My new sport- AquaLauf

A few weeks ago while Aaron was in Korea, my neighbor (whom I've only spoken to a handful of times) came to the door and invited me to join her women-only fitness class. Yea! Something to do, and maybe a friend! I understood that it was some kind of water aerobics but otherwise I really had no idea of what I was getting myself into. This seems to be the story of my life lately- always an adventure!

We got to the fitness center, changed into our swimsuits and headed to the pool. I first noticed that Nicole and I were bringing the average age down quite a bit- like decades. I assumed I would be able to handle the intensity without a problem; no offense to grandmas who can outswim me! Anyway, the pool is pretty small, just made for aerobic activities I think. So about 10-15 women make two concentric circles and, led by our slim male instructor who stands at the edge of the pool, we start to AquaLauf.

Everyone wears a flotation belt and floats around their ankles. Then, in the deep end, you move in circles while doing various exercises with your arms. Lauf translates to either run or walk. I think it means run for most of the women in the class but pretty much means trying to achieve forward motion for me. It seems roughly like treading water, which I can do indefinitely but apparently I'm missing the part where you propel yourself. Those instructions must have come in the first few weeks of the class that I missed.

So, I'm doing my best but somehow my efforts to GO seem to be plunging me under water. I'm sinking and sputtering while trying to act cool, stay in the circle, follow the instructor's directions and smile at him to let him know that everything is fine (which it is a total lie). Meanwhile, the German grannies are passing me by and I eventually move out to the "slow circle, " where I still cause traffic problems. I can't believe it but I'm actually breathing hard and looking at the clock to see when this hour will be over. Ugh- still twenty minutes and we haven't even used the arm weights yet!

At the end, I admit to my friend that it's "a little harder than I expected." In my head, I am trying to console myself and maintain belief that I really am fit. I mean I just ran a half-marathon last weekend; I do yoga, strength training and I walk or bicycle everywhere I go. Not to mention that I love swimming and spent half my childhood splashing around in water. It really seems like this AquaLauf business should present no challenge to me. It must just be a difficult technique to master. Yeah, I'm sure that's it.