126 Days to go and My first swimming lesson (well I had lessons when I was maybe 4 years old)

It is Thursday morning pitch black outside, it’s raining and cold and I have been awake since 4am. My alarm is scheduled to go off at 4h40, to be ready to be at the pool by 5h05am.

Mixed emotions running through me from what am I doing this is surely crazy too I can’t wait to go swimming and do so with a coach.

Meeting new people, especially athletes freak me out a bit, yes it true. My insecurities from having a disability have been implanted in my since very young. I suppose you could ask most people who have a disability and they would all kind of say the same thing. “In this world having a disability creates a stigma in your own mind never even mind the people who know you or who meet you for the first time or who even walk past you on the street.” Finding acceptance and moving on with a disability, or as one of my dear friend said to me, “look pass your disability, it’s not who you are”

So arriving at the pool, I met Luke the coach and said he would like to chat to me before he gets me in the pool to swim. I just needed to wait till he got the other swimmers going on their session. I take a seat on the chair, and then hear him shout out to the other swimmers.......

“Your warm up is 100m any, 50 different, 50m sprints with 20 seconds rest in between sets”

Well it went something like that; I just had this sudden thought

“What did he just say and how on earth would I remember that when I am told to do whatever he just said, great this is going to be interesting”

So we chatted for a bit, I told him my goals, where I have come from re swimming etc. Then I jumped in the pool, he told me “please swim 100m freestyle” Oh that’s easy, so off I went. (FYI – we practice in a 25m pool).

Next “please sprint 25m freestyle, rest 10 seconds then sprint another 25 metres, do this 4 times” not that hard, but sprinting is intense, its full steam with all you have till you reach the wall, breath a few seconds and do the same back.  29 Seconds I touch the wall, breathe deeply for 10 seconds then sprint out for 29 seconds more. After the 4^th one my arms are burning, my lungs can feel I just did something they are not used to but I realise I am in my dream worldJ. I Love what I get to do and work towards.

Luke then said “swim 4 sets, 100metres free, 100metres free with buoy, 100 metres free, 100 metres buoy.”I must have looked puzzled, because he said ok, that’s 4 lengths, freestyle, and then do another 4 lengths with a pool buoy, then repeat that session again.

Swimming lingo, I need a dictionary for this!

So for the next 4 months, my Monday, Tuesday and Thursday mornings will be learning swimming lingo and of course swimming J