A Little Swim

I finally made it to the pool today. I tweaked my knee Thursday night by accidentally stepping up onto the curb with my left leg. Oops. I took it really easy Friday and Saturday and thought today would be a good day to try a swim. Since I had put my gym membership on hold until May (I didn't expect my doctor to tell me to start swimming quite yet), I was prepared to pay the drop-in fee to get into my fitness center. Luckily, the guys at the front desk were sympathetic and let me right through with a finger to their lips... shhh... ; )

I'm not going to tell you I was excited about swimming. OK, maybe a teeny bit in the back of my mind, but mostly I was worried. Since my knee seems so sensitive these days I wasn't sure if swimming would feel good or not. It was sunny but windy on the rooftop pool at Bakar Fitness Center. I decided to sit in a chair for a few minutes and observe the lap swimmers before I chose what lane I wanted to jump into. I was happy that someone finished up and got out of the slowest swim lane so I would not feel as if I was getting in a faster swimmers way. Once I got in I glanced at the recommendations my physical therapist, Alex, gave me on pool exercise. I figured, if anything, I could use a pool buoy (photo below) and swim without kicking. Alex said I could try water walking, side steps, squats and leg lifts in the water. The pool at Bakar is perfect since there is no deep end and as long as you are about 5' 2" tall, you can walk from one end to the other.

Off I went, using the pool buoy first and just swam with my arms. I swam 3-4 laps and already felt winded. Whew... I remembered in the past that it didn't take too long to get used to the side-to-side breathing while doing laps so I kept on going. After a few more laps I tossed the buoy up on the side of the pool and tried regular freestyle swimming. I can't say it felt great. I kept repeating to myself, "kick from the hips, kick from the hips," trying not to bend my knees too much. It was slow, but I was swimming. I also took some turns at walking up and down the lane (it felt kind of strange pushing against the water so I only did about 4 laps of water walking), calf raises, and leg lifts. I rotated between all of these options, doing the most laps with the pool buoy, and stayed in the water for a half an hour total.

So you're wondering how my knee is feeling now, right? Well... so far, so good. That's all I can say. There is always the possibility of delayed pain tomorrow. Dr. Dye says it can take 12 - 24 hours for the pain to register knee-to-brain. I can say it was nice to be outside getting a little exercise and I hope I'll be able to continue without another setback. I wonder if my arms will be sore at all tomorrow? I kind of hope so. That would be a good kind of pain. : )

La Luna

I love Luna Bars. I miss them very much. You see, Luna Bars used to be my favorite pre-workout nutrition bar snack. Usually on my way to a Tuesday night run or Thursday night track workout I would eat a banana and a Luna Bar to nourish me for the exhausting hour or more of exercise I was about to embark upon. These days I've had to forgo my little soy rice crisp, sweetly coated high carbo/protein yummy bar. My workouts are not nearly as strenuous as they used to be so pre-workout food is not necessary. I would run the risk of literally running out of steam if I didn't eat something before the run or bike ride. When that happens, it's called "bonking." For example, I bonked towards the end of my first long bike ride when I ate too little before the ride. Jill, one of the PacWest team captains, had to stay with me while we slowly rode far behind everyone else. It's a horrible feeling. After that, I traditionally ate a banana, a bowl of oatmeal, AND a Luna Bar before a long bike ride. The nutrition is necessary to keep you going. Here is a photo of what I consider the best flavor Luna Bars offer. Mmm... Chocolate Peppermint Stick. I am also a fan of Smores and Peanut Butter Cookie.

I found Luna Bars to be a perfect pre-workout meal and sometimes afterwards, as long as they were kept in a cool, dry place. They didn't work so well during a bike ride. The one time I tucked one in the "bento box" (sack for carrying food, energy gels, lip balm, etc.) strapped to my bike I regretted it. Mid way through the ride I opened up the wrapper for some much needed sustenance and realized the sweet coating had melted and eating the bar was very messy. It was still delicious, but I decided to stick to regular Clif Bars that would not melt for my nutrition during a ride. I tended to need my water for hydration, not for washing off sticky fingers.

I'm sure you are wondering, why is she bringing up Luna Bars now? I happily ate one today, it was the Smores flavor. Yum! I went for a swim this morning and on my way I decided to stop at the grocery store for a banana and a Luna Bar. I thought they would make a good post swim breakfast. My knee had been aching a bit after my Tuesday morning walk/run, so I stepped back to a walk-only on Friday at lunch and thought a low-impact workout would be best today. Two-steps-forward-one-step-back, as Matt says in Brain Training. It's OK, I'm going to stay the course. I'm learning that finding I've done too much and needing to step my exercise back a is simply part of the recovery process. I'm trying really hard to not let it bother me too much anymore. I'm doing more now than I was a few months ago, right? It's progress. My physical therapist friend told me to judge my recovery progress by months, not weeks or days. It takes time. No, it didn't occur to me that my knee injury then scope would take this long to heal, but it is what it is. Next week I'll try another walk/run, but maybe a little less running (I ran 16 minutes in my walk/run workouts this past week) and/or keep to a flat path. It's possible the hills near my apartment proved to be too challenging for twice a week. My 45 minute swim was good today. It was a lovely day in the city!

