Mermaid Menanna
05-31-2015, 05:25 PM
Today I FINALLY got to the pool for my maiden swim. I was happy to finally get into the water, but disappointed that I was only able to manage about 30 minutes worth of swim time out of the 2 hrs I was expecting, because the pool was just too crowded. The first 30 minutes were great, a chance to get a feel for the monofin before putting on my tail... but then the kids and their parents came streaming in and omg... there wasn't any room for me to go anywhere at all. I ended up confined to a small corner of the pool where I could work on holding the sides and just flopping my tail up and down because if I had gone anywhere at all it would have taken out small children and their parents both. :(
I also was a bit surprised at how rude the people (parents of the kids) were. There were no comments made to me, but the glares from the parents and the way a few of them steered their kids in the other direction or put themselves suddenly between me and their kids as soon as the kid would point to my tail or make a comment about a mermaid... it was just very awkward to say the least. I got to make a few short laps (side to side, not lengthwise) in the pool in my tail before I was totally surrounded by people doing their own thing. They left plenty of space between each other but none seemed to care about offering me the same courtesy. I was the only adult "swimmer" which may have had something to do with it... but still. I will use my other free pass to go back next Sunday, but there is no way I will pay $20 ($10/person for me & hubby) to go there again after that. I was very disappointed that we drove almost 1 1/2 hrs each way just for that 30 minutes of actual swim time. There has to be a better way...
Aside from the people issues, I feel I did actually accomplished something in that short time. I felt a little awkward in my swimming so I will definitely need practice, but it was clear that the problem is my being SO out of shape after not having been in the water for 10 yrs. I was very surprised to find that in spite of my extra 60 lbs, I still sink like a rock in the water, lol. I struggled to float either on my stomach or on my back, and struggled even more to get my fluke to float with me. Again, part of the problem may have been the cramped space I was trying to do this in, not having the space to actually be able to "go" anywhere while floating. Floating in place is hard enough without a fin, but anytime the fin moves it propels you in the water to some degree, so I was forced to hold onto the sides of the pool to make sure I remained stationary. I did attempt to make a couple of short laps with hubby walking alongside of me so he was between me and the people, but then he had them bumping into him... so we finally gave up and came home. There was no point in sitting up on the edge of the pool with just my legs/fluke in the water. I wasn't learning anything that way.
The few short laps I was able to accomplish did tell me that I will have to make some modifications to my tail during the course of this week before I swim in it again. For starters, I will need to open holes in the corner seams on the outer edges of the fluke to allow air to pass through. The corners of the fluke kept filling with air. I also need to tighten the waist band by about 2 inches since every time I went down under water the waist of my tail dropped and I started to lose it. :( I felt kind of foolish having to pull it up every time I surfaced. And... I need to find a way to make the fluke more rigid to hold it's shape better. Because the finis foil is so small (short and narrow) the fluke kept curling up over it when I tried to swim, making for a lot of drag and feeling very awkward. I know I need to build some mid and lower body strength, desperately, but the weight of the wet tail added to that curling of the fluke made it very difficult to move around in it. I did pretty well with just the fin and not the tail, and the weight of the tail was ok once I got used to it... though that, too surprised me. I didn't expect it to be quite that heavy. The fluke got wet as I was sitting at the top step to put it on and it was very difficult to get into it once it was wet. I noticed that the liner separated from the spandex once wet, so it wasn't just 1 piece moving in the water as I had hoped, which added to the drag and weight. I will be eager to make my 2nd tail soon WITHOUT liner, and expect that to make a huge difference.
Oh, and those clear plastic snaps I used for the opening in the fluke for easy removal of the monofin... epic fail! The weight of the water popped them right open almost immediately so I had to stop and resnap it a few times. Once that was open the entire fluke filled with air and the corners of the fluke stayed out of the water while I tried desperately to get the whole thing underwater, lol. Oops! I think it's time for velcro.
Hubby has suggested we look into methods of expanding the size of my fin to help fill out the fluke. I agree with him, and think that will make a huge difference in how I am able to move in it. I'm starting to wish I had started off with a rapid fin instead of the foil... so that may be in my very near future. (need to find some money in a hurry)
Overall I am happy, going to be a busy week making modifications, and am eager to get back into the water "somewhere" as soon as possible.
