Wednesday, January 13, 2010

I must be hardcore too!

Tonight was the first masters swim. It was fun! And I convinced myself that I belonged in the Wednesday group! Not because I'm fast...hardly. Not because I have endurance (I chose the shorter of the two workouts we could choose from)...hardly. But because last night around 3am I woke up nauseous, ended up having a few puking episodes the next couple hours, called in sick to work, slept in until 10, napped from 12-2...and still went to swimming!

I actually felt pretty fine by then. Tired, but honestly I will feel that way every night. Once I was done puking I tried really hard to get enough calories in me so I could make it. If there is a silver lining to puking (and other things), it's that my weight drops by a couple pounds overnight (I finally hit 145 this morning...yeah, I know it's not real) and I feel obliged to eat as much as I can once I'm better. Not that I wanted to eat anything today...but it's still different to say to myself, You must eat! instead of, Stop eating!

So apparently my swimming stroke is ALL WRONG. Near as I can tell, my stroke is like a windmill. Frankly, I LIKE my stroke. The whole point of my doing this masters program is to STOP feeling like I'm going to drown. Yet, what the coach had us doing made me feel...well, like I was going to drown. He assured me I wouldn't, and, ok, I didn't, but...seriously? I guess we still have to work on my kick and my breathing, and apparently once all the pieces are there I will be a better swimmer who won't freak out in open water swims. But this is going to take work.

5 comments:

Angela and David said...

It feels really uncomfortable to relearn your stroke but when it all starts to come together it's totally worth it! You just have to be patient.

Glad you are feeling better.

N.D. said...

oh man, I hope you are feeling better. IT is really hard to relearn! A great drill is thumb drill - drag your thumb up your side - it helps bend your elbows!

RunningMama said...

I hate puking!! But, enjoy the post puke calorie chomp:> And, interesting about relearning your stroke. Kudos for going after puking...I'm not sure I could go swimming...running I love, but swimming...I'd use anything for an excuse!

X-Country2 said...

How you're feeling better. Keep taking care of yourself.

Mandy said...

You ARE hardcore! I have been doing some swimming lately, which has helped me RA. Mostly I just get in and paddle around though, I'm not hardcore. :) I do sleep through the night now, though, which is great. I could write a book on sleep and RA! After using a ChiliPad to help with my RA symptoms I decided to work with ChiliTechnology to promote it. The ChiliPad is a mattress pad that cools (or heats) any bed. They come in all sizes, they work using water, and they're small and efficient. I used to take Lyrica because the pain in my hips would keep me up at night, and I wasn't able to do much with my mornings because of the stiffness. After playing around with the temperature I finally found a way to sleep through the night: heating up the bed a bit and then setting the timer to cool it down in the few hours before dawn is what works for me, I both sleep through the night and am able to do more with my mornings.