jackie suggested I focus on holding my left arm straight out of the water longer which I tried. I felt a difference so we had tiny win there. I also tried to move my right arm faster to see what impact that might have on the whole routine - unsure.  


For some reason today I also ingested a lot of water through my nose, something that hasn't  happened too often before today, but I think I was just out of practice. My breathing still seems too much on the gasping side too. As you can see, so much going on in my head. I probably just need to calm the heck down! 


This all seems so repetitive doesn't it??!  Not to worry. The main thing is that I don't give up. :)

Lesson #10 - Second missed lesson but I have an excuse!

I was sent out of state for work for a few days last minute-ish so missed my second lesson in a row. I didn't have a chance to reschedule the last one I missed and with only 2 weeks of lessons to go I may struggle to make up the 2 I have missed. Life has been a bit hectic in and out of work the last several weeks but will (hopefully) get back to normal after the weekend and with this should come some increased swimming activity.

Lesson #9 - A no show

I had to travel for work today and didn't get back in time to make the swimming class. I will try to see if/when I can make it up. I also won't be able to make next week's class though because, again, I am away for work. I hope this doesn't herald the end of swimming classes!!! I have been so busy in and out of work the last couple weeks and will also be next week I need to make sure my enthusiasm doesn't wane. Oh the complexities of learning to swim!

Lesson #8 - Losing faith but determined not to give up

It was been a fair few days since Lesson #8 and I suspect the fact that I haven't posted about it is reflective of my feelings about how my lessons are going. I feel that there has been hardly any progress now since Lesson #6 and this is dampening my enthusiam.

There was a lot of clock watching in the last lesson - I just wanted it to be over even though I missed the first almost 10 minutes. I did have a very hectice work day, got there late and wasn't feeling relaxed all of which Jackie said would have been contirbuting to my having an off day. While I agree that that wouldn't have helped, I can still only swim half way down the pool at best and all my comments in my last post still stand. It hasn't helped that I haven't gotten to the pool in my own time but without any drills to practice I don't know what I would do in my own time. I don't want to keep practising that which isn't working for me.

I really really really don't want to give up so I have taken matters into my own hands and have been researching some alternate swimming instruction styles. 

More on that next post.

Lesson #7 - Frustrated!!!

Lesson #7 and we are on the home stretch. But I am frustrated!!!!

More freestyle swimming today and I can now get about half way down the 25m pool. I have progressed a teeny weeny bit (again naughty naughty no practise in between) but it is not all that comfortable and I am still finding that my left arm is dipping too soon. Jackie said I am turning my whole body to breath and not just my neck but I feel like I need to to avoid sinking and so my face can clear the water to take a breath in.

What to do, what to do?!?! Jackie's solution is to just keep trying because I am getting better but I am not finding that response satisfactory. I would like to try some drills to help me work on my balance, buoyancy and breathing. I also want to think some more about what my arms are doing and when.

If anybody has any ideas please share them with me. In the meantime I shall be referring to some of my own resources.  :)

Lesson #6 - The halfway mark!

Lesson # 6 heralds the end of the first half of my swim course.

In 6 weeks I have gone from being point blank unwilling to put my face in the water without holding my nose because of the fear of having water travel into my nose and down my throat to not only dunking my face in regularly but doing it without any hesitation at all.

And while I am not yet a fish in the water I am now actually doing something that for short spurts kind of resembles swimming. I have a 5 breath maximum at the moment but I can tell progress between last week and this week (without having done any practise in between - yes naughty naughty) already. 

Last week my left arm was moving into the water too early and causing me to drop in the water and while it still is I have been able to hold it back for a smidge longer and so keep going.  Similarly I can tell I am getting better at taking a breath to the side by keeping my left ear in the water and without lifting my head up out of the water as much. I am also doing a little better in the not taking overly deep breaths stakes. With all this going on I do need to keep remembering to kick and from the hip too!

My goodness so much to remember!  I am sure that for people who can swim this all "just happens" but for me, putting all these different elements into practise and trying to get them each right means there is a lot going on in each stroke.

