Freediver Certification: The Journey from Doggy Paddle to Descending to Depths of 30 Feet on One Breath

The first day of my freediver training with Depth Wish was a 45 minute drive to our classroom. I was so excited and ready for class that when I was ready to leave the house and hour early, I did and sat in the parking lot waiting with jitters of excitement. I loved pool training and thrived on the energy of this first day. It reminded me of how much I love and missed school and learning.

I had all sorts of personal bests today, but also some hilarious moments. Each time I’d be told to do something, like how to do a duck dive. I’d miserably fail in a serious way for a little bit, but thankfully there were second changes and eventually I succeeded with flying colors. I laughed my way through the failing. It’s funny, I knew how to do a duck dive before I was taught, but then taking that learning into my body was difficult.

I think I hate wet suits. They do keep you warm…but…the feelings of strangulation were serious for me. I took mine off for the static apnea and as often as possible. I do sort of like the insane buoyancy of the wetsuit, but I couldn’t quite touch the bottom, so I kept bobbing around all over and my feet were floating up. Made me giggle. I finally used my weight belt to stand on the bottom.

I achieved a personal best in static apnea (being still in the water holding your breath with your head underwater). 2 minutes and 45 seconds. I drifted off into this amazing relaxation.