Mix It Up: Swimming

Hello friends! I haven’t posted much lately, have I? Well, I’m sorry about that! I’m back, so now we can get back to having fun!

Over the course of the last week, I have been crazy busy, working hard during the day, and cranking out new ideas for the blog in the evening (after all of my work events and workouts). I am so excited to share all of the new products I’ve been working on reviewing (including one that contains a giveaway), but I can’t reveal all of my secrets just yet!

Something I can share: I finally started my swim classes! Can you believe it?
I’ve mentioned my fitness goals on here plenty of times, so it should come as no surprise that I started taking swimming lessons to improve my, well, everything in order to be able and comfortable enough to compete in a triathlon at some point next year.

Before you ask, the answer is yes. I can swim. Can I swim well? Heck no. I can swim fast well enough to not drown, and to get from point a to point b, but I’m no Missy Franklin, people. So, in order to improve, I took action. I signed up for a swim class through our county’s recreation department, and once I confirmed the purchase of the class, I knew I couldn’t turn back. On top of that, one of my friends signed up with me, so I really had to get serious about it.

I missed the first class three weeks ago due to over committing myself, and cray cray traffic between the volleyball tournament I was playing in, and the swim center. Major bummer, but I have to admit that I was very happy I got to go back to my team, because it turns out that it was the last tournament of the season (and we finally made the playoffs!).

Two weeks ago, we didn’t have class because of spring break. Boo! Maybe if we had swim class, I would still have my cell phone :-/

Last Saturday, I finally had my moment in the pool. I went to the Olney Swim Center in Olney, Maryland, made it to the locker room, and got myself all dressed up in my new(ish) swim gear. I shook out the jitters once I was dressed, and realized something was missing. My flip flops. D’oh! But hey, what is a workout without me forgetting something. C’est la via!

So, I tiptoed to the deck of the pool, and found my instructor, Sunshine. Let me just tell you, Sunshine might be the most hilarious, enthusiastic instructor of anything I’ve had in quite some time. Plus, her name is Sunshine! What could go wrong?

During that first class, I basically learned that I never learned the proper breathing technique for under water swimming. For starters, I always blew bubbles with my mouth instead of my nose. I always blew all the air out, and never actually held my breath. Geez, what a mess! Sunshine taught me how to breath properly, including blowing bubbles through my nose, and holding my breath the proper way. Even more importantly, she taught me how to be more relaxed and comfortable in the water — something that will come in handy during open water swimming. Sunshine informed us that she once had a student who was breathing improperly, and, as a result, her blood pressure shot up during class, and she lost consciousness. She had to call an ambulance for this lady. Yikes!  I took note of this, and have been practicing my breathing techniques in my free time.

My favorite part of the class came at the end. Sunshine was telling us that she had been teaching for over 40 years. She said this as my classmate Ana was climbing out of the pool. “Everyone I touch becomes a fish!” announced Sunshine, as she slapped Ana on the butt to punctuate her sentence. I couldn’t stop giggling.

I now have two classes under my belt, and I’m looking forward to the remaining classes. This class is going to be AMAZING!

Have you ever taken a swim class? Have you ever had to re-learn something you thought you already knew? Who is your current favorite instructor?