i can tread water now! wow

 okay... this is really huge for me.  for much of my life i couldn't swim.  i remember being in high school, and seeing 3 of my friends, i think one of them was Tam, maybe Phillip was in there too.. but they were treading water while talking to us or the teacher or something.  I remember looking at them.. moving their arms and legs in the water and thinking its something i couldn't do.  how could they do that?

well a few years ago, merv askeed me to do tough mudder. and one of the requirements was to be able to dive from a 5m height into water, then swim 50m.

and so for months i kept going to the swimming pool.. and taught myselft to swim!!  i could do freestyle... backstroke.. and breaststroke.  and even on the day of tough mudder, i still remember.. i just did it! I jumped into the lake.. i knew that i would come to the surface.. and then i swam! i tried freestyle but the water was so murky.. i wasn't used to not being able to see.. or maybe i was tired, but i flipped onto my back and did backstroke all thway to shore!  i'm stillso pleased with mysefl about that :D

anyways, flashforward to this year... and Jo invited me to her bday holiday to the gold coast!  she wanted to try this thing called Flyboarding.  At first when i looked at it.. i was like.. errrr.... you go up high and you are in the deep water... i dont think i should.....

i was really close to messaging her to say i'm not a strong swimmer and im not conformatble doing that... but it just felt wrong.

i said nothing.  i decided instead, i would learn how to treadwater... until i was comfortable as a fish in the water!!  and so a few weeks ago, i took the plunge (ahah) and started going back to the clayton pool..  Before i went, i looked at a youtube video on how to treadwater.  this one taught about how to move your arms in the water, and some methods you can use to kick.  They said the flutter kick was the most tiring.  and so i went with the 2nd one, the same kick as the breaststroke kick.  and so i went to the pool and tried it.  i gradually practiced and got more comfortable.  i swear at first, i could only manage a few seconds! like i was thrashing and staying up.. buit just a few seconds and i was buggered.  

but.. i just kept going back to the pool, after work.  and slowly,  it clicked.  

i eventually got to 15 seconds, trhen 20 seconds.. then 30
!!

and eventually.. i go to a minute!! (as in i could to 60.. not full seconds).  but i was so happy.

and after a few days of doing that... it just kinda 'clicked' for me.... and one day i was imagining i was waiting to catch a ball... like in water polo... and i was able to concentrate on that.. and tread water!!

i can do it now!!! ... you dont understand how huge this is for me.  previously... i just could not fathom how people could do that.

now i feel... like i'm floating in a jelly or a layer of something... and its more unconscious.  i feel so much happier.  today i could get to 60 seconds.  well i count to 30 twice ahah... and plus another 10 seconds..

I think also having this confidence that i can tread water... it means i can expend less energy.. cos initially i was literally thrashing hard...  

but... you dont understand how happy it makes me feel.  And i feel extremely confident with the flyboarding now... cos i literally will have a lifejacket on.. and i wont even need to tread water... so its like i'm a better sswimmer than i need to be.  anyways... this was such a good thing.  i'm gonna keep treading water until i can do it for ages... like maybe 20 mins??? haha... 

cos actually before this... i could swim... but i felt like.. if i stopped in the deep end.. i would be a goner if i didn't swim.  but now i feel more confident.  a little confident at least.  i'm gonna keep doing it!

like literally i spend my entire siwmming time just practicing treading water.  and if i swim, its just at the end when im swimming back to get my stuff.. and i use breastsroke, to get more and more comfortable with the kick that i need.

so this is a case of me... staying in it and never leaving..... and look at the results.  it makes me feel so good.