swim forest swim!

i have been so busy with everything i haven't had time to post. actually i think i just got lazy again. it's easy to get lazy when you are me :) i'm not sure what that means but it's true.... really!!

i actually have been really active lately. i added another sport to my ex-cyclism: swimming. i know what everyone is thinking, "i thought he was allergic to water?" or "isn't that dangerous?... for you?" swimming has been a life long dream of mine, i can remember being a young kid wading in the lake watching my tube float away to the water that was just deeper than i was tall.
i have to get up early every morning to take my oldest kid to swim practice by 5:20am!!! it's very difficult to do this 4 days a week, so i thought that i would make the most out of it, by stopping at the rec center and experiment with swimming. the most amazing part is that i was able to talk my 12 year old into going with me and being my coach. the first day out i just got a kick board and kicked across the pool. i could not believe how slow i was. it took almost 2 minutes to go 25 yards. i'm not used to doing anything that slowly....it's just not worth it. alex suggested that i use fins to help out a bit.... at least it helped my moral. so for the next couple weeks i would alternate between fins and feet... and only using the board. now my kicking has improved quite a bit and i can get across the pool in a respectable time.

my next step was the arms. i have to figure out how to get the arms going. breathing is too much to ask for someone with my skill level. let me explain something for a second... i can not swim. i have taken lessons as a kid and spent some time in a lake, or on rivers, but i still can not swim. i think it is because i am not comfortable in the water and i am too uncoordinated. i am coordinated enough to unicycle and juggle, but i can't swim....or dance [that's another post :)]. so my strategy for learning this time is to do one part at a time. first learn to kick very well. not just able to move my feet, but be able to propel myself at a very good pace without thinking. it has to be automatic. next: learn the most efficient stroke i can. again, i want to be able to propel myself at a very good rate, without thinking. finally i need to breath. i am not sure how i am going to figure this part out but currently i am using a snorkel. the snorkel is great, i wish that i could use it all the time. however, i don't want to get too dependent on it. so what i have been doing is timing my breaths to match my strokes. maybe this week i'll try to go with out the snorkel.

so where was i?

i don't remember... so i'll just finish up here. it's been very challenging to learn to swim. my arms are not used to doing anything, so they have been stressed as well. i think by the end of this month i will be able to swim. my goal is to swim 500 yards by the end of august.

wish me luck.