The life aquatic

I need to learn how to swim.

Properly, anyway. I've never had a formal lesson, so I'm not a strong swimmer. I can fake my way across a swimming pool, switching between a doggie paddle and a flailing-while-kicking motion to get to the other side. I'm not afraid of water, either, and have no problem diving to the bottom of the pool and launching myself back to the surface with a push off the bottom from my legs.

So in my quest to get as many lessons/classes/activities done as I can before I become a grown-up again with a full-time job, I hope to do a triathlon later this year, maybe October. A few rowing friends have been trying to entice me to join them lately in their favorite extracurricular activity. And it wouldn't be a full Olympic-length triathlon but a "sprint," which are supposedly short distances.

I'll be fine with the 2-mile run, and the 7-mile bike is supposedly the easiest part. But the swim portion will be a whole new challenge. I'm dense as a stone -- the proverbial "big-boned" -- have short legs and sink like an anchor.