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