Some practise in the pool is a must before next week's lesson. :)

A little bit of embarrassed but a lot of support

No excuses but I haven’t been in the pool for any practise since my last lesson so no update on that front but I thought I might write about something else today. Two things actually: embarrassment and support.

First up embarrassment.

I have been so embarrassed about not being able to swim that my friends didn’t even know it.  I haven’t lied and said I can swim but because I wouldn’t outwardly avoid the water and it wasn’t something the people in my life did a heck of a lot anyway it didn’t really ever surface.  If somebody was to ask me outright whether I could swim I would usually respond by saying “I am so weak that I would classify myself as not being able to swim” or “no not really”. But again, not a topic that came up often and not one I would bring up – for obvious reasons.

When I first started swimming lessons I kept it very much to myself – again very embarrassed to admit it. I found though that I wanted to share my experience and excitement at my progress with others so little by little I started to reveal to all my close friends and some of my work mates that I was taking swimming lessons (my family already knew).

I will be honest and say that 3 of these people laughed at me. Laughed. Yes. Laughed! The nerve of them!!!  Especially given that one of them can’t swim herself.  She was immediately chastised by her husband who was there at the time and thought it was great. 

The second “laugher” (more of a chuckle really) subsequently retracted his laugh after being told how offended I was that he had laughed in response to my revealing something that was a pretty big deal to me.

The third laugher was also more of a chuckle really but by the time she chuckled I didn’t care anymore. I was proud of myself and that was enough for me. And when was the last time any of them had taken on such a challenge anyway??! :p

For the most part though people have been amazingly and fabulously supportive.   They really really have. They have told me how impressed they are that I am taking on such a challenge and confronting such a long standing fear and some (more than I expected) have also owned up to not being able to swim themselves.    

Some ask me without fail every week how my lesson was, some have come to the pool with me to practise, others read my blog (one of them, my sister, refuses to read my blog because she thinks it is nerdy….) and they all listen to my now constant chatter and philosophising about swimming, my lessons and the personal benefits I am reaping.

All of this has all been very helpful to me. It has kept my spirits and motivation high and helped me realise that (especially now that I am doing something about it) there is no need to feel embarrassed. I am certainly not the only one who can't swim and in fact recent statistics show that more and more children are becoming adults who can't swim   A big thank you to all of them, to the people who have so helpfully responded to posts I have made on forums on this topic and also to the people who read this blog. I don’t know who you are but my blog stats tell me people are reading so I hope you are getting something back too. J

I might not be shouting it from the rooftops and while I still scan the swim centre before every lesson to check there is nobody I know around (refer to my post on Lesson #1 when I saw my boss’s husband and kids!) and I also still get a little embarrassed at my form when i am practising at the local pool, I am now more proud and excited that I am giving this a shot and taking on the challenge than I am embarrassed about not being able to swim.

Lesson #5 – Goodbye kick board

Lesson #5 today and almost at the half way mark.  Two of us in the lesson today again. I was definitely spoiled being on my own for the first few weeks. J

The lesson started off as usual with 2 laps of kick boarding. This was followed by a number of laps on the kick board and breathing to the side. I was trying to breathe calmly and comfortably and managed to get past half way before stopping.  I have to practise keeping my left ear in the water and avoid lifting my head up when I turn to the right to breathe. When i don't do that I get a bit of water in my mouth but more importantly it tends to cause my body to fall out of balance, drags on my legs and slows me down.   On a side note I love the sensation of my body bouncing up and floating on the water when my face is in the water and my body is in balance.

The third thing we practised was kick boarding, breathing to the side and incorporating the arms. Again I could get about half way down the pool but I was finding that I wasn’t breathing as calmly and comfortably and felt like I was breathing in too late, taking too much of a deep breath in but still running out whilst underwater. I need to work on all this some more.

