I think I turned a corner last night. Normally when we swim, my first 2 to 4 laps are HARD for me - I can't get my breathing into a rhythm. I know it takes me awhile to warm up my heart when cycling too (god forbid I have a big climb less than 30 minutes from the start or I'll struggle more than usual)...so I'm sure this is part of it.

Last night was different though. I was craving a good swim because I'd had a very frantic day at work and for whatever reason, when I got in the water, everything clicked. First 100 warm-up was almost zen-like. Each effort after that was ok when we were doing unusual drills, but when there was a lull in instruction, I cranked out extra 50 freestyle laps and each one seemed almost effortless. I managed to get times on two of them. One was my first one after the warmup and one was my very last one - both were at 1:08 exactly, so I'm learning my pace.

We were also 'taught' dolphin kick. I already knew how to do it so I did a couple of laps while she tried to help the others learn it. When I got back to the wall, I suggested they try it 100% underwater without the kickboard because it's easier that way and that was the trick for the girls. My husband never quite mastered it. I don't think he'd be capable of belly dancing either.

I really, really wanted to stay late and swim after the class, but we had errands to run. Bummer.