#13 - Take a Water Aerobics Class......

Since our line dancing teacher quit working at the "Y", I've been paying $55 per month for the pleasure of driving past the building every now and then. When I was still going to line dancing, however, one Monday I ran into a woman I knew from one of the schools where I taught. She was the secretary for the band when Sweet Girl started high school, so she and I spent many Friday nights in the stands at football games. When I saw her at the "Y" she was going into the new indoor pool area for water aerobics.

I've always enjoyed swimming or anything that takes place in or near the water, so I told her I would love to come to that class one night. It was at the same time as line dancing, though, so I never did. Then I put it on my 50 Things to Do list, so I knew I had to follow through.

As a safety net to keep from backing out, I emailed my friend today and asked if she still went to water aerobics. Once I mentioned it, of course, I was obligated, especially after she threatened me. Just kidding. But she's perfectly capable of threatening me for not showing up. And following through on those threats.

My first problem was finding the pool. You would think a swimming pool would be fairly easy to locate, even to a directionally challenged person such as myself. There were no signs, no clanging noises of diving boards springing (there are none), not even any screaming children to follow. I finally saw a woman carrying a towel, so I pleaded with her to show me the way to the pool. I had to go through the locker room, turn a corner, go through another door, then around another corner, and finally there was a pool.

The next problem came when I had to reverse the whole process. After class I went into a changing room when I really needed a toilet, then I had to pretend that I had simply changed my mind about taking a shower when I mistakenly walked into that area. Aren't they required to post "Exit" signs? Or how about "This way to your car, dumbass" signs? I never did find the potty, and I nearly wet myself by the time I got home.

The class itself was a lot of fun. I tend to gauge my exercise level by how much I sweat, and of course that's impossible in water aerobics. My heart rate did get up to the expected levels, so I figured I was doing something right. The true test, however, will be tomorrow when I try to get out of bed. My calves are already sore, even with all the walking and cycling I do. (Well not so much lately, which may be part of the problem.) I never knew we could use so many muscles just jumping around in the pool.  It was an excellent workout, even if it was a little hard to hear the instructor. One high school swim team was practicing when we started, and the other one came in to take their place about halfway through.

I'm going to try to post photos of most of my 50 Things. This isn't one of them, for obvious reasons. At least they should be obvious.

I will definitely go back to water aerobics again. I'm going to have to plan a little better for dinner on those nights, though. I don't think Hubby would like to have canned beef stew and a grilled cheese every time I go exercise.

Now I just have to close my eyes, cross my fingers, and hope and pray the pool didn't have too much chlorine in it. If I wake up tomorrow with blisters on my eyelids to go with my sore muscles, I may have to rethink water aerobics.