What I Learned This Week

As you might remember from my last post, I'm in the middle of an injury and doing less running than I should for a marathon training plan. However, I am doing lots and lots of swimming and aqua jogging. And I LIKE IT!

Really quick, my exercise stats for this week include:

 

• Mon:  REST
• Tue:  Swim breaststroke for 25 min and aqua jogging for 15 min (using my new water shoes)
• Wed:  Swim breaststroke/backstroke for 25 min and aqua jogging for 20 min (using my new kickboard to stabilize me)
• Thu:  3 mile slow run with the Karbach Running Club (3rd one, 2 more to go before I get a shirt)
• Fri:  1.5 mile walk with dog
• Sat:  Swim breaststroke/backstroke for 25 min, aqua jogging for 25 min, and 1 mile walk with dog
• Sun:  Swim breaststroke/backstroke for 25 min, aqua jogging for 20 min (didn't have kickboard and it was miserable), and 1/2 mile walk with dog.

I also walked down 20 flights of stairs one day this week (more on that later). So, this is not bad for the week. I tried to get a run in on Sunday, but the weather was just miserable and cold. So, I decided to swim instead.

And that brings me to the point of my post. I have learned quite a bit about myself and swimming since I stepped it up a notch this week with doing the most swims ever in a week that didn't involve beer and laying out.

How I used to look.

1. Even though I have banged my head against the pool wall a few times now, I really like the backstroke. I start to feel the power of my arm pushing me through the water and I just get in to a zone (hence why I smacked my head).
2. The pool at LA Fitness does not have markers on the ceiling to help alert you to when the wall is coming up. On some of the lanes, you can tell with the ladders. However, one lane (the "smacked my head" lane) only has one ladder instead of two. I can tell when the wall is coming up on one end, but not both ends.
3. I splash a lot when I'm doing the backstroke. I see others doing their backstroke and they don't spew up as much water as I do both when moving my arms back and when the hands hit the water. I'm constantly getting water in my nose and mouth.
4. It's really hard to kick your feet with water shoes on even with using a kickboard. I move no where. I guess I see why people wear fins. I'm going to have to bring mine even though my fins are super duper scuba diving fins.
   
   

   

   This is how I look after making it halfway down the pool on a kickboard. NOT. GOING. ANYWHERE.

    
5. The kickboard works awesome to stabilize me during aqua jogging.
6. Apparently, on Sunday (could be anomaly), the gym increases the water level in the pool and the intensity of the jets in the Jacuzzi. I forgot my kickboard and I slowly jogged on my tiptoes in the deep end, while trying to hold on to the wall to push me forward. Then, I would get blown away by the strong current losing my balance and slipping...a lot. I couldn't even sit without moving in the Jacuzzi, because the jets were so strong.
7. Men will jump in to the lane assuming they can share, but then nonchalantly ask if it's okay to the other lane person. Women will ask before jumping in to share the lane. One lady kept thanking me over and over again.
8. When sharing a lane and doing breaststroke, I had to modify my hand position so I wouldn't scrape my hand on the wall. Note to self...when the woman is asking which side of the lane I prefer to use, use the side with the rope thing instead of the wall. OUCH! 
9. My legs jiggle less in the water now that I have done four days of aqua jogging. I feel like a rock star.
10. I seem to have perfect timing with the pool. Since I get in to the Jacuzzi for 20 minutes before I swim, the pool generally clears out by the time I get in to pool. Then, halfway through my swim or aqua jogging, the new people show up ready to swim. And by then, I'm already in the pool with an established lane. They have to work around me.

So, there you have a review of my last week using the new training plan. I'm really digging it, but I do need to run more. I plan to attempt a six mile run some time this week, which may be hard since I'm hopefully heading to Michigan (come on standby, don't let me down) to see a good friend of mine and watch the bestest ever premier of the world on Friday...VERONICA MARS!!! Well, okay, Veronica is no Buffy, but she still is bad ass!