I thought it was a great idea when the knowledge of a swim class came along. 8 weeks and I would be a pro! I would be winning my age group in all the TRI's I participate in right? Haha ha ha. I grew up in a lake. No jokes here about my last name being Lake either haha. My parents shared a lot on Lake Oak Run with my dad's twin brother. We spent our weekends growing up in that lake. I was in swimming lessons before I could walk. I was obsessed with water asking my parents to wake me up on long trips every time we passed a lake, pool, water park, etc. Every chance I got I was swimming! You would think somewhere along the way I would have actually learned some technique, some speed, something. Nope. I learned how to dive in, swim underneath, do somersaults, and have fun! This class my friends, has been a challenge.
Ok so since I do not have enough space or time to try to tell you all that I have been taught, because if you did not know already swimming requires that you think of 200 things all at once and still stay alive, I will give you a list of what I know!
1. No matter if you think you have perfected the art of keeping your head down while swimming, it is not far enough. They tell you to look at the floor of the pool, that's wrong, you actually need to look under yourself at the wall you are swimming away from, at least that's what I think will be required for them to stop yelling at me to get my head down.
2. King Kong must be an excellent swimmer. I believe that is what you must look like while moving your arms in the water. At least that is what we practice before.
3. No matter what you think you look like while you are swimming, you are lying to yourself. Have someone video tape you. It is a real comedy!
4. I know there is a correct way to breathe. I have tried to perfect that many times and decided it is better to survive and not drink the entire pool.
5. It is impossible to try to think about moving your arms correctly, breathing, keeping your head down, moving your legs and feet correctly, and having your hands do that arch thingy all that the same time. There is a reason that they have the saying, "Don't walk and chew gum at the same time!"
6. When learning to do flip turns it is extremely important that you do 2 things, these things are much more important than hitting the wall with your body believe me! 1. Breath out of your nose when turning. DO IT! It really hurts if you do not. 2. Make sure your goggles are tight!
7. NEVER EVER and I mean this, water run before you swim. Your calves will cramp like you have never ever felt before and you will likely be in the deep end looking like a beached whale trying to get to the wall or shallow end.
8. It really does help to get the water out of your ears if you hop on the opposite foot of the ear you are shaking to get water out of! This I have been told only works poolside! So go ahead and look like a freak, your ears will thank you later!
so ok ok, yes I like to joke and in all seriousness this class has taught me one very valuable lesson: I will never perfect swimming! I am totally ok with this! I can go out, swim what I need to, how I want to do it, and have fun with it. I don't care if I look stupid, I don't care if I can go faster by doing things differently! I know I feel comfortable with the way I do it and that is all that matters! This was all for fun anyway right? Plus I have met some awesome people in the class and had a lot of fun, well, when I wasn't practicing drills haha!
Running is so easy. I know right about now people are like WTF Niki. What I mean by this is, I put on shoes, the necessary clothing, sometimes a watch and water bottle, and hit the door running. Yes if I am doing speed work or a long run it is painful and hard and some of my friends do some amazing races! What I mean is I can run without thinking too much, I can chat while I run. Swimming is a total monster when it comes to doing it right! Heck maybe there is a ton of awesome techniques to running I could perfect but if there is, shut up I don't want to know!
All I have to say for all the swimmers out there that have the patience and time to learn to do it correctly, I admire you! In the meantime I will be here in the lanes with you swimming funky, with my head too high, breathing wrong, and my technique will be off, but I will get to the same place all you are going...eventually, and I will LOVE IT!
