I took water aerobics about 10 years ago. That particular class was very challenging, and I had a hard time keeping up. I was in pretty good shape at the time, too.

I think it's all about the instructor.

I swim and run regularly, but I sometimes want to mix it up, and I will do the elliptical, biking, or water aerobics to give me variety. The first time I did the water aerobics, I tried to push myself beyond what the instructor required, and was really surprised when I was sore the next day. It was actually really good for me, as I started pushing myself harder when I swim so that I could enjoy that feeling I used to get when it was so much more challenging for me.

Wow, fluff! A mile is great! I found out the the pool at the Y where I swim is only 25 meters which means a mile is 64 lengths!! I've worked up to 16! hahahah

Actually, Fluffy, I'm quite glad you made that error. My pool lengths are the same as Tricia's, only I thought that I had to do 70 lengths in order to reach a mile. So, when I read that you were doing a mile on the day that you started, I thought that if you could do it so quickly, I should be able to do it after swimming almost daily for three months. So, yesterday, I swam 71 lengths (front crawl, no less!), and I felt amazing (and exhausted)! A little competition kicks me in the butt every time, and the scale this morning confirmed that my effort was worth it. So - thanks for the push, even if it may have been accidental.