Blenheim: How to Look Good Swimming... Naked!
Since writing my last blog and being ‘hung by my tongue‘ my motivation to learn to swim has quadrupled!
So where am I then? Well having sorted out some gear to swim in, namely a 5 year old swimming cozzie (one careful lady owner, VGC, barely used!), some Aquasphere goggles purchased fromThe Swim Shed (essential kit) and a hand-me down bright orange swimming cap (a freebie from one of Keith’s triathlon events) my winter-white bod braced the tepid waters of The Swim Shed pool for my Swim Check Plus.
This was the swimming naked part!
With four camera angles recording my every twitch above and below the water, this first session stripped me bare! Seeing myself thrashing around in the pool like a salmon in a fishing net was nothing short of alarming! Keith had my attention!
He explained that I needed to master balance in the water before I could move onto full stroke swimming. No probs, I thought, get this little technique licked in a flash and full stroke swimming here I come! Wrong. This balance drill has been the sole focus of all my sessions so far with Keith, plus the practise I do on my own! I am sure Keith, with a wry grin on his face, has been reading my thoughts crying out ‘but when am I going to start using my arms?!!!’
Picture my embarrassment each week arriving pool side at Whittlebury Hall, cap on, goggled-up looking for all intents and purposes like I am about to swim a freestyle P.B. in front of the inquisitive spa guests, prostrate on their sun loungers. I could feel their sympathetic gaze as I just lay there, face down, kicking 1-2-1-2-1-2…going nowhere, sometimes extending an arm or coming up for air, then taking a rest! All the gear, no idea they were probably thinking!
Every once in a while there is a glimmer of hope at the end of my swimming tunnel – I get my technique correct and motor forward! Woo hoo I can do this! Small victories, small victories! Keith constantly reassures me not to worry if it doesn’t feel like it is ever coming together – it will!
So for now, until I report back, I am off to ‘build a relationship with the water’ (fave Keith saying!).
Bye for now!
Jane x
