So there's good news and bad news on the swimming front...
My basic swimming skills are improving (the good news), so my wonderful but insane personal trainer/instructor is pushing me harder, faster, and further than I feel comfortable going (the not-so-good news).
(But, then again, if I was primarily concerned with my comfort level, I, the quintessential aquaphobe, wouldn't be in a YMCA pool, or any pool, every Saturday morning at 8 AM.)
To my utter terror, that means venturing into the deep end, beyond the orange cone that represents to me some measure of water safety. (Though I suppose progressing from the shallow end to the deep end of the pool is a small victory in its own right, I'm not sure I'm "ready" for it.) She might hold on to me at first, allowing me to catch (and hold) my breath, but then she'll (sometimes literally) give me a push and I'm on my own, frantically windmilling my arms and kicking as if my life depends on it (which, in the deep end, I feel it more or less does).
I would feel so much safer staying in the shallow end...forever...but I suppose that's a good metaphor for life, which, unfortunately, doesn't allow us to stay in the shallower, safer end for long.
And the challenges within this massive swimming quest keep coming. Last Saturday, instead of a buoy, my instructor fitted me with a pair of swim fins (an upgrade, I suppose?)...very heavy, very awkward swim fins. Though they did help me maintain a stronger kick and stay upright during my many floating attempts, I blame them for the nasty leg cramp, which started in my right foot and quickly crept up to my calf, that nearly disabled me as I made my valiant "one more and then we can go home" sprint to the end of the pool.
Besides being a catchphrase from the film "Finding Nemo" (pictured above), I think "just keep swimming" may be the answer to all of my aquatic issues.
Next Saturday, I've already been warned, I will face a new fearsome foe: the breastroke (which, I fear, might give me a stroke)! I'm afraid...very afraid, but determined to keep swimming.
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