I didn't drown

Last night I had my first tri training session with TriMommy.  TM ROCKS!! 

The first thing I noticed before we even got in the pool was how comfortable she was about her body and being in a swim suit.  Don't get me wrong, she's quite an accomplished athlete, but she's not one of those rail-thin, oh-my-god-please-eat-something kinda gals.  And I admire that.  And her being relaxed about the whole situation made me relaxed (ok, maybe I wasn't exactly "relaxed"...) or at least not as self-conscious as I would have been had I gone to the pool by myself. 

And  it occurred to me that I also forgot the about "The Locker Room".  I forgot the "locker room" mentality that accompanies a gym.  I realized this most severely when I got out of the shower after my lesson all decked out with my towel wrapped myself, trying to get a dry pair of undies on my still-slightly-damp body all the while taking great pains not to accidentally drop my towel from around myself.  Geesh!!! 

When did I become so modest?? 

So I did as the "natives" and just forwent (is that a word??) the towel and just got dressed. 

We all have the same parts and pieces, right?? 

And the truth is I remember being a little kid in the locker room and seeing all the naked "old" women.  The ones that had shucked modesty to the wind.  Thinking "why do all the old women walk around naked?!?!?!  Why don't they care?!?!?" 

Yeah, well, I'm one of those "old" women now.  As a kid I thought anyone out of high school was "old".... that's not entirely true...   any woman that had mostly completed puberty was "old".  I didn't know any better!  Well now I know.  'Cuz it's too frickin' hard to keep that damp towel wrapped around you while trying to stuff one's self into dry clothes, worrying that you're going to accidentally drop the towel on the floor.  As I get older I just want life to be easier.  And chucking the towel is easier.

TM was great in not being (or at least acting) surprised as my complete ignorance of lap swimming  protocol.  She showed my how to put on my swim cap. (man those things really yank on the hair!!  ouch!)  And she didn't hesitate to move my cap off my forehead to be sure my goggles were a good fit.  (I didn't do any of this in front of a mirror and had no idea the my goggles were sitting across my cap edge.  And even if I had seen it I wouldn't have know that's a no-no.)  Of course her having 2 kids might also explain why she was patient with my fumbling...

Once in the pool she watched me swim and then proceeded to show me drills that would improve my stroke.  Once I told her I had coached rowing she even tried to explain "stuff" in rowing terms!  That's a sign of a good coach - they can relate to you the same material in many different ways, especially if they can do so while relating it to a one of your other experiences.

Now all I need is some time in the pool to work everything she taught me out on my own.  I believe they call this "practice".....

Well, I'm going to be visiting our "neighbors to the north" next week and wasn't sure how I was going to swim since our hotel doesn't have a pool.  Never fear!!  I'm now a member of the YMCA!!!  And the Y in the town I'll be in is across the street from my hotel!!!  How lucky can one girl be?!?!?!

The biggest trick will be wearing the same suit several days straight.  'cuz I only have one suit at the moment.....  I'll make a note to remedy this ASAP......

After all that I DIDN'T DROWN!!!  Well, I got water up my nose a few times...  but I needed those sinuses cleaned out anyway....