With about 10 minutes to go Jackie said she wanted to try me without the kick board. Me excited!!! I was actually going to try to swim! We did some out of water arm motions so I could (try to) understand when to breathe in, when to put my head in and what each of the arms are supposed to be doing. This swimming business requires quite some coordination!

When I tried this I could do 2 breaths into the water before stopping. I was already puffed but I wasn’t getting the breath in early enough and I was dipping my left arm before my face was in the water.  This was far too early and was causing my left side to drop.  In turn this meant my body was falling out of balance and sinking and so of course I wasn’t able to rotate to take a breath in and keep going. I was also gulping a bit of water. 

None of this fazed me though because in 5 weeks I have gone from not being able to put my head in the water at all to now attempting to actually swim. I am pretty pleased with that!

TICK! – Overcoming the fear of putting my face in the water

I am officially going to tick this box today. Yay! This really excites me. J 

I stopped putting my face in the water before I was a teenager because of the horrendous water up my nose sensation I experienced every time I tried to do it. But now, a couple of decades on, and with the help of bubbles, I can do it relatively calmly and comfortably without getting water up my nose.

Last week was the first time I had put my face in the water outside of the swimming lesson and today was the second time. The first time was mostly all about just getting used to doing it outside of the lesson. Today though, I focused on relaxing whilst I was in the water and going under in different ways (eg: gliding under water, whilst on the kick board, with goggles, without goggles) in a calmer more comfortable way instead of drawing in big breaths and blowing bubbles in a furious, desperate, slightly panicked way.  And it was paying off.

I’m so glad to say that I am getting to the point where I am really really enjoying being in the water.

Who’d have thought??!!! J

Lesson #4 - Breathing to the side and starting with the arms

Seems I did have an attitude transformation after last week's mini meltdown because I was really looking forward to my lesson today.

When I hopped into my lane Jackie told me there would be two others joining us today. Hmmmm not sure how I feel about that. In the end only one other turned up.  A (I'm guessing) 30 something female. It was her first class but she was comfortable putting her face in the water and had done some kickboarding so she was brought upto where I am upto pretty quickly. But, back to me. :)

The lesson started off with 2 laps of kicking boarding. I must have been powering down because Jackie asked if I had been practising - answer: yes. Next lap I practised breathing to the side while on the kick board. I was able to do this a few times in a row. Then we discussed adding in the arms while still on the kick board. 

The instructions went something like this:

• because you are right handed we will only breathe to the right side
• when your right arm reaches your right ear have your head turned to the right side and breathe in
• get your face in the water by the time your right hand comes back to the kick board
• do a cycle with your left hand while your face is in the water
• bring your head up and turn it to the side when your right hand leaves the kick board
• and begin again
• oh and don't forget to kick!

Say what?!!!! 

Ok I thought, I'm just going to have to try this my own way, which I did. I have no idea what this looked like on the outside (pretty sloppy I a suspect but there will be time to refine technique later :) ) however I managed to do about 4 cycles of this and get half way down the pool before I stopped.  While there was a bit of water coming into my mouth and nose during this process it didn't feel too bad.  I had a tendency to look up and to the side when I came up for air so I need to practise just looking to the side. And yes I need to remember to kick!

When the lesson ended Jackie said we could use the lane a little longer if we wanted to.  I practised the side breathing incorporating the arms some more but was getting out of breath quickly so called it a day. I really think an increase in overall fitness and lung capacity is going to help.

Now that I have experienced a "non-private" lesson I am still of the opinion that one on one at this stage is best - 2 in a class would be second best but I can't imagine what it would be like with more than 2 to a class! The lane seemed crowded with the 3 of us in there, there was a couple of near collisons between the other learner and I and there was waiting time at the end of each lap so there was a good distance between the person kicking ahead and behind - this was so we didn't kick in each others faces as much as anything. There was of course down time and waiting time and less personal attention and one person will always be sped up or slowed down.  For example in this case, although the other learner could kick board she couldn't yet do a full lap so she was stopping more regularly both with and without the arms. Had she been in a one on one class I suspect she would have strengthened her kicking skills before moving on to other things. 

