Nightswimming deserves a quiet night

Tonight, I will be cramming myself into a swimsuit and driving to the Y around the time I should be eating dinner. Tonight is my first swim lesson in about 30 years. That's right . I never really learned to swim. My grandparents lived on the cove and had their own dock. Growing up I heard, "Don't go near the water -you'll drown!" I have a vague recollection of taking swim lessons at the town pool. I don't think I ever learned to let go of the kickboard. And I'm sure I never learned proper breathing or form. I think those lessons lasted a week or 2. I remember being in camp hand having lessons - but when I attempted to swim out in the lake, I got tired and was thisclose to drowning. So I was the weird 11 year old who still wore swimmies. One day, I took them off and swam in a friend's pool. It was mostly underwater. And I can do somthing like a crawl or doggie paddle - but not well. When I go into a pool, I stay where my tiptoes can touch bottom. When I go into the ocean, I don't go over my head if it is rough. So you would think, why swim lessons now? An overwhelming desire to be a lifegaurd? I signed up for a triathlon.

I hear the sharp intake of air. Why would anyone sign up for that when they don't know how to swim?? I guess this is part of my 2010 plan of pushing my physical limits and moving out of my comfort zone. Guess what? I'm not that steady on a bike! The only thing I know I can do is the 3 mile run. I have a little under 3 months to work on my weak points which accounts for 2/3's of the race. And I know I always joke that I'll be in last in a road race - knowing that I won't be THE last person. For this, I may very well be the last person. Will I be okay with that? Probably not for the first few days after. Then I will look at the journey I took to get to the finish line and I will feel proud. I know this because that's how it went down for the 1/2 Marathon.

Oh that ole' thang? It happened almost a month ago and it seems like six. I'll write about that another time. For now, my general catch-all life blog will be taking on more fitness and triathlon/race prep feel. I still want to talk about my wonderful family - who really make this silly business possible. I want to discuss how I feel about my body and general body image. I want to tell you about my first (yep I said first) half marathon. But for today, I'm focused on the fact that I am 38 and going to the Y to learn to swim. I'll report back on this later.