Like a cat to water…

I hear cats don’t swim so well. Either way, I am definitely not like a duck to water. In preparation for general holiday times, I decided I should probably immerse myself a few times in a pool on my own before embarassing myself in public with my inability to swim…

I mean, it’s not that I can’t swim; I can get from one end of a pool to another. On a good day, I can even get back again. But that’s about it; 50 m and I’m panting like both my lungs just collapsed. Maybe they did. I really just don’t understand. A fit, young man and I stand at the edge feeling like I might die soon watching these people well past their physical prime gliding through the water like they have no cares in the world. I bet they have gills, or fins, or maybe both.

I mean, I’ve never been a long-distance runner, sprints were always my race of choice. It must be something to do with having more type 1 than type 2 muscle fibres but I’m much better than I used to be. A month or two ago I ran 3 and half miles of hilly road in 29mins. And this is why I don’t understand… I can’t swim for more than a minute. Why?!