Hubby was only able to snap a few crappy cell phone photos while I was holding myself into the corner working on floating in place, but at least I have something to show my tail in the water. :) Summer, warm temps, and a better swimming place aren't going to get here soon enough for me now... 30 minutes was just not enough... not even close!
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I also was a bit surprised at how rude the people (parents of the kids) were. There were no comments made to me, but the glares from the parents and the way a few of them steered their kids in the other direction or put themselves suddenly between me and their kids as soon as the kid would point to my tail or make a comment about a mermaid... it was just very awkward to say the least. I got to make a few short laps (side to side, not lengthwise) in the pool in my tail before I was totally surrounded by people doing their own thing. They left plenty of space between each other but none seemed to care about offering me the same courtesy. I was the only adult "swimmer" which may have had something to do with it... but still. I will use my other free pass to go back next Sunday, but there is no way I will pay $20 ($10/person for me & hubby) to go there again after that. I was very disappointed that we drove almost 1 1/2 hrs each way just for that 30 minutes of actual swim time. There has to be a better way...
Aside from the people issues, I feel I did actually accomplished something in that short time. I felt a little awkward in my swimming so I will definitely need practice, but it was clear that the problem is my being SO out of shape after not having been in the water for 10 yrs. I was very surprised to find that in spite of my extra 60 lbs, I still sink like a rock in the water, lol. I struggled to float either on my stomach or on my back, and struggled even more to get my fluke to float with me. Again, part of the problem may have been the cramped space I was trying to do this in, not having the space to actually be able to "go" anywhere while floating. Floating in place is hard enough without a fin, but anytime the fin moves it propels you in the water to some degree, so I was forced to hold onto the sides of the pool to make sure I remained stationary. I did attempt to make a couple of short laps with hubby walking alongside of me so he was between me and the people, but then he had them bumping into him... so we finally gave up and came home. There was no point in sitting up on the edge of the pool with just my legs/fluke in the water. I wasn't learning anything that way.
The few short laps I was able to accomplish did tell me that I will have to make some modifications to my tail during the course of this week before I swim in it again. For starters, I will need to open holes in the corner seams on the outer edges of the fluke to allow air to pass through. The corners of the fluke kept filling with air. I also need to tighten the waist band by about 2 inches since every time I went down under water the waist of my tail dropped and I started to lose it. :( I felt kind of foolish having to pull it up every time I surfaced. And... I need to find a way to make the fluke more rigid to hold it's shape better. Because the finis foil is so small (short and narrow) the fluke kept curling up over it when I tried to swim, making for a lot of drag and feeling very awkward. I know I need to build some mid and lower body strength, desperately, but the weight of the wet tail added to that curling of the fluke made it very difficult to move around in it. I did pretty well with just the fin and not the tail, and the weight of the tail was ok once I got used to it... though that, too surprised me. I didn't expect it to be quite that heavy. The fluke got wet as I was sitting at the top step to put it on and it was very difficult to get into it once it was wet. I noticed that the liner separated from the spandex once wet, so it wasn't just 1 piece moving in the water as I had hoped, which added to the drag and weight. I will be eager to make my 2nd tail soon WITHOUT liner, and expect that to make a huge difference.
Oh, and those clear plastic snaps I used for the opening in the fluke for easy removal of the monofin... epic fail! The weight of the water popped them right open almost immediately so I had to stop and resnap it a few times. Once that was open the entire fluke filled with air and the corners of the fluke stayed out of the water while I tried desperately to get the whole thing underwater, lol. Oops! I think it's time for velcro.
Hubby has suggested we look into methods of expanding the size of my fin to help fill out the fluke. I agree with him, and think that will make a huge difference in how I am able to move in it. I'm starting to wish I had started off with a rapid fin instead of the foil... so that may be in my very near future. (need to find some money in a hurry)
Overall I am happy, going to be a busy week making modifications, and am eager to get back into the water "somewhere" as soon as possible.
Hubby was only able to snap a few crappy cell phone photos while I was holding myself into the corner working on floating in place, but at least I have something to show my tail in the water. :) Summer, warm temps, and a better swimming place aren't going to get here soon enough for me now... 30 minutes was just not enough... not even close!
30167
30168