MOM ON THE RUN: Kickboarding provides easier transition into swimming

I have a confession to make.

To all my friends, co-workers, and family who are cheering me on, checking my progress, and no longer sounding surprised: when I tell you that I’m swimming every other day, when I share my growing number of laps … um, I’m kickboarding more than I’m swimming. Way, way more kickboarding than swimming.

Granted, I have more than doubled my total laps — swimming and kickboarding — over the past two weeks. And now I can do freestyle all the way across, unlike that first awful morning when I lowered myself into the chilly water, got half-way across the pool and nearly drowned, then breast-stroked (kind of) the rest of the way. That day, my only goal was to get back out without a lifeguard’s help.

But now I can actually do it, freestyle a whole length, then with a brief (well, my definition of brief) rest on the other side, I freestyle all the way back. Well, mostly all the way back. Sometimes I get 2/3 or 3/4 of the way and I have to revert to sidestroke. (“What’s sidestroke?” both of my kids asked. “The old people’s stroke,” I told them. “But it moves me forward and keeps my face out of the water, so I don’t drown.“) I’ve given up on breast stroke, mine is horribly inefficient and I pretty much just tread water, a scary thing for a 5-foot, 3-inch tall person in the 6-foot, 2-inch section of the pool.

So kickboarding is my great salvation. My very first day, after I struggled through that embarrassing near-drowning lap, as I clung to the side of the pool and panted, I noticed the lady next to me — who had been churning out lap after quick, graceful lap — slide off her goggles and grab a kickboard. Huh! I stayed where I was, safe on the wall, and, “Where’d you get the kickboard?” I asked when she got back. She pointed, I hauled myself out of the water, wobbled over to the water aerobics area, grabbed a pink rectangle and headed bravely back to the water.

Because here’s my thinking: yes, kickboarding is much, much easier than swimming. Yes, it doesn’t work my arms, and doesn’t provide nearly the cardiovascular workout of actual freestyle. But also yes, it’s better than sitting on the couch, and way better than sitting on the couch and eating cake, right? And that power-swimmer lady did it!

Plus, it’s working! I’m improving! My freestyle stroke is stronger and more effective. After two measly weeks, I can easily make it one pool length in freestyle, and I almost always get all the way back again without having to switch to sidestroke. And most of all: I have greatly increased my number of laps. That first horrible morning, I thought I was going to die after three laps of freestyle (sort of) and six laps of kickboard. Last night, I did six laps of freestyle and 19 laps of kickboard! Though I sort of lost count, and it actually might have been seven laps swimming and 22 kickboard. I started looking around instead of counting (interesting stuff on the pool bottom), and finally I stopped when I looked at the clock and realized I was already late to pick up my son.

So to everyone cheering me on: thank you. I’ve turned to swimming out of desperation, because I have got to work my growing and aging body and because everything else (running, spinning, aerobics) causes unrelenting back pain, and while I’m not quite at Olympic level yet — or, OK, even beginner neighborhood swim team level — I’m doing it, in my own pathetic suburban mom way. I always believed I could not do it, could not swim a stroke, much less a length or a lap, and your encouragement really does help. Just … be understanding, and expect to hear about my friend the kickboard for a long time.

Lianne Wilkens lives with her family in Manassas. She can be reached at liannewilkens@ hotmail.com, or follow her on Twitter @MessengerMOTR.