It was my 5th and last swimming lesson. My swimming coach had reminded me that since it was my last day as her student, I had to give it my best. I took a deep breath, and looked around. It was a warm day outside, but the water was freezing cold. After doing numerous drills and exercises, we came to the final part of the session. Today’s goal was to swim from one corner of the swimming pool to all the way to the other corner, and come back without taking a break. It was a huge distance I would have to cover, and I hadn’t done anything like it before. This is impossible, I thought, I’m basically a beginner, what is she thinking?
Finally, I got ready at the wall of the pool. I took several deep breaths to prepare myself a little, and I thought of all the things she had taught me so far. My mind was a bit jumbled due to the temperature, and I shivered in the cold water, but I managed to shake it off. She started off with a countdown. “Three!” I just need to calm down, I can do this. “Two!” What had she said about how to get a good head start? “One!” Relax. “GO!” I pushed off the wall as hard as I could. I felt relieved, as I had gotten a decent leg kick off the wall, and started swimming free-style as hard as I could.
My swimming was messy at first, but at the half-way mark, I started to ease my muscles so that they wouldn’t be as tense. I developed a simple pattern. Three strokes. Breathe. Three strokes. Breathe. I continued this pattern until I reached the wall. I felt ok, but I had only hit the halfway mark. I immediately kicked off the wall, but I was worried. I had gotten a bad streamline (wall kick to boost speed), and after going barely halfway, I was already tired.
Even though I hit the half-way mark, I couldn’t keep my swimming consistent. I was running out of oxygen, and I needed to breathe more. I had to change my pattern before I messed up completely. Two strokes. Breathe. Two strokes. Breathe. I was starting to get exhausted, and I nearly gave up. Near the last seconds of my breath, I looked up and was surprised to see the wall so close. I mustered up all my strength and pushed one last time, my arms and my legs sore. I touched the wall by the tip of my fingers, and I burst up out of the water, gasping for air. My swimming coach smiled at me and told me good job. I was pretty proud of myself, for I had done it by the skin of my teeth, and I felt like I was about to pass out on the spot. But I was horrified at what she said next. “We still have about 10 minutes. I think you have time to do it two more times.”
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