Sink or Swim

At the start of Week 3, I felt like I was gaining momentum.

Not only were we taught some really good drills to perfect our breathing and stroke techniques, but we also learned how to tread water (which isn't easy by the way).  Apparently, I was doing something right because our instructor asked me to demonstrate a few exercises to the rest of the class and she really commended me on having great form. The time I had been spending in the pool on the weekends seemed to be really paying off!

Unfortunately, I had to miss two lessons–one in Week 3 due to a terrible stomach flu and one in Week 4 due to a business trip. Being out of the water for more than a week, I felt really out of sorts and wishing I had spent more time in the pool. 

Returning to the water in Week 4, we focused on our backstroke. No really, not just floating, we were moving. Surprisingly, I found it easier to swim on my back than freestyle, mainly because there’s less to worry about as far as breathing goes.  According to our instructor, apparently, that’s how Olympian Michael Phelps started too ("I hated to get my face wet, but with proper instruction, I learned to be comfortable and confident in the water and my passion for swimming grew with each visit to the pool," Phelps said, as quoted on www.usaswimming.com).  

Okay, so I know I’ll never be the next Michael Phelps, but it’s comforting to know that I’m not the only one that took to swimming on my back first and hopefully my commitment will pay off soon. My goal is to get back into the pool this weekend to work on a few drills and perfect my strokes. With the final week of lessons looming around the corner, I definitely want to finish strong!