Today I
swam 100 short freestyle laps and did 2 or so laps in other styles, mainly breaststroke
and the leg part of the butterfly stroke. I tried doing a few laps of backstroke,
but quickly stopped as I was afraid of bumping into the edge of the pool or
into a person. In between spurts when I did laps I casually moved around the
pool. Today, despite taking a long break since the last time I swam, of approximately
a month, as seen from the date of my last post, I felt my stamina and breathing
improve greatly. It is the best it has been since I started this CAS activity I
feel.
Overall,
this has been a CAS activity that I have enjoyed. It has been a good activity
to undertake that helps me to do something else outside of my normal routine
and one that I feel helps act as a refresher. Especially as the exams are
coming very close, I felt that my last meeting was a good may to take my mind
off of the exams for a short period of time and relax more.
I have
really enjoyed and felt a sense of fulfilment in the improvement that I felt
over the course of conducting this activity. Though I conducted this activity on
my own, without the help of a teacher, I still feel that I can say I improved.
My technique and stamina became better. This I especially noticed since I used
to swim regularly when I was younger with the help of a teacher who helped me
to teach me the proper technique for a number of different styles. When I first
started this CAS activity, my technique needed improvement, which I especially
felt when swimming using freestyle, as this was previously the style that I
performed the best. As I have mentioned in my earlier posts, there was a sort
of kink in my left shoulder, which I attribute to the way that my upper body
position has not been kept in good maintenance over the years due to sitting
habits and the like. Now, in swimming freestyle, my left arm does not feel that
different from my right arm and breathing from the left side feels much more
natural now. I am therefore very happy to have regained the position and
technique that I once had, though of course there are still many things that
could be improved, and to continue practicing is important.
Something
that quite astounded me was the way that my stamina quickly improved, despite
the fact that there were long intervals in between the times when I conducted
this CAS activity. I especially felt this during my last meeting, where I was
surprised at how my stamina had improved from my last meeting, despite there
being a break of about one month. In fact, in terms of breathing, I didn’t feel
tired during that meeting, and only mostly felt my arms and legs getting a bit
sore. I therefore feel that my stamina with the small number of meetings I have
had for this CAS activity, has improved at quite an amazing rate.
I know that
I could have dedicated more time to this activity. I found that conducting this
activity alone, without a teacher or friends was quite a challenge in itself
for me to stay disciplined and continue to go through with the activity. In
future, I know that I should stay more committed to the activities that I
undertake for everyone’s sakes, as it will also help to save me trouble in the
future.
