June 2012
I was a competitive age group swimmer growing up. I did pretty well - age group state champ and set two state records. At the time (before Title 9), there were only two sport that girls could participate in: tennis and swimming. So for me, it was swimming. But . . . at age almost-60, I had not swum laps for 40 years!
I was scared to death to start swimming. For the entire first summer, I wore a bathing suit with a long skirt attached! The first time in the pool was terrifying. I made sure my emergency information was in my swim bag just in case. I walked down the stairs into the pool and kicked a very slow lap with a kick board. Then another lap. Then I did a lap of breaststroke, and then 1/4 of a lap of freestyle. I think I did 5 laps total that day and felt extremely satisfied. Then, I felt faint.
Passing out in the pool was not something that I wanted to do so I got out. I walked to the bath house, stopped to steady myself as things started getting dark, walked into the dressing room and sat on the bench with everything getting fuzzy. I debated whether or not I should tell someone that I might pass out. I imagined the young people who worked there would call an ambulance which would have embarrassed the heck out of me. So I just sat there and eventually, everything became normal. I slowly drove home, ready to pull off the road if things got fuzzy again.
I'm not sure why I came back a few days later. I think it was because I just love swimming. I love the way the water supports you. I love hearing children playing and shouting. I love feeling my muscles. I think in a past life, I must have been a seal or a dolphin. I just love the water. I was very cautious on my second attempt at laps and everything was fine. So . . . I kept coming back day after day, week after week. By the end of the first summer, I could swim a mile without stopping. At first I used hand turns and then flip turns. I was incredibly slow (3:05 for 100 meter freestyle), but I didn't care. I was swimming!
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