THE SUN does strange things to the mind. I found myself thinking a lot about swimming this last week.
I’d just finished last week’s blog in a Letterkenny café when I bumped into Davitt Walsh on the Main Street.
It was like one of those freakish moments where the importance of what I’m attempting to do here dawned upon me.
It’s almost eight weeks ago now since, on one hauntingly beautiful Sunday evening at the pier in Buncrana, Davitt stripped off, dived into Lough Swilly and rescued a four-month old baby, Rioghnach-Ann.
Five members of the one family drowned when their Audi A7 plunged into the water.
But for Davitt’s actions the number dead would have been six.
His courage – but as much so, his ability to swim out to the sinking car – saved a life.
I thought to myself after recalling those heroic actions: ‘if that had that been me on the beach that evening in March, I’d have been helpless’.
[adrotate group=”37″]Earlier this week, I was researching for an article on Adrian Doherty, the Strabane native referred to as ‘Football’s Lost Genius’. Doherty drifted away from the game after sustaining a cruciate ligament injury as he was on the cusp of a breakthrough into Manchester United’s first team.
In 2000, he went to The Hague, but on his way to work one morning, he slipped and fell into a canal. Doherty had a fear of water and couldn’t swim. He was in a coma for a month and died in June 2000.
Maybe it was the warm weather this week, but those two stories have been sitting to the mind’s forefront.
It begs the question: Should swimming be a part of the curriculum in schools?
The Aura Swim Academy invited me along to take part in an eight-week course and managed to coax me into writing about the experience.
[adrotate group=”37″]So what’s it been like and how’s it actually going?
I must say at this point it is actually quite enjoyable, even if that hour does seem at times to be the worst 60 minutes of my week. It’s really not.
The group is progressing.
Not as fast perhaps as any of us would like, but this week Daniel tells me that it’s from week 6-8 that we’ll really see the difference.
That’s good…
Week three and it’s not quite a similar tale to the previous instalments as that of making small steps (shouldn’t that be strokes?) rather than big leaps.
As you’ll recall from the first fortnight, breathing is the stumbling block.
It’s to the point of frustration and almost panic at times by now.
But the group is good; an encouraging bunch of hopefuls at the one level on the same page.
We’re all pretty much on the one page with differing difficulties.
Me? Well, the breathing, as you may remember, is the one thing holding me back.
[adrotate group=”37″]This week, I’m patting myself on the back and high-fiving myself in the head as I managed, once, to get in ‘two good breaths without stopping’.
It’s the small things in life, sometimes.
Co-ordination and consistency are the themes of the week for week 3.
Co-ordination, again, is fine until a mouthful of pool water has me gasping and choking.
‘Take your time, Chris,’ Daniel says. ‘Just take it easy. Everything’s going well except for the breath. Just get one in. Then another. Before you know it, you’ll be flying’.
Flying? I’ll settle for swimming for now!
[adrotate group=”37″]Daniel attempts to speed up the breathing process by making us do these exercises with the aid of a float. We retreat to the back wall of the pool and practice the motions while at a standstill.
We have it now. Or do we? Kind of. Meh. Okay, okay, we haven’t mastered it.
‘It’s small improvement, but we’re getting there,’ Daniel reassures us.
I wonder to myself where exactly ‘there’ is, but venture that it can’t be too far away from the starting position at this rate.
One thing is startling from this hour in the Aura: The place is hectic. A quick look around the pool and there are swimming students of all shapes, sizes and abilities.
The group I’m in has people from various corners of Donegal.
Anyone reading this and trying to convince themselves that ‘it isn’t for me’ – you’re wrong. Give them a call and get yourself signed up.
Three weeks in and I’m progressing. To seasoned swimmers, the couple of strokes and breaths mightn’t seem like much – but to this novice, I may as well be doing a length alongside Michael Phelps himself.
The tale is the same: Stroke, stroke, breath; stroke, stroke, breath.
It’s getting there. It better be!
This week, I’m going to get some practice in before I return.
I’ve just come out into the foyer of the Aura Centre and there before is a poster, depicting Daniel and I. Does this mean I can class myself as a poster boy now? No? Okay.
It’s upped the stakes here somewhat, though.
Can’t mess it up now.
Can I?
Small steps. Small strokes. Big breaths.
Progress.
But more importantly, co-ordination and consistency.
Or that other ‘c’ word: confidence.
I can do this.
I will do this.
So can you!
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