Pool Time

It was a beautiful day in San Francisco yesterday! I decided to finally get in a lap swim. I went for a few reasons. One, to take advantage of the sunny, warm weather, and second, to prepare myself for more swimming next week. You see, my friend Kim who is an amazing boot camp instructor and overall incredibly fit woman, suggested we do some swimming this week while she's on a break from boot camp. Out of curiosity, I checked my chart where I keep track on my knee progress and workouts and noted, "Wow... I haven't been swimming since *gulp* the end of November." Uh oh. I knew why what was, of course. The weather got bad and it didn't help that swimming had become of little interest to me. It was hard to even consider getting wet and doing laps, even though I knew it was probably the best exercise for me at the time. Late November was almost 5 months since my surgery and my knee didn't seem any better than before the scope. I was frustrated and tired of the only thing I could do, swimming. The truth was that swimming did discomfort my knee a little. Back then, I wasn't even doing regular swimming as my physical therapist told me to swim with a pool buoy so I wouldn't kick too much. Hey, it's great for the arms, but it does hamper the feeling of real swimming. The cold weather and not-so-real swimming put an end to my pool workouts for a while.

I got back in the water yesterday and didn't worry about the pool buoy. My walk/running has been going pretty well, for twice a week, so I figured real swimming probably wouldn't be a major problem for my knee. Luckily, I was right. My knee feels fine this evening. My swim was good today, albeit tiring and slower than it used to be. I am very out of swim shape. I wore myself out during the warm-up! I guess I didn't realize until now how good my swim workouts were for me throughout my knee injury. There was a time I tried to swim twice a week and now I see that it helped me hold onto a base level of fitness. While I was in the pool yesterday, I kept reminding myself that in the past it didn't take that long to get back into the breathing. After a workout or two, I would feel better. I was surprised to feel a semblance of the old rhythm finally kick in (no pun intended) within my freestyle main sets of laps towards the end of the workout.

I brought my camera to shoot a few photos of the pool at the Bakar Fitness Center on the UCSF Mission Bay Campus. I joined this gym last Fall since it's close to my work. It has an indoor pool and an amazing rooftop pool as well. The only drawback to a sunny day it that it can be windy. There was some breeze yesterday, but it wasn't too bad. I think I got a faint tan line! Hmm... maybe I should swim a little backstroke so that tan line isn't only on one side. ; )

Happy Thanksgiving Weekend!

I hope you all had a nice Thanksgiving weekend. Mine consisted of yummy turkey, all the trimmings, and great company. I saw a few movies, did a little shopping, and tried to fit in some down time. I realized I've been veering away from writing about my knee lately since I'm still frustrated from the elliptical trainer setback. On Thanksgiving Day I hoped on my trainer for the first time in weeks and pedaled away for 10 minutes. Not much, but it's a start. On Saturday I headed to the Bay Club for a swim. They have two indoor pools I swim in from time to time. Dang... they sure chlorinate those pools! I feel like it's my perfume for a day afterward. It's probably not good for my knee, but I also sat in the sauna for 15 minutes after my 35 minute swim. I love it.

So, I decided this week that I need to get back to weights. I was holding off a bit, thinking my knee would heal faster from the surgery and I would be able try the old routine I used to do years ago before I started training for races. It was a good all-around weight machine circuit for the upper and lower body. Now I realize, if I can't run or do heavy weights affecting my knee, I may as well get my upper body toned up! What do you think? Muscle is muscle, right? Hopefully, the lower body weights will follow later.

Love My New Gym

I LOOOVE my new gym at UCSF - Mission Bay Bakar Fitness Center. I don't know how often I'll be able to attend since I'm on what they call an "Express Membership". The facility is at capacity, so I am only able to workout there from 5:30 AM to 3:00 PM Monday through Friday. Still, I swam last Thursday in the rooftop pool and it is a DREAM! I shared a lane at the beginning of my swim with a gentleman swimming with a snorkel. After my warm up I had the lane to myself and it was wonderful. A wide open lane under the open sky. Ahhhhh (Picture the sun shining with rays stretching down from the clouds). Ok, that is a slightly dramatic visual, but that's how I felt. I realize the indoor pools were really bringing me down. Too enclosed. I hope to somehow swim at least twice a week. With my upcoming work travels, I'm not so sure. The waiting list to full membership at Bakar will be around 3 months. Then, I will be able to go after work and on weekends. It will be here before I know it. : )

Back to the Pool

I've been relegated to swimming for a while. Swimming is one of those workouts I don't look forward to. At the same time, once I am finally in the water, I am really glad to be there. Swimming is one of the best exercises you can do. It improves your cardio and is high on the scale of resistance training. Pulling yourself through the water creates resistance. Good for the heart and muscle/bone.

My PT, Susan, said I should step back to swimming for a few weeks before I try cycling again. OK... fine. She said to mostly swim using the pull buoy (little foam thing you place between your legs so your legs float and don't kick) and no kickboard. She wants me swimming to get my heart rate up, but not doing too much with my knees. I'm going to try to drop in on lap swim at the Presidio YMCA today. Hopefully, I won't have to share a lane with someone that is frustrated with my slow workout. I'll stay in the "slow swim" lane if they have one.