Friday, June 11, 2010

The Glide

I am taking a swimming class.  This is not the basic swim class where you learn to make it from one end of the pool to the other, this is an endurance class.  When I started it freaked me out...oh yes it did.

I love this class.  It is amazing and helps me in so many ways.  I love the feel of water on my face, the glory of achievement when I have pushed myself a little farther than I thought I could, and the energy I produce as I pull myself through the water.  It is exhilerating.

That said, do you know what my favorite part is?  I love to glide.  Don't laugh.  I know that most people think swimming is about actually swimming.  And you would be right, to a point.

If you have ever watched Olympic swimmers you will notice they dive as far out as they can into the water and glide as long as they can without loosing power.  At the moment they sense themselves slowing, they begin to stroke.

Stroking is hard.  It is also a great way to increase drag and wear yourself out.  So much has to happen.  You are moving hands, arms, head, legs, and feet all at once.  It is loud, it is chaotic and it is intense.

When you glide you feel power, you feel confidence, and you feel anticipation.  You know the hard work is coming.  You know you will have to put a lot of energy into things or you will sink.

Life is so much like this.  We start out with a nice long glide.  For some of us, this glide is the time we live at home with our parents, for others it is the years of being single.  For all of us there comes a time when gliding just doesn't work anymore and we enter the "sink or swim" phase of our lives.  We have to paddle like mad to get to the other side of the pool.

Here is the exciting news...when we get to the wall at the end we can push off and glide again.  The strength we gained from swimming gives us a more powerful glide.  We have the chance to glide every time we hit that wall, and we have the chance to increase our strength each time as well.

Life can be hard.  We can lose our momentum at any point.  Obstacles are put in our path and we have the constant choice of how to deal with things.  While most people love to glide as much as I do, the reality is that gliding only lasts so long.  Swimming moves us towards our goals and teaches us the skills and strength to glide even further the next time.

So increase your strength, increase your stroke...and enjoy the glide while you can.

2 comments:

  1. Well, after reading this i think i will go to my Aqua Fitness class.

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  2. Good for you! I hope you enjoy it as much as I do!

    ReplyDelete