Finding my fins part 3: Feeling the Freestyle

As my first week of swimming lessons end, I can say I am still learning the freestyle. I can do the moves but my timing is still off.  Off hand, you can say that this is easy:

(image from http://www.clubsatcrp.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/FREESTYLE.jpg)

And it does look easy. When the instructor gives you the breakdown, it sounds easy too. But for a tense old student like me, it's not easy.

I find myself being too conscious of my body being in the water, the sensation of not quite floating, and having my body under the water. It may sound silly, I know, but I still tense up feeling that I am not quite floating, which results in me not floating even more.

My instructor's solution was to tell me to twist some more when I pull up to get some air. That worked... if I remember to do it. A supplementary solution was to be reminded that I should move my right arm as I get air because the motion pushes me up, avoiding getting water into my mouth when I open it. That worked too... when I remembered to do it. The trick is to remember to do all those things in the right order.  In short, I need to be better at my timing.

With all those mishaps and pool-water-drinking, I was still able to freestyle my way to the middle of the pool (it's an olympic-sized pool). Personally, that's a feat!

So now, I spend my weekend resting muscles that had previously been forgotten. Then I'm back to the pool, it's waters and my lessons on Monday.

#blss #bertlozadaswimschool