Days 2 & 3

Swam last night, although I couldn't get the blogger app to work on my phone to post this. So, better late than never:
"Swam tonight, my first time at the evening swimming time. The pool was super empty and I think I like the after dinner swim as an option to have around. It's cleansing, relaxing and nice to do the sauna after too.

Speaking of the sauna, here's a question: are the water droplets that form sweat or condensing water vapor from the room? It is 160F in there, so it could be sweat, but then I've never been a sweater and sweating that much would be super weird for me, so I'm inclined to think its condensation. But entirely uncertain overall."

And today? Swimming class. The breaststroke is hard. That's my conclusion. As a post-patella fracture person my whip kick lacks some whip so that's a problem, but, hey, baby steps, that's what it's all about. I will get there. 

Day 1...Again

Well, I had a late halloween night on Saturday, and didn't make it into the pool yesterday. So today is Day 1 again. I'm okay with that. October 31, a day that will live in infamy. Let the year begin!!

Back in the pool today was marvelous. My hair did recover some in the days off, maybe I'll investigate some more hydrating shampoos or something, because the chlorine takes a very obvious toll. But the water was so much fun. It's such good exercise and thinking time. Things just sort of percolate and thoughts evolve when swimming.

I did learn today that we have a yard pool, not a meter pool, so everything I've been thinking was meters was actually yards! I don't suppose it makes much difference, but it is interesting I guess.

The sun is coming up so late these days, not fully up until I get out of the pool at 10:30. Such is the nature of November in the high North, I suppose. Tilted out towards the cosmos, away from our little twinkling star. Oh, Mr. Sun. Won't you shine on me. 

Day 11, Day 12

The past two days, today and yesterday, I had pool availability problems and so I went to the hot tub instead. I was going to swim today but there was a swim meet and the pool was closed. Oh well, the days off laps were probably good for my body too. That's all, till I have more to report.

Day 10

Swam day 10 today. Thinking on the way to the pool, something like: 10/365... that's about .36% of my goal. Not bad for a little over a week. Breaking the goals down, keeping them real. Then: Imagine day 36: 36/365 is 9.8% of my goal of swimming every day for a year. It's real, it's happening, it's now.

Tomorrow no swim lesson and I get to get creative with it. I'm going to either swim at a new pool (different pool) or another non-pool body of water. Who knows, I could do anything!!! So long as I'm swimming, the sky's the limit.

Day 9, In a row

I swam today for the ninth day in a row. We had swim class today and continued working on the breast stroke. I was a little worried at first because of the whip kick and my previously broken patella, but actually doing the kick was not too bad. I felt no pain or anything unusual in the knee. So far the biggest knee pain issues I have with swimming are some soreness around the knee after vigorous swimming and occaisional pain in the kneecap when kicking. But both are very tolerable and not worse than the pain I've experienced just sitting around when I've not been exercising. I think overall I'm doing some good work to recover from the muscle atrophy in the broken patella side and to even out the musculature in both legs, which was one of my major physical therapy goals that was hitherto unmet.

I worked hard during the warm up swim and laps, but then when we started adding in the new strokes I slowed the pace a bit. I think this is good because I'm learning new movements, and there's no reason to rush that process. The breaststroke timing is tricky, and I think it will take some practice but I like the freedom to be goofy. In my experience, that is one of the main joys of life.

What else to say about the pool? The temperature fluctuations are fascinating. When it is cold, oh boy, it is hard to take that first dive under. The sauna is amazing. I enjoy my classmates. I think everyone really comes because they are having a good time. The space is so tranquil, I think swimming is really a meditative experience, which is part of why I'm finding so much solace in it, and also not getting bored with the laps.

Tomorrow my friend may bring her baby to the pool. Baby at the pool would be a fun new experience!

Day 8: it goes on

The main excitement in my life: trying to find where I parked my car every day when I come out of the pool, or any other large building.

Today I swam for the eighth day in a row, laps and lanes, back and forth. I didn't go as far today as some days but I could feel my form was good and my laps were fast- almost a minute for 50m, and a few of the best were maybe under a minute. I also was feeling a deep and satisfying kinship with my fellow swimmers and a sense that my body is adjusting to the swimming. In short, the pool felt like home.

One thought that occurred to me while kick boarding was how spacious the pool seems when you are swimming and looking down, but with your head above water how much you realize you're surrounded by other people. I guess I feel like an atom in a gaseous state kind of, only truly "looking" in the direction I am going. We are all a bit like horses I guess, with blinders on persuaded by the primacy of our experience how the world truly is.

My other realization of the day was that my relationship with eating is changing, and that I'm starting to get some emotional comfort or buoyancy from the predictable rhythms of swimming. I guess I'm learning to crave a new sort of chemical buzz? Don't get me wrong, I still love to eat, but it's coming through in the joys of movement as well. 

That's all for today folks! Stay tuned for more swimming tomorrow, in which we hopefully learn the feet to the breaststroke!

Day 7... One Week In

It is Day 7 of the Regime. Things are looking good. Apart from running my head into the wall yesterday and possibly suffering a minor concussion (I had a pretty unfortunate headache last night!) all is well.

Today in swim class we started the breaststroke. Here doing my second Bachelor's degree at UAF I have found that the recreation classes I've taken, with the unfortunate exception of kungfu, have been super fun and energizing. Largely I think this is because it allows a rare opportunity for play and being a silly physical being into adult life. Swimming has the added advantage of incorporating a shower into my daily routine.

But back to the breaststroke. We just worked on the arms today, which is a little weird because we were only doing part of the stroke, mostly while standing in the pool. Overall the physics of swimming is still a little mysterious to me. Like with the breaststroke, you are supposed to keep your arms in front of you and scoop downward "like you're cleaning out a bowl." Arms are not supposed to go behind you or too far out to the side. I wonder, is this to maximize torque? Or what? Anyway, there is more to be discovered about the physics of swimming.

But that's it for now, on to the rest of the day!