FIRST SWIM LESSON!

So!!! I had my first swimming lesson last night.

The lesson was FABULOUS and worth every penny of what I'm paying through my nose for. I can't even imagine having a better teacher. She's done many ironman races and is trained up the wazoo, she has worked with many beginners, she explains technique so well, we get along. It's amazing!!

That, plus I get to train in an FANCY, SNOTVILLE, UPSCALE swimming club. Midtown Manhattan style.

Here is what I learned and need to work on until my next session (some of these things will sound odd to you):

1. Bopping up and down in the water- this is the first thing I do whenever I enter the pool
2. Keeping my right elbow up during my crawl/freestyle
3. Not bringing my head all the way up when I turn up to breathe
4. Swimming/floating on my back
5. Improving my kicks- not kicking from the knees, but using my quads more
6. Breathing out underwater, breathing in when I come up for air
7. Looking more elegant when I swim
8. Efficient breathing patterns- not coming up for air with every stroke

Feedback from my first session:

• After my asked me to show her how I swim, she was so excited to see me swim and said I was definitely not a total beginner!!! Yay- at least I'm starting from somewhere
• She said that I'm definitely going to get to where I need to go, given where I am now (encouraging, although I still have doubts, I need to squish my fears)
• I need to get in the water more times each week

After my session, we had a debrief while relaxing in the hot tub. Hiring an individual swim coach is a very intense process. I'm so glad that I made the right choice for me. My coach's life story and training principals are amazing. She's such an inspiration in ways that I can't even describe fully on here. For all the money I have to dole for this, it's worth it to me. After my first session, I don't think it's expensive for what I get. Then again, it's my cause and my present raison d'etre. I also believe that I'm worth EVERYTHING.

Good news is I didn't feel tired after my session. The weather was perfect and I walked around times square dancing with my head held high, knowing that I had found my voice in a new way.

Je veux etre un athlete du triathlon.

Mama always says shandai muzodya. Work, so that you can eat. I'm working mama. Maybe this is not the kind of goal you would want me to set. My heart is full and this dream is what makes up my reverie. I'm in love with me.