Thursday, June 9, 2016

June Hobby: Swimming

I chose swimming as my June hobby! I signed up for adult group lessons, and I'm now halfway through, having finished the first of two weeks. On the first day, they put me into the smaller, more advanced group, which boosted my ego. 

Until they then introduced the freestyle stroke. Freestyle made my ego free-fall! I've been trying to figure out why it is so hard, and I've got some ideas:

-I do not like having my face down in the water
-I think too hard about which side I'm supposed to breathe on, and when. 
-When I do breathe, I get water in my mouth, and then I panic. 
-I'm doing something new, and it's something with my body, so I get super self-conscious. 
-As I exert myself, I find myself needing even more oxygen, but can't seem to get enough in my short breaths to the side. 

Today I stayed after my lesson and practiced for over an hour. I learned that keeping my eyes open (I have goggles) helps decrease the panic. Everything else is not easy to fix, I just need to keep practicing. 

On the bright side, I am REALLY good at the backstroke (at least in comparison!). 

My happy news: I bought a new swimsuit today. I finally got one that ties behind my neck, which I've wanted for a long time. No more gym shorts and running shirts when I swim! I'm going to learn to be comfortable in my own skin!

I do have to say: swimming is exhausting, and I think I'm starting to lose weight faster as well, which is a nice side effect! =D

I'm liking this more than running. I like being outside, and I like the challenge of learning something new. 

Currently, my record is 25 meters freestyle without having to stop. I hope I can report back next week with either 50 or 100 meters! Stay tuned!



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