Navigating the Big Blue Marble

A funny thing has happened to me over the great long time I’ve lived on this big, blue marble of a planet.

I’ve always loved the water. Hell, that’s where we LIVE  -- on Hingham Bay. Back in college (and yes, there were Dodos, Passenger Pigeons and Great Auks back then), I used to swim laps. Every other day I’d jump into the Olympic size pool and do a mile of ‘em. On the off days, I was weightlifting. Yep, I was a glorious, hard body, beast back then.


When we first moved here to the Neck, Jen and I would swim along the seawall from Bell Street down to Manet Beach and back. Yeah, that may not SEEM like much but 12 total blocks of paddling, crawling and freestyling through waves is def more than chump change and small beer.


Somewhere over the years, probably after my last big MGH event, I became WAY more tippy. The, generally, wee waves that lap our shoreline would knock me off balance and off course easier and faster than Dogwood blossoms falling off the trees in a May rainstorm. When under the water, I just can't tell which way is up. It's wickedly disorienting and a teensy bit frightening.

Jen and Oni bought some of those big, blow up rings so that I could stay afloat. I managed to swim a bit but it wasn't the same and I was still pretty discombobulated in the waves -- particularly when motor boats passed by (I HATE motor boats!).

Enter the Healthy Workplace Challenge which my awesome pal Paula signed me up for. The YMCA has two (TWO!) pools, no motorboats and NO waves. Awesome!

The last hurdle I have in getting back in the water is that, without balance nerves, I’ve a hell of a time walking, let alone swimming, a straight line. Sharing a lane (which is de rigueur at the Y) is a total exercise in frustration for me and an utter annoyance for the unlucky souls in my same lane. I’m constantly ploughing into my path mates. Not good.

I spoke to one of the Y coaches about this and she gave me the best times, the least busy hours when I can score my own space.

OK, one more hurdle. My upper body strength isn’t what it used to be (duh, rilly Donna?). What I envision is this -- I make it one length of the pool and then crap out from absolute exhaustion. Subsequently, I lose heart, give up and never swim again.

Yeah, not bloody likely -- giving up isn’t really hard wired into my system. Having said that, I want to be smart (for once). I want, NEED, this to work so I’m going to ease in. I’ll start with water aerobic classes, beginning Monday morning at the nine AM session.

I'm a little fearful that my crapped out sound system will hold me back. I figure I can follow the instructor and other participant’s movements though. This should work.

Fingers are crossed!