One With The Water

As I've mentioned in my previous blog, I was on a running Hiatus for the whole of May to give way to my swimming lessons. Just to break the monotony of my running blog entries, i'd share the story of my summer swimming lessons.

I enrolled in Bert Lozada's swimming school (Ascott branch) last April for the May 2010 beginner's class. I have been afraid of the water all my life and I've decided that this may be a nice change for me. The first day of class was generally easy, as with the rest of the 5 years olds that were in the pool, we were taught the basics - floating and bubbles. lol After that the next thing we did was the glide - a move where we just floated and kicked and held our breath in the water.

Coach kept telling us not to be afraid of the water. He taught us the 4 swimming techniques, freestyle, breast stroke, backstroke and butterfly. In order of easiest to hardest, Id say freestyle is the easiest followed by breaststroke, butterfly then back stroke.

I know it may be a surprise for some that I tagged backstroke as the hardest, but it was particularly difficult for me since i was terrified that the water would creep into my nose and drown me from within. Breast stroke - or the froggie was so much fun to do - i just pretended that im a frog. :) Butterfly - i think, requires a lot of upper body strength because the constant slamming into the water did hurt for some time. It was also particularly hard to push myself forward. My favorite part of this technique is when I launch into the water like a mermaid. hehehe :) Last but not the least is freestyle - my favorite. By the end of the 10 sessions I was already capable of swimming the 2 laps (50m) straight using freestyle. That for someone who had been terrified of the water is a HUGE milestone. :)

Aside from swimming, one thing I've learned from this experience is the value of a good rest. My shins had been aching so bad since I use to run everyday at least 5-10km. After a month long rest from running, my shins recovered and the pain was gone. After that I immediately changed my training plans to allow adequate rest for my legs. I try to strictly follow my schedule now, Long run Sunday, moderate run tue, speed training thurs, active recovey sat - and weight trainings in between.

I find that returning to running is a bit hard after that month long rest but it did paid off since my feet and legs are not hurting anymore. This time I'll try to train wiser. :)

Bdw here are some pics from my swimming class :)

HELLO THERE!!! im a shy turtle - NOT!




with my classmate


my coach - thanks coach JC!


team picture