Swimming

I’m swimming now. I’m still trying to run when I can, but I’m also taking swimming lessons and really enjoying it. The other people in the class all have issues with being in the water – most of them were traumatized when they were young and don’t like being in the water. One girl was pushed into the water at the deep end of a pool when she was 6 and nearly drowned. I don’t have any of these issues. I like the water and I’m pretty comfortable going into the deep. The only reason I don’t know how to swim was that I was never signed up for lessons when I was a child.

The really interesting thing is the mammalian water reflex. Without conditioning, it’s really difficult to just blow air out of your mouth underwater. I’ve taken enough classes now that I can do this without much trouble, but it was surprising how my body seized up when I tried to do it the first time.

The big reason I’m swimming is that I want to have an attractive body, and swimming seems like a nice way of exercising to get t. I don’t seem to get as exhausted when I swim as when I run. I think this has to do with the thermodynamics of water versus air. One of the things my wife told me about running is that it’s a lot easier to do in the rain or at night, because keeping yourself cool is so important when running. I’ve noticed this myself, and I expect most runners have, too – I can always run longer at night than during the day and on a cool day than on a hot day. Anyways, I’m guessing that the reason I don’t get as exhausted when swimming is either that it isn’t as strenuous as running (and I don’t really think that’s the case – running got easier when I added swimming to my regimen), or the water surrounding you when you swim helps keep you cool better than the air surrounding you when you run.

Or maybe not. But I like swimming all the same.