At this stage I also think that having other people in the class puts everybody at risk of comparing abilities and progress  - not good at all! and something I tried really hard not to do because I think it could affect one's enthusiasm and confidence.

The other tiny step of progress today was I opened my goggled eyes under water! Twas cooool. :)

Aquamillie @ the beach! :)

Aquamillie @ the beach - I feel like a cartoon character! hehehe

I live around 15 minutes from some of Australia's most beautiful beaches and this past week has been h-ot! Yesterday I went to one of those beautiful beaches and found I was more confident in the water than ever. I still wasn't out far but I was out a bit further than usual, I stayed in the water longer and I didn't rush out of the water when I saw bigger waves approach. It wasn't an overly big wave day but still I can tell progress. The one time I got dumped and went under I remembered to blow bubbles out of my nose and managed to emerge without getting the dreaded water up the nose.

A small thing I know, but an added bonus from swimming lessons. :)

Lesson #3 – Mixing up the kick boarding and face in, face out

I really didn’t want to go to my lesson today but I pushed myself to go out at lunch and buy some goggles (Speedo Merit $19.95) and to get to the lesson. I told Jackie I was a bit flat about having gone to the pool 4 times in the last fortnight and not being able to put my face in the water even once and that I was a bit anxious about doing it today, although I didn’t know why because I had done it in the last lesson.  She smiled and nodded and after a chit chat helped me put on my goggles and we set off. 

Today I did:

-          more kick boarding.  

I can now do a 25m lap fairly comfortably and have set my sights on a 50m lap.  My thighs are still tiring quickly (very wobbly after the half hour lesson!) so I think some thigh and hip strengthening exercises as well as better increased overall fitness would do some good.

-          two laps of face in water action whilst on the kick board. 

Until now all the kick boarding has been with my hands grabbing the top of the kickboard. When I am on the kick board putting my face in the water though my hands grab the bottom end of the kick board.  This is much harder, because there is less flotation, so I think that from now on when I kick board practice I need to practice both and mix it up.  It’s also harder to keep moving when one is focusing so much on psyching oneself up to put their face in the water!

During the first lap and the first two thirds of the second lap of face in water action there was a fair bit of a gap between each time I put my face in and sometimes I would stop altogether.  During the last third of the second lap though it was pretty much face in, face out for a few breaths, face back in. I did this maybe 5 or 6 times in a row. 

When my face was in the water I didn’t quite feel as comfortable as it did last time but the goggles helped immensely!  I did still close my eyes when I put my face in – habit I guess – but because I could open them when I came up it helped me to keep going.

My enthusiasm levels have been lifted again now and as long as I can get to the pool in the next few days, I think I can tackle putting my face in the water outside of the lesson environment.  Fingers crossed for me. J

The first bout of lesson anxiety...

It's the night before Lesson #3 and I am suffering from a little bit of anxiety about going. :( My last lesson was 2 weeks ago and while I have been to the local pool about 4 times since then for some kick boarding practise, I couldn't even once bring myself to so much as attempt putting my face in the water.

Jackie told me at my last lesson that we would be putting my face in and blowing to the side at my next (ie this) lesson and I just don't feel like I am going to be able to do it. I haven't practised and I haven't bought a pair of goggles yet so I feel under prepared. I am now dreading the thought of spending half an hour avoiding, or trying to, put my face in the water.

Hoping for an overnight attitude transformation...

TICK! - Kick boarding a 25m lap

I knew that in order to make the most of my swimming lessons I would need to also commit to out of class practice.  In this vein I purchased a 20 visit pass to my local public pool.  As a side note – since when does it cost $4.50 to go to the pool?! Seems exorbitant!  The pass cost $66 which is $3.30 per visit, a somewhat more reasonable amount.  My local pool is a 2 minute drive from home and has a 25m heated pool which is conveniently tucked away to the side. 

Since buying the pass I have made 3 visits: one on 24 Jan, one on 29 Jan and one somewhere in between.  The visits have all been for around half an hour.

