Literally.
I had a practice session today. I tried doing some of the drills from the Swimming Made Easy Total Immersion book. Things went ok, I guess. I really don’t feel like I am making much progress because the drills seem to be baby steps. They are also designed for a shallow pool. As a result, I found myself struggling to breath at times when the water was too deep to stand in. I did learn to roll on my back whenever things got too intense and I needed a breather. I just roll over and float there. I can even get some forward progress by doing a backstroke. I’m thinking that this will be useful in a triathlon if I get into trouble. I read recently in the USA Triathlon’s rules that you can rest while swimming (Rule 4.1) , however if you use anything like a boat or another person to give you forward momentum you will be disqualified(Rules 4.2 and 4.3). What? I’m a lawyer, let me geek out.
Now, about the sickness. I am really, really, sensitive to motion sickness. In fact, I am so sensitive, that I have periodically gotten motion sickness while driving my own car. Today I got nauseous while swimming. It really upset me. I don’t want to have to take Dramamine every time I want to swim. I felt terrible too, I barely made it home without throwing up. In fact, I had to drive with the window down in freezing cold weather just to keep from losing it. I am still feeling sick as I write this in fact. Hopefully it was a one time thing. Ugh!