I was swim-ming!

Well, I was pretty sure I could swim 1/4 of a mile but, in all honesty, I really had no clue.  So
Thursday night, while the girls were in their swimming lessons, I took advantage of the open lane, lap swimming to give it a shot.   I had figured out ahead of time that the Y had a 25 yard pool.  Which means that a mile is like 70 lengths of the pool and a 1/2 mile is like 35 lengths which would make 1/4 mile 17.5 lengths.

Am I dazzling you with my mathematical prowess?

I certainly was not the picture of confidence.  I kind of waited against the wall until no one was looking at me and then I gently slipped into the water as inconspicuously as I could.  There was someone else in the one and only lane that was open.  I honestly didn't know what to do.  What is the swimming pool etiquette here?  Am I allowed to swim in the same lane as she is?  Do I yield to her when passing?  Am I supposed to stay on the right like I'm driving?  How does this work?  Never have I felt so ridiculous and insecure over something so relatively silly.

Finally, I sucked it up and when she came back down to where I was I said "Hi! This is my first time doing this" and she said "swimming?" and I said "No, swimming during lap time"  I said "am I allowed to swim in the lane at the same time you are?" and she said "oh sure, you just stay to the right like we're driving" and I immediately felt a bond with this beautiful woman wearing pink goggles.  So, off we went.  She and I in our one tiny lane, staying to the right like we were driving.  I started out on my first lap and felt OK.  I quickly realized I was not going to win any awards based on my exquisite form, but I was moving from one side of the pool to the other and I was staying afloat.  What else matters, really?

After the first length, I felt just fine.  It wasn't too terrible.  Obviously my lack of ability to do the cool little flippy thing to go the other direction meant I just kind of stopped and then started again.  (I doubt I'll need to worry about those valuable seconds of time unless Michael Phelps shows up in which case I'd probably run and hide anyway) I did 2 and then 4 and then 8 and thought "Wow! I'm really not tired at all!"  According to a website I was referencing called "Tri Newbie" I needed to be able to do 8 lengths in order to be at the level where I can start training.  So, I was glad to have made it there at least. 

I felt good after 8 so I thought, well, I might as well go ahead and go to 18 which is a quarter mile (and the race length) So, I did!  I just kept going.  I did stop between laps and caught my breath for a minute...but really, I felt great.  I wasn't yearning to jump out of the water and onto a bike for a 12 mile ride, but I felt great! 

So, it was in that moment that I decided I was going to do it!  I'm going to start training for the Sprint Triathlon!  I notified my "personal trainer" via text who responded with an "Oh, it's ON!"

Here I go!!!!!!!