My first 2 visits were around half an hour before closing time on the theory that surely it would be empty or emptying out by then (not true) and my third visit was around 10am (perfect time – I had the pool to myself!).

Progress in terms of kick boarding and face in water action on these days was as follows:

·         24 Jan – I struggled to get into a good rhythm and my thighs seemed to be tiring quickly but by the end of my session I managed a 25m kick boarding lap without stopping. Yay! I pulled myself out of the pool, gave myself a pat on the back and given the amount of effort it required wondered whether it was a fluke (bad negative thoughts!). Nonetheless I concluded it was too early to tick this box. Although I was focusing on kick boarding I mentally acknowledged that there had been no face in water action.  My justification for that was because there were being about 10 others in the pool and I’d have felt a bit silly given how horribly ungraceful I was at the moment.

·         Next visit – I could only get about 2/3 thirds of a lap in before stopping and definitely no face in the water action. It was seeming like last time's full lap was a fluke.  :(

·         29 Jan – although there were a few false starts, by the end of my session I had done 4 25m laps!  I stopped between each and while I don’t know how long they each took by the 3^rd or 4^th one I was only gasping rather than heaving for the energy to get in the last few kicks. Box now officially ticked!  As for face in water action – none. No excuses this time, given I had the pool to myself.  

We have very hot weather coming up this week so more practice is scheduled. :)

A little bit about the swim centre

There is no lesson this week because of the Australia Day public holiday so I thought I would write a little about how I found my class, how much it costs and what the swim centre is like.

According to the yellow pages many public pools and private swim centres have adult learn to swim classes however, turns out that is not quite true.  Some didn’t even offer them and of those that did most only offered private classes arranged directly with an instructor, at a cost of $30 - $40 per half hour.  There were only 3 swim centres which had organised regular classes available.

Option 1 was a little out of the way and classes were on a Friday afternoon so I ruled it out. 

Option 2 was my preference:

·                Monday 7.30pm

·                5 minutes from home

·                30 minute class

·                $15 per class

When I went to check it out though, which was during the allocated class time, I was horrified! The place was dark, dank, had no natural light, looked somewhat tired, over powered me with the smell of chlorine, and worst of all the instructor was standing on the side of the pool yelling at the person in the water. Granted it was probably so that he could hear her but it put me off instantly and I left without bothering to look.

Option 3:

·                daily 11.30am and 5.30pm classes as well as an 8am Saturday class

·                10 minutes from work but a bit longer from home

·                30 minute class

·                $15 per class if you pay by the week

·                $12 per class if you book in for a term or for all of what is left of the term

When I went there for its inspection, I fell in love….  a gorgeous, bright, airy, state of the art centre with a great vibe, plenty of natural light and most importantly nobody doing any shouting!

The pool I use is 25m, 1.2m deep, has 8 lanes and is heated to 29 degrees, the change rooms are nice and clean with (divine!) hot sensor showers inside as well as poolside, and the only rules are that you must wear a swim cap in the pool and hop under the showers before getting in.

Given that Option 3 is part of a big busy gym the only downside was the increased chance of running into somebody I knew but overall I was sold!

I have paid $144 and booked in for 12 weeks.  I am the only one in my class (so at $12 a lesson my private instruction is an absolute bargain) and from what I have gathered most of the time slots are pretty bare.  

I go to the same half hour session each week which means I have the same instructor each week but you can change session times – it just means you may not get the same instructor.  You do need to book in though, point being if nobody does they won’t schedule an instructor.  The swim centre only has learn to swim pools which mean that after the lesson you can’t stay behind and practice. That hasn’t been a problem so far though because after my half hour I have been exhausted!

At this preliminary stage I am glad I am the only one in the class because that means it is all about me! J   And really I just don’t think that any more than a class of 2 is conducive to a decent learning pace for this sort of thing.  I think though that as I progress it would be nice to have others to share the different experiences with.

