A month of flailing my arms and legs around in the pool while trying not to drown is all it took to finally get the hang of this aqua aerobics business. Well, mostly. I still struggle with some of the moves that require my legs and arms to move in crazy ways that would be impossible on land let alone in 8 feet of water that is actively attacking me.
Once my muscles finally got the idea of where they were meant to be, I was able to move them with intent and start to feel the benefit of the activity; it is a good feeling. I cannot actually look at the instructor and her half-hearted demonstrations; instead I stare at the water and picture the moves in my minds eye, which probably means my eyes roll up in my head and I look like I am about to shoot laser beams out of their freaky whiteness.
Eventually, I will explore some other water classes with more capable instructors but for now I will continue to work on my tire run and reverse jumping jacks until my arms and legs can move independently and my eyes do not get so wonky although shooting laser beams would be so cool!
I have also made some progress on the lap swimming front increasing my hourly laps to a consistent 50 up from my previous best of 45. Every session follows the same pattern and no matter how fast I kick my legs, I remain at 50 laps.
My first 5 laps are about warming up and working the kinks out of my body; while I can’t exactly hear them under water, I imagine my joints and muscles are cursing me as they resolve that this workout is actually happening.
In my next 5 laps, I tend to focus on my form, getting everything coordinated and at a reasonable pace to prevent me from sinking to the bottom. Once I hit the 10th lap I wonder how I am going to do that 4 more times but eventually zone out. I think about the day’s task list, what I want to make for lunch, who I want to punch and periodically I hear my inner coach screaming at me to kick my legs harder and move faster reminding me why I am really in the pool.
At lap 25 I get excited knowing I am half way through and note the time to ensure I am on track for goal completion then zone out some more. By lap 40 I begin to tire and my inner coach begins to scream louder, sometimes tossing in profanity, to ensure I end strong.
Depending on my previous progress, I might panic a bit certain I will not make it to 50; I kick my legs harder and start making alternative workout plans to make up for lost laps. Eventually I hit the 50 mark with a bit of time to spare and I casually swim the last lap often doing some spectacular twist or other fancy move to celebrate. I follow everything up with some stretching and a dash to the shower.
Other progress includes little things like remembering towels and under garments and putting on the lotion before I put on the cloths. I have changed up my silver swim cap to a less brain crushing white one so I look like a Q-Tip instead of a pinhead so there is that.
Looking forward to that next aqua-breakthrough as I continue with Operation Suck Less 2014 when I manage to hit 51 laps or when I do those ski mogul things without choking down some water; it should arrive in late summer.
sugar TANTRUM 
50 laps is impressive…..love your discription of each grouping as you go…
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