The Backstory

How does an obese, middle-aged woman become a newbie swimmer? Here's the post that explains how I got here...

Let's start with my weight. For a variety of reasons (medication, genetics, poor eating habits, aging metabolism, sedentary lifestyle) I have gained well over 100 pounds since my college days. I am morbidly obese - no way around that.

I've always avoided exercise because I hate being overheated. Not just because I don't like sweat (though I don't), but because it makes me physically ill - I've been known to throw up or come down with a migraine because I got overheated.

So in fall 2016 I was an obese woman with not much strength or muscle tone when I suffered a debilitating injury that left me unable to bear any weight on my left foot. Thankfully, I was able to use a kneeling scooter and maintained some mobility and agency. But the experience made me realize I really needed to make some changes to improve my strength and mobility. 

After seven months and two surgeries to repair the damage, I started exploring options for activity with my physical therapist. The aftermath of the injury meant that walking or running was not going to be a great choice. I contemplated bicycling and then remembered that I work at a place with a pool...

I am incredibly thankful that I learned to swim as a child. But aside from the occasional casual lap or two, most of my childhood swimming involved chasing wayward balls or similar thrown objects. I never swam on a team, I didn't even learn to dive. I knew two strokes - crawl and back. 

And that's where I was as I climbed into the campus pool for the first time in the middle of April, 2017. I was so inexperienced, I didn't realize I should have goggles or a way to manage my long hair. I literally walked into the pool with my suit on, hair down, and no clue about how to even start.

That first day I made it across the pool once swimming freestyle. My hair flopped into my eyes and mouth. My eyes stung from the chlorine. And every part of my body let me know it was unhappy with this exertion. But I didn't get overheated. I continued on with several more laps of backstroke, another of free, and finished with some free-form back laps (think modified snow angels).

And that's where my swimming story starts...

What Kind of Earplugs?!?

Sentient. As in, with thoughts of their own.

That's what I muttered about my earplugs as I stood at my locker recently, once again searching for one of them. They just jump out of my hands as I try to wrangle them back into their container. They hide behind my shower caddy, or in my shoe, or in my glasses case, or...

I decided that I might want a place to put my musings about swimming as an obese, middle aged woman. And so why not Sentient Earplugs? Watch this space.