Swim class

Yes....... I'm in swim class - Beginner swim class to be spacific. I feel lame but I have a method to my madness and hopefully I'll be able to explain it well enough so that you can understand. You see, I have an issue with water mainly swimming in it and mailny in open water. Even though I have done many races in open water and 2 Ironman lake swims it seems that each time I step into the water at the cove or the beach I start to panic and become distressed and think I'm going to be a nice meal for the sharky's out there. I freak out on every swim and every race I have in the open water. Sometimes I freak out in a lake or even in Mission Bay. I start to hyperventilate and feel like I'm running out of air. I feel pretty comfortable in my wet suit and I've had good swims in the open water and bad swims in the open water. I never know how I'm going to feel until the gun goes off and I'm struggling with this every race. I thought that if I take a beginner swim course I could get back to the basics and work on my mental game in the water. Make sense???? Maybe not yet.

So, my theory on this is if I can feel comfortable with my stroke, breathing and flip turns, I should feel comfortable anytime. I really hope this works because my last resort is a sports psychologist. The flip turn thing is another issue. I think that is because of rolling upside down and holding my breath at the same time. and the feeling of panic that I'm underwater and I can't get up for air. Kind of the same if your in open water and you get caught in a wave and are under water upside down. My mind set plays a big roll in this I know so let's see how the next class goes.