Water ain't got nothing on this fish.

First off, thanks for the comments on the previous blog. Now on to what happened last week.

I had chewed my fingers to bleeding nubs in anticipation of this day.  Alternatively I let my toenails grow extra long to help my chances of success.  I took the balloons out of my shorts though, because that just looked ridiculous.  Today was ripe for tackling my personal goal of front crawl 5 lengths of the pool.

For those that don’t know, I swim like a shot put.  I have good technique from countless lessons but panic with the breathing end of it.  It is completely an irrational mind game that has plagued me for years. 

Practice, Practice Practice, that is how you master anything right? Wrong!  I tackled this challenge completely differently this time.  Practice over the last thirty something years obviously was not the key to success, so I changed strategies....finally.

Here is what I did.  I wrote down what went on in my head when I try to exhale under water and dissected what happens as a result to my body.  Tense muscles, shallow breathing, exhaustion, light headedness, constriction of the throat, and so on.  I then wrote down five strategies, some of which were a result of Kung Fu training.  Some targeted mind focus, others targeted body control, some ideas from fellow students and took these strategies to the pool.

Well I got through lap one, and by jiminy, if I can do one, I can do more.  I am happy to say this is one personal goal that now receives the old check off.

Up until that day I had never completed a single length of front crawl.  This was big success, and by the time I left the pool, I had chalked up 22 lengths of front crawl, and will be looking at using swimming as a part of my exercise regime following more strategies and practice.