I am pretty pleased with everything so far and am actually surprised at the pace of progress.  I wasn’t expecting face in the water action from lesson #1 and I certainly didn’t think that by lesson #3 I would be trying to incorporate taking in breaths from the side (that’s coming up next lesson I am told....).  Having said that though there is no overbearing pressure to attempt anything I am not comfortable with and I think that that, combined with Jackie’s calm nature and the really nice vibe and environment of the centre has kept my enthusiasm for this challenge well and truly alive. J

Lesson #2 - Kicking and Bubbles

Googling and YouTubing

Since my last lesson I have been Googling and YouTubing “kicking” and “head under water” topics to high heaven!  Legs straight, ever so slight bend in the knee, chest pressed down into the water to help raise the hips, toes pointed, ankles a little floppy, kick from the hips, kick in the water not the air, blow bubbles through the nose. Needless to say, a lot to take into account but I was looking forward to Lesson #2.

Kicking

When I got to my lesson (after a quick scan of the place – phew, no boss or boss’s husband in sight), with all my newly acquired information on kicking in my head, I set off kick boarding.

Bum-bah...  got nowhere, well not nowhere but hardly anywhere . While I was managing to stay afloat I did a lot of kicking on the spot. After a chat to Jackie we established my legs were too tense  and I wasn’t using my thighs (the biggest part of the leg) to move water but rather I was using the lower part of my leg.

Armed with that information I tried and tried and tried and finally kind of got it – basically when you’re thighs are burning you know you have it.  I was still pretty good at kicking-on-the-spot but there was progress.  I went from stopping about 5 times in 25m to 3 times to being able to stop only once.  My thighs were absolutely killing and I was getting out of breath but I figured it was very good exercise!

My next aim now is to complete a full lap. I don’t know what planet I was in last week when I recalled that I kick boarded the whole lap on my first go! Not true peeps. Sorry.

Morale for today though is Google and YouTube as much as you want, but nothing beats just getting in there. Doing it. Feeling it. Trying different things. And practice.

Bubbles

My big big achievement for today’s lesson though was putting my head in the water without getting water up my nose!!!! Now THIS was exciting! 

When Jackie mentioned that the next step was going to be kick boarding and putting my face in the water to blow bubbles, my instant panicked thought was “nnnooooooooooo” and said can we try that after one more kick boarding lap? When that lap was finished I looked at the clock, realised I had less than 10 minutes left which meant that this part of the class could only last so long. 

So off I set clumsily kicking, kicking, kicking  - psyching myself to put my face in – just a smidge.  1, 2, 3 breathe, nose in the water a little, blow - blow -  blow starting before I even got to the water  – no water up the nose!!! It actually worked!  And of course it did. If you are blowing enough, which doesn’t need to be strongly, but enough so you can feel the water bubbling how can water get up your nose?   I did this, in single spurts, about 6 times before the class was over and while there was hesitation and a lot of internal psyching myself up before each time, I was pretty chuffed with myself overall. 

I hope I haven’t made this all sound too graceful because let me tell you it was nothing of the sort! Each time I was done with the kick boarding / blowing bubbles combination I would come to my feet abruptly, eyes tight shut, hands flying up to wipe the water from my eyes, nose and mouth.  I really hope nobody is paying any attention to me during these classes!!!!

My next aim here is to be able to put my head under more than once in a row before stopping.

I don’t know what it is but something about my swim class environment gives me a higher level of confidence than I thought I had.  The whole head under water thing is something I have not done in YEARS, and while it still is a major stumbling block, I now feel like there is a chance I can really overcome it.

I felt great after today’s lesson so I decided to go home, open a box of dark chocolate Ferrero Rochers and pig out. I convinced myself I deserved it. hehehe

Lesson #1 – Seems I can float after all

The day of Lesson #1 finally arrived. I sat in my car in the car park a few minutes early mustering all my courage not to drive away. I walked to the counter ever so "calmly" scanning the aquatic centre for anybody I might know – phew none in sight!

