Swimming Lesson #31


I managed two lengths of the pool without a rest today, which was a big step up from before I went to Canada.

The big difference was in my kicking; I focussed a lot on bigger, slower kicks and this was so much more efficient that early on, I managed to go four strokes without needing to come up for air. Maybe that was too much – becoming absent-minded underwater and forgetting to come up to inhale.

Today me and Vanessa, the other pupil, had some harsh interval training to do. She’d swim two laps, then I’d swim two, then she’d swim two, then I’d swim two. Thus the faster you went, the less rest the other person had, and therefore the slower they’d go, and the more rest you’d get.

Not that I could do anything to influence this, because until the end of our session I’d manage a length and a bit, and then, lungs burning, legs aching (too much squatting at the gym) I’d grind to a halt and come. Up to breathe.

Still, by the end of the session (including a cruel diversion where we had to do two lengths each with flippers and hand paddles, to make things harder) I was going quite smoothly, resisting the instinct to flap my legs in effectually, and not sticking my head way out of the water every time I breathed. Was it abstaining from coffee that did it? Having a dreadful sleep this morning with a storm and sleepless kids? Who’s to say? But: two laps today – how many next week?


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