Tortured Accompishments – Lessons from Trying a New Sport

Arms flailing. 

Legs kicking. 

Gasping for air. 

Water is seeping into my eyes. Stinging. Turning them red.

I recently took up swimming.  It’s a sport that I had taken lessons in as a child, but that I hadn’t pursued since.  I was so into swimming as a child that I took every lesson level twice.  Because I failed every single level the first time. 

I hated that feeling when I didn’t pass, and as a result I have always thought of myself as a weak swimmer.  So what would possess me to step back into the pool at the age of 50 to take lessons and try to improve my swimming? 

It started with watching a triathlon that goes past my house every year.  I thought it would be a good idea to try it. I am an ultra runner, so I have a level of physical fitness that puts me in a good position to tackle a triathlon. 

Except that I’m an asthmatic non-swimmer who has the grace of a drowning man when immersed in water.

The first time in the pool was horrific at best.  I felt like any fitness I had from running was completely not applicable to my attempts at traversing the length of the pool.  I was thoroughly exhausted from what I can only assume was the most inefficient form known to humankind.

As the weeks have progressed, and I signed up for swimming lessons, my form has slowly improved.  The pleasant part of this has been some realizations that have come from the experience:

1. Taking up a new sport is daunting, and invigorating.  Having something that is so foreign to me start to become so comfortable gives me a renewed sense of accomplishment that is harder to come by in a sport that you may be more accustomed to and skilled at.
2. New personal bests are much easier to come by!  When you’re slow as molasses, any improvement is a marked improvement. Taking 10 seconds off my personal best while running took months of hard work, mental fortitude, and a bit of luck for conditions to be just right.  Taking 10 seconds off my personal best in swimming is a Tuesday at the pool. The sense of accomplishment is stoked even further.

The confidence that has come with these experiences has spilled over into other areas of life, and has reinvigorated me. I’m even taking up playing the guitar, and I’ve never strummed the strings on one before. 

While we all do new things from time to time, it’s easy to fall into a rut.   If you’re struggling to keep up with your current exercise program because you’re not feeling motivated, maybe it’s time to try something new for a bit.  It may just reinvigorate you, and it’s a better solution than not exercising at all!