Lapping it up

I have never been much of a swimmer, considering my fear of drowning. But I decided to take the advice of my surgeon and my PT and start swimming on a regular basis.

I didn’t even own a decent kickboard, so I first went out and purchased this one. That way I could break up the monotony of doing the crawl for lap after lap with just kicking and catching my breath.

I decided to go to Chinquapin Rec Center, a place where I had spent many an hour when my children were involved in competitive swimming. It seemed so different walking in the door as a swimmer instead of a swim parent.

I knew the first visit would be the most difficult as I worked out the necessary details, the first of which had to do with getting my right flipper on since I still can’t quite touch my toes on that side. (I wear fins because my kick is otherwise so weak I don’t go anywhere.) When I had asked the surgeon about using them, he responded, “But what if you fell walking across the pool deck in flippers?” Even I am smart enough to know you put them on in the pool! So indeed I did. I sat on the edge of the pool at the end of my lane and commandeered someone to put on my right fin. She was more than happy to help.

The swimming actually felt good. Nothing hurt and I was swimming at a constant depth of 3.5 feet so I didn’t have to worry about drowning.

On my first trip to the pool, I did 20 laps. Just like with the houses, I plan to add on a lap or two every time I go (until I reach 50 or so).

Instead of trying to hoist myself up and out of the pool, I walked up the ramp provided for handicapped people and young children, that is after I managed to remove my own flippers. I was extremely cautious not to slip on the wet deck.

I wouldn’t mind some company if you are ever in Alexandria and want to go swimming!