One of the first things (as I’ve mentioned before) that my chiropractor recommended once my joint seemed better and I was permitted to exercise and run again was that I would need to incorporate more cross training. Since then I’ve cut runs down from 4-5 days a week to between 2-4 days (depending on the week) and easily incorporated biking, rollerblading and yoga. Unfortunately for me, the best exercise for my particular issue is not biking. It’s not rollerblading. It’s not yoga – its swimming.

I suck at swimming. So I avoided it.

After the most recent 5k – the one where I started off too fast and spent the whole run trying not to vomit – I’ve had some issues with my back and/or butt feeling tight. Per my chiropractor my range of motion has actually gotten worse. And yet again he talked about how good swimming would be for my joint.

Sigh.

Our neighborhood pool has been open for nearly a month, but I’m sissy and I hate cold water. Today, though, I finally decided to take the plunge (pun intended).

Here is what I learned:

  • I still suck at swimming – a sprint triathlon swim distance (1/2 mile) took me nearly 40 minutes including rest breaks. I feel like I kinda swim like a fish out of water
  • My most effective swim style is the “made up side stroke”
  • Bikini’s are not the best bathing suit choice for lap swimming
  • Bikini’s with worn elastic are REALLY not the best bathing suit choice for lap swimming

Still, I ended up enjoying it more than I thought I would and am interested to see how I can improve.