Day three: 7/22

Duration 1.65 (0.6x1, 0.2x1, 0.8x1)

The sky was half clear, half murky, entirely blue. It was as if someone accidentally splashed a dash of light grey watercolor on a brilliant sky-colored canvas and painted it in. I arrived at the pool, fifteen minutes early. I changed into my rash guard and sat under the shade of the main canopy, watching the coaches chat and have breakfast.

Finally the team arrived, and the coach gathered us all. Some brought their own rash guards and were trying them on. We all warmed up and swam another times three routine. My limbs and sides became tired and sore faster than I expected. I've got to get used to this at some point. ...I still finished first though.

And the coach made me swim another routine.

Yesterday most of the team swam Tarzan drills and practiced swimming underwater for the first time, so the head coach went through them again since they're extremely important. He went on and taught us what to do to save ourselves in case of emergencies and run us through floats and different methods to tread water. Then we were all forced to tread water for the rest of the class. Again, it was exhausting, especially for those on their first try. Just as the team was struggling to stay afloat, he made us introduce ourselves one by one "loud and clear". Fun.

New rules and discipline were announced for the two-day open-water courses. I feel like I'm in a military camp.

We went through another set of routines times four, then the coach dismissed the course for today. Nothing new. Some went home with a minor sunburn. My hands are visibly split into two different colors.

(I edited the color so it doesn't look as bad.)

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* Additional notes:

* The best way of dealing with cramps is to provide warmth immediately to increase circulation, not all the positions you see on a poster or video. That only applies better if you're in the sea, lake or anywhere in the middle of nowhere. If you're in an outdoor swimming pool, just get out and bask in the sun. It's that easy.

* Literally the first rule in the head coach's lifeguard book is to not get saved by another lifeguard. This might seem funny, but it concerns another topic called double drowning. Let's just say this isn't.

* If you're going to wear a rash guard in the future, wear a swimming trunk underneath. Don't ask. Trust me.

**Save someone on land rather than in the water. Save someone with a tool rather than with your bare hands. Save someone as a team rather than on your own.