I think swimming is consuming my life and I've been doing it for less than 3 weeks
Former Member
At first, I was on vacation and I saw my girlfriend swim a few laps and thought, "Gosh, I should really take some lessons and learn how to do that."
Then it was, "I should really do some online research to complement my lessons."
Then, "I might as well start participating in some of these swimming forums."
Then I needed more time to practice, so I started going to rec swims. I'm now getting a SECOND instructor for a different perspective in addition to my on-my-own rec swim time.
And all the time I'm not in the pool, I'm watching videos, reading forums and articles, learning about top swimmers, going out to buy goggles (tonight), and generally wanting to get back in the water and practice...
All this and I can barely frakken swim a length in anything other than backstroke! Jesus. I'm taking "addictive personality" to new levels here. What on earth did I do with my life before three weeks ago?
And what implications does this have for the rest of my life? The first 23 years on dry-land are looking more and more like a write-off in comparison to the satisfaction I get from being in the water -- when it isn't in my nose, ears, mouth, and eyes, that is.
I spent a lot of time on dry land practicing my dancing and these days, I teach it. Because my dancing is automatic -- I "just do it" without thinking -- I can't really remember what it was like NOT to be able to do it.
In the same sense, I've had a lot of people say to me, "You're just learning to swim now? I can't imagine what it would be like NOT to be able to swim." I think I can relate.
Parents
Former Member
islandsox: thanks for the thorough response.
I can't really "slow down" -- I'm a jittery person and I always need something to occupy me physically and mentally. So aside from sex, sleeping, and eating, swimming just happens to be "it" right now and for the foreseeable future. =)
I'm actually scared to death of talking to anyone in the water other than my instructor.
In fact, two guys laughed at me today when, after several laps of kicking drills, I got really tired and started sinking and my recovery wasn't, shall we say, graceful? Anyway, I didn't take it too personally, but it doesn't make me want to talk to any of those people. Who am I to disturb their swimming?
(And yes, I'm normally a very easy-going and social person.)
Keep in mind that up until a few years ago, I would literally feel sick to my stomach at the smell of chlorine... not out of fear of water, but because it represented this skeleton in my closet that I had never really dealt with. It was really hard for me to get into a pool for the first time not because the water bothered me, but because there was nothing productive I could do with it -- and I knew everyone else could.
In high school I had to drudge through these swimming "lessons". (Note: "lesson" = "okay, everyone get in and do ten laps"). That didn't help.
Since I've started this little journey of mine, I've been casually pinging people -- "hey, are you much of a swimmer?" Having walked around on the planet for 23 years thinking everyone I passed could swim 10 beautiful freestyle laps with ease, it's been interesting to find out that, in fact, many people are very weak swimmers or can only just barely stay afloat.
It's changed my mental map of reality. Just imagine how you'd feel if you thought absolutely everyone else could do this simple thing that you couldn't. Now that I find out that's not the case-- a) it isn't all that simple and b) everyone else can't necessarily do it very well -- it's been a real mind-screw.
Anyway, maybe my new, second instructor will be better. I've decided that I want to be in the pool once a day. Any more than that doesn't give my muscles time to rest. Any less and I get restless. The next four weeks I will have five -- yes, you heard right, five -- private lessons per week with my two instructors. I think of the privates as times when I can experiment and practice and have someone point out my mistakes without all the pressure of having a dozen other swimmers zipping around the pool confusing me.
I'd like to be able to passably swim freestyle, backstroke and breaststroke and hopefully tread water by Christmas because I'm going to Mexico for a few weeks. I might not reach all of my goals, but I'm going to (almost) die trying.
As for TI: I'm a very technically-minded person and I come from an engineering background.
For example, when I teach dancing, I will spend as many 1-hour lessons as necessary explaining to people what it means to have their shoulders and lats engaged, their arms relaxed, their fingers engaged, and their center of mass back on their heels. People just want to learn "the steps," but I insisted that they do it well.
From what I understand about TI, it takes the same approach for swimming. I think I "get" where the author is coming from on that. I don't want to be fast -- I have no plans to compete. I want to be effortless. In the same way, I dance not to be showy (some people are performance dancers), but to FEEL GOOD while I do it.
So there's my life philosophy. And holy cow, did my post ever get long. If you read this far, congratulations. :blah:
islandsox: thanks for the thorough response.
I can't really "slow down" -- I'm a jittery person and I always need something to occupy me physically and mentally. So aside from sex, sleeping, and eating, swimming just happens to be "it" right now and for the foreseeable future. =)
I'm actually scared to death of talking to anyone in the water other than my instructor.
In fact, two guys laughed at me today when, after several laps of kicking drills, I got really tired and started sinking and my recovery wasn't, shall we say, graceful? Anyway, I didn't take it too personally, but it doesn't make me want to talk to any of those people. Who am I to disturb their swimming?
(And yes, I'm normally a very easy-going and social person.)
Keep in mind that up until a few years ago, I would literally feel sick to my stomach at the smell of chlorine... not out of fear of water, but because it represented this skeleton in my closet that I had never really dealt with. It was really hard for me to get into a pool for the first time not because the water bothered me, but because there was nothing productive I could do with it -- and I knew everyone else could.
In high school I had to drudge through these swimming "lessons". (Note: "lesson" = "okay, everyone get in and do ten laps"). That didn't help.
Since I've started this little journey of mine, I've been casually pinging people -- "hey, are you much of a swimmer?" Having walked around on the planet for 23 years thinking everyone I passed could swim 10 beautiful freestyle laps with ease, it's been interesting to find out that, in fact, many people are very weak swimmers or can only just barely stay afloat.
It's changed my mental map of reality. Just imagine how you'd feel if you thought absolutely everyone else could do this simple thing that you couldn't. Now that I find out that's not the case-- a) it isn't all that simple and b) everyone else can't necessarily do it very well -- it's been a real mind-screw.
Anyway, maybe my new, second instructor will be better. I've decided that I want to be in the pool once a day. Any more than that doesn't give my muscles time to rest. Any less and I get restless. The next four weeks I will have five -- yes, you heard right, five -- private lessons per week with my two instructors. I think of the privates as times when I can experiment and practice and have someone point out my mistakes without all the pressure of having a dozen other swimmers zipping around the pool confusing me.
I'd like to be able to passably swim freestyle, backstroke and breaststroke and hopefully tread water by Christmas because I'm going to Mexico for a few weeks. I might not reach all of my goals, but I'm going to (almost) die trying.
As for TI: I'm a very technically-minded person and I come from an engineering background.
For example, when I teach dancing, I will spend as many 1-hour lessons as necessary explaining to people what it means to have their shoulders and lats engaged, their arms relaxed, their fingers engaged, and their center of mass back on their heels. People just want to learn "the steps," but I insisted that they do it well.
From what I understand about TI, it takes the same approach for swimming. I think I "get" where the author is coming from on that. I don't want to be fast -- I have no plans to compete. I want to be effortless. In the same way, I dance not to be showy (some people are performance dancers), but to FEEL GOOD while I do it.
So there's my life philosophy. And holy cow, did my post ever get long. If you read this far, congratulations. :blah:
