Dive, Baby, Dive

I've been taking swimming lessons for the past few weeks to improve my swimming both in general and because I would like to swim for fitness. Also, Big J is training for a sprint triatholon and I am thinking that might be my next goal.

We've covered pretty much every stroke, worked on our kicking tecnique with and without flippers, and learned several drills to improve our freestyle technique. I've learned that it is okay, well actually mandatory, to breathe out while my face is in the water, and I won't drown as a result. I've learned that the backstroke is my best stroke and I am pretty darn fast. And finally I learned that I am completely uncoordinated when it comes to the breast stroke and butterfly.

Ordinarily we are in the shallow end of the large pool; it is about 4 feet deep and freezing cold. Today after our freestyle drills we went to the other end of the pool to work on treading water and diving. I can't remember the last time I did any sort of dive, and it was a little intimidating. We did sit dives, kneel dives, and ended with a standing dive, and I felt like I could have kept going all night. I forgot how incredible it feels to go straight down and then kick back up to the surface. On Wednesday we are going back to the deep end of the pool and my goal is to dive off the starters platform, something I have never done.

For someone who doesn't like water in her face, I am really proud of my swimming progress. And I'm nearly as good a little j!