22 laps

First of all, I am pretty sure that post title should have 22 spelled out, but then it loses the impact. Second, I am referring to swimming, not running.

I have not gone running (other than running in the pool) for over a month now, which is my longest layoff since I started running again in September 2009. But I have been swimming three times a week (four during a good week) the entire month of January, so I am hopeful I am keeping in shape.

Knowing that I have not been running, I have really been pushing myself while in the pool. I used to do five laps, six on a good day. Eventually I starting swimming 10 laps, with 12 coming on a good day. Last week, I surpassed that, and today, I swam 22 laps!

The pool I swim in is a junior Olympic-sized pool (so the hotel says), which is 25 meters long (so the internet tells me). Assuming all that to be true, that means today, I swam 1000 meters. In full disclosure, I would swim two laps at a time, stopping anywhere from two to five minutes in between each "set:"; since I come to the pool with my kid, I need to keep an eye on her as well as play with her. But in all honestly, it would be difficult for me to swim more than two laps at a time, unless I am doing the side stroke or "T" back stroke, two easy strokes.

On the one hand, I am super proud of myself. I know that swimming is very challenging, and it uses so many muscles. Plus it is low impact, so it is really good for you. But what bothers me is that even though I can and have been completing a lot of laps in the last few weeks, I feel out of shape because I can't swim for more than a few minutes without needing to take a breather. For someone who does not regularly exercise, that may not seem like that big of a deal. But for someone like me who can run for 45 minutes without stopping (or at least I could before Christmas), it seems odd and makes me wonder if I am not in as good of shape as I think.

Once it stops snowing or sleeting for more than two days at a time, so I can feel reasonably sure I won't slip on ice AND once the temps are above 30, I plan to get back out there and run. I guess that will be the true test.

Until then, I am just going to be proud of my 22 laps!

Running around the pool

Well, technically, I was running in the pool. And I was actually jogging. But since I have not gone running for almost three weeks now, and that was just on the dreaded treadmill, I figured I needed to do something running-related.

So for about 20 minutes yesterday, I jogged in 3' to 4' of water. It was a decent workout; I certainly felt the water's resistance. And it was good to move pretty much nonstop for that length of time. The only snafu was my feet hurt a little, thanks to the not-so-smooth bottom. Not sure if running with water shoes would help, though.

I still have no idea when I am going to get back out there. I had an awful cold last week. Yesterday it was only about 20 degrees. And we are supposed to get some snow today. Maybe by the end of this week I can attempt at least a one mile run. I sure hope so.

In the meantime, I am going to try to keep up with the swimming. I still managed to get in about six laps (which I like to call 12, since I am going up and back) yesterday after my "jog," but as usual, they were not consecutive. At least I am moving!

I don't do sick

Well, I have now gone just over two weeks without running. If my memory serves me correctly, two weeks is the amount of time it takes to lose the fitness level previously achieved. I did swim on Monday and Tuesday of this week, but thanks to congestion from a cold, my laps were rather slow. And the week between Christmas and New Year's, I did nada as far as exercising (I was out of town).

The weather this week has been pretty good for running considering it is January; temps were in the upper 20s/lower 30s with sunny skies on one or two of those days. Yet I just cannot motivate myself to lace up the shoes and get out there, as much as I need and want to.

I really hope my nose stops running and my sinuses clear out so I can put up a post about a run. Even if that post will probably contain phrases like "gasping for air" and "could not run more than 10 minutes without stopping."

Here's hoping 2011 is a good year for my fitness. It would be nice to read about 39-year-old me running farther and faster. But considering how I feel right now, I would be happy if I can get back to where I was in the fall.