I put on my swim class appropriate cossies and came out, swim cap in hand, to see my instructor (Jackie – quietly relieved it was a female) already in the lane in the water waiting for me.  I knew I was the only person enrolled in this particular class so at this stage there was nothing else to do but get into the pool.  Which I did – ooooh - 29 degrees was a smidge cooler than I had been expecting. What had I been expecting – a spa bath perhaps??? Anyway at this stage I wasn’t hesitant about getting in because at 1metre along the entire length of the pool the water level was well within my comfort zone .

The first thing Jackie did was ask me about my water skills, or lack thereof. A few questions along the lines of:

-          Can I swim at all – nope. 

-          Can I float on my back – I don’t think so.

-          Do I put my head under water – only with my eyes closed and holding my nose else water goes up my nose - eeek.

We tested whether I could float on my back– tick! Seems I can. J

After that she pulled out a kick board and showed me how to kick.  It was a bit hard to see her technique in the water but I grabbed onto the board and off we went kicking down the pool (me holding onto the kick board trying not to make it or me sink, she walking in the water beside me).  I managed to reach the other end without sinking or stopping but I was exhausted and breathless - that was actually hard yakker!!!

It was at this point that I also noticed a man who looked very much like my boss’s husband sitting at the end of the pool with his young boys – OMG it was my boss’s husband. Arrghhh! Did he spot me, is he going to tell my boss, does she ever come during this time, will he recognise me in my cap, bloody bloody this was all going well until now.

Perhaps it was a combination of seeing a familiar face and exhaustion but kicking back down to the other end was very stop / start. My feet kept sinking and I was only going a few metres at a time. When we got to the other end Jackie pulled out some flippers and said using them would let me feel what position my feet need to be in for proper kicking. The flippers were awesome – I was literally gliding down the pool. Unfortunately though when I went back to no flippers for the next lap I felt like I was going nowhere and worse backwards.  My kicking seemed worse than the very first lap and my feet and kick board kept sinking after a few metres.  Jackie said I was doing quite well for my first go but it was pretty clear this was going to require a good amount of practice (and some googling on good technique).

Jackie then asked me if I would like to try to put my head under water. I said “maybe not today” thinking lady “I haven’t put my head under water for 30 years I am not about to just do it now”! but after one more stop / start kicking lap I thought what the heck, I am here to push my boundaries a little. So I tried, using Jackie’s tip: to avoid getting water up my nose gently exhale out of my nose as it submerges into the water.

Bzzzt! I couldn't do it. I was tense and felt like I was out of breath before I even got close to getting my nose in. This wasn’t going to happen today and was going to be my biggest immediate challenge. I have to say I was a bit disappointed that Jackie didn’t have any exercises or other ways to help  me relax me and coax me further into the water. I made a mental note to google when I got home.

So after Lesson #1: yes I can float, yes I am still very reluctant to put my head under water but most importantly yes I will be returning next week for Lesson #2. J

A confession

I have a confession – I can’t swim.  And I really really hate it.

While I will go into the water (short spurts, shoulder high only in pools, thigh high only at the beach) I am just not comfortable in it and over time have turned into a moderate aquaphobic.   If I am at any risk of having my feet anything other than firmly planted on the ground I get anxious and I get out! My bum sinks to the ground when I try to float, I won’t open my eyes under water and worst of all I can’t put my head under water without getting a noseful. 

So, last November, during a period when I wasn’t quite feeling myself I decided I needed to do something for myself. I toyed with the idea of a pottery class but it wasn’t going to fulfil me in the way I needed at that time. Then suddenly - I had a brainwave – I will learn to swim!!!! Now, not surprisingly, it is not the first time I have had this brainwave but this time I knew it was different – I was really going to... well look into it at least....

2 months later...

It is 11 January 2011, and after numerous delay-booking-into-swimming-classes-tactics, I have finally done it – I have booked myself into weekly adult learn to swim classes. They start tomorrow. Arrrggghhh! I am nervous and excited and nervous and excited and nervous and excited. If I can learn how to swim I am going to feel as if I can do any-thing!