Learning to Swim with Erin Hansel Part II
by 303cycling partner Cheri Felix
Swimming. It’s so hard for me. Usually I am so Pollyanna-ish (someone who finds the sunny side of the street every chance she gets) it can be shocking even to me to hear the things that come out of my mouth when I am wearing a swim cap and googles. “I can’t do it. What if I can’t physically learn to swim. What if I never learn to breathe under water? Is there something wrong with me? Hey, do you see that squirrel?”. That’s me. Either Negative Nancy or Distracted Denise.
I never learned how to swim as a kid. There were some good reasons;
– Didn’t occur to my mom
– Not enough money in the early years
– Mom was afraid of the water
– Hated bathing suits
– Hated bathing suits….
And then it never occurred to me to learn until I had kids and then being able to jump in and save them seemed like a good idea. But then they learned and I still had not and now they are strong enough to save me. But I’m in lessons anyway. Let me tell you, learning how to swim as an adult is a bit like waiting until age 59 to have sex; tricky, intimidating and hard. But each week I put on the suit (two-pierce lap suit thank you every much), goggles and cap. I have fins too. They are my favorite part. They make me wish I was a duck. Except for during duck hunting season. Then, not so much.
Erin Hansel. She’s the Director of Aquatics for the Colorado Athletic Club here in Boulder. And she is a master coach. When I say master, I mean she’s amazing. She’s knowledgeable and patient. She’s funny and kind. And she really knows her stuff. I think most of the time she’s with the other kids in the pool that have tats of IM on their ripped, hard and tanned bodies. And then she’s with me. Giving me drills. Making me laugh. I tell her she’s mean but I don’t mean it. She doesn’t let me chat too much. She knows I’m prone to distraction (squirrel!) but for some reason she’s determined to make a swimmer out of me.
If we all had one person in our corner that believed in our ability to learn (someone other than our spouse or mom) we’d be better off. Erin is that person for me. I have no idea what she sees in me but I can get across the pool (most of the time) without breathing into a bag. I’m still working on breaking bad habits and she totally catches me (sneaky like) walking in the pool to get closer to the end of the lane. I haven’t almost cried in awhile. I see a future for me in the water. I am “swimming” next to the cool kids with IM tats. And I know it’s all going to work out. Some day I will be able to swim a 100. Some day.
We all have something that scares us. That pushes us. That makes us doubt ourselves and maybe even makes us dislike ourselves a little bit. But as I always tell my kids; the difference between being good and great is not the result. It’s how you react to what happens in the middle.
by 303cycling partner Cheri Felix
Swimming. It’s so hard for me. Usually I am so Pollyanna-ish (someone who finds the sunny side of the street every chance she gets) it can be shocking even to me to hear the things that come out of my mouth when I am wearing a swim cap and googles. “I can’t do it. What if I can’t physically learn to swim. What if I never learn to breathe under water? Is there something wrong with me? Hey, do you see that squirrel?”. That’s me. Either Negative Nancy or Distracted Denise.
I never learned how to swim as a kid. There were some good reasons;
– Didn’t occur to my mom
– Not enough money in the early years
– Mom was afraid of the water
– Hated bathing suits
– Hated bathing suits….
And then it never occurred to me to learn until I had kids and then being able to jump in and save them seemed like a good idea. But then they learned and I still had not and now they are strong enough to save me. But I’m in lessons anyway. Let me tell you, learning how to swim as an adult is a bit like waiting until age 59 to have sex; tricky, intimidating and hard. But each week I put on the suit (two-pierce lap suit thank you every much), goggles and cap. I have fins too. They are my favorite part. They make me wish I was a duck. Except for during duck hunting season. Then, not so much.
Erin Hansel. She’s the Director of Aquatics for the Colorado Athletic Club here in Boulder. And she is a master coach. When I say master, I mean she’s amazing. She’s knowledgeable and patient. She’s funny and kind. And she really knows her stuff. I think most of the time she’s with the other kids in the pool that have tats of IM on their ripped, hard and tanned bodies. And then she’s with me. Giving me drills. Making me laugh. I tell her she’s mean but I don’t mean it. She doesn’t let me chat too much. She knows I’m prone to distraction (squirrel!) but for some reason she’s determined to make a swimmer out of me.
If we all had one person in our corner that believed in our ability to learn (someone other than our spouse or mom) we’d be better off. Erin is that person for me. I have no idea what she sees in me but I can get across the pool (most of the time) without breathing into a bag. I’m still working on breaking bad habits and she totally catches me (sneaky like) walking in the pool to get closer to the end of the lane. I haven’t almost cried in awhile. I see a future for me in the water. I am “swimming” next to the cool kids with IM tats. And I know it’s all going to work out. Some day I will be able to swim a 100. Some day.
We all have something that scares us. That pushes us. That makes us doubt ourselves and maybe even makes us dislike ourselves a little bit. But as I always tell my kids; the difference between being good and great is not the result. It’s how you react to what happens in the middle.
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