Swimming and me

If I am very lucky, there is no one in the pool when I arrive and the water is like of mirror. If I am very lucky, there is no one in the jacuzzi either and the entire area is silent. I slip into the pool and the water ripples away from me. I do a few laps with my flutter board to loosen up and then I turn on to my back and start to swim. The first few strokes are liberating. I glide through the water. I'm not tired yet so each stroke is effortless. My mind clears and I only count the lengths. I am one with the water.

When I decided to join the health spa in the summer following the end of my cancer treatment, it was to use the swimming pool. I had thought that I might also use the gym from time to time and take some classes. To date, I have spent 15 minutes on a running machine (but only in walk mode) and I've attended one yoga class. However, I swim almost every day and when I haven't been able to swim, I really miss it.

I've always enjoyed swimming but I think that the attraction lies in more than the obvious health benefits. If it were only exercise, the novelty would have worn off by now. I told someone recently that I work on the characters of my novel while swimming and in that lies the other important element- isolation. When I get into the water and start my lengths, I turn off to every one and every thing else around me. This works particularly well when the pool is empty.

When I started swimming two years ago, I wasn't very good at it. I did so many lengths with a flutter board and so many of back stroke. Mostly, I used the flutter board. Sometimes, I managed 20 lengths, sometimes only 10. Why back stroke only? I have problems getting enough air when I do front crawl. I know that I just need to practice but by the time I've swum for 40 minutes, I don't really feel like practicing for a few more lengths.

Now that I am in better shape, I swim a kilometer a day. It isn't always as restful as I would like. Sometimes other swimmers make it difficult to swim and so I have to concentrate on just getting through the lengths. Other times, I can let my mind go and as I mentioned, I may think about what I am writing or something that I've read. I try not to think about the day I've just been through or the one ahead. This is a time to relax, and become one with the water.