I just wore a bathing suit in public!

I have been thinking about swimming at the YMCA for a while. I can swim. By that I mean that if I fell out of a boat I wouldn’t drown as long as they threw me the lifepreserver immediately and I caught it on my first try.

But swimming laps hasn’t ever been something I’ve done. I’ve never had lessons so I was a bit concerned that my flailings would be interpreted as signs of drowning by the lifeguards.

But today I got up all my nerve and went swimming. I didn’t have to swim full laps because the 3-5 year olds were having a class in the shallow end. That meant there were moms watching from the observation room too. I just marched out there with my towel wrapped firmly around me, put on my brand new goggles (so I look like I know what I’m doing until I actually start to swim), and looked at the pool. 9 feet deep. Oh my god I’m going to drown.

I slid into the pool and started my version of the freestyle. I made it to the rope just past the middle of the pool. I was totally whupped. I read just last night that swimming uses less calories than walking. Not for me. I could walk the length of the pool and not be panting! So I swam for about 10 minutes. It was actually swim a lap (freestyle or backstroke) and then rest until I could breathe again. Repeat.

It was when I got out that it got interesting. My plan was to leave the Y and walk to the library. In order to leave the Y I had to climb two flights of stairs. I about needed a push to get up them. There was no way I was going to walk half a block to go to the library. I decided to drive. I drove around the block but ended up having to park half a block in the other direction so I walked the distance anyway. My legs are rebelling and I’ve having a hard time typing because my arms aren’t working right either. My knee hurts too. For some reason non-weight bearing exercise hurts it more than walking or running. We’ll see how I feel tomorrow. I definately think I should keep this up.