Almost like swimming

Stop me if you're getting bored.

So, it was lesson number 3 this Monday. True to his word, my teacher got in the pool, the baby pool aka the bath (it's so warm). He tried to hold my hands to get me to relax and bob up and down, trying to get my face in the water. Not much success. Then walking about and putting my face in. Not much good at that either. Then, how about 'scooping' the water with your face? For some reason, I was starting to be able to do that.

The float. He popped out of the pool and returned with one of those long cylinders of polystyrene that children love to hit each other with at swim parties. He explained that I was going to lie on the water with this under my arms and across my chest. He would hold the ends and I would try to put my face in the water while he was guiding me along. Hmmm. Not very comfortable. Now starting to get funny looks from the other, rather smaller occupants of the pool. So we persisted with the float for a few widths (this is the baby pool so that's not very far). Then it was practising pushing off from the side to reach his hand, not worrying about head or face.

The big step. Now push off from the side and try to take a few strokes and put my face in the water. Managed about one on the first width. Walked back. On the next width did about four but using only arms! He said yes, good but don't forget your legs. I joked about only being able to do two things at a time! So I did it again, and again. At which point he was very congratulatory and I was telling myself not to start crying because I'd actually done it. So, off to the big pool and I wanted to get in and repeat the face in water thing before I lost my nerve. Ok, so the success was putting my face in for alternate strokes! I think it's supposed to be how many strokes while face in water, not how many strokes before your face goes back in again. But hey ho, it was progress of a major kind.

This evening, having cycled from work as usual, I went for a practice on my own. I was determined to get it sorted. The first length was disappointing. No way was I going to put my face in. Hmpf. Not good news. Kept going and on length 7, I did the whole thing with my face in the water for each stroke!!!!!!!! WOO BLIDDY HOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!! I'm not sure that I was always breathing when I should have been. Didn't have a clue what my legs were doing except that they were still following me. As I persisted it seemed that I was going faster. My stroke felt different. The thing teacher had said about your head being up making your legs and bottom go down seemed to be true. How odd that he would know that. So, with my face sticking in the water I now seemed to be on top of the water and positively zooming along. So what if I looked like some nutter trying to wash something off her face. Bliddy hell, I couldn't have dreamed of this even at 7pm on Monday. I even got to the point where I was trying to concentrate on my legs while presuming that my breathing would sort itself out. Crumbs.

Almost like swimming.