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January 8, 2005

Swim Practice!!

Swimming carries a lot of emotional baggage for me. I swam on swim teams from 8th to 12th grade and then intermittently to stay in shape throughout college. The emotional baggage part comes from my last two high school years, though, which probably comes as a surprise to no girl who has ever been 17. Making things particularly bad for me was that the summer before 11th grade we moved to California and I went from a teeny-tiny high school on an island in the middle of the Pacific to a high school that was one of the largest in the nation. And they had an incredibly deep swim team.

I worked really hard at swimming, but was never very fast. But it was worse than just not being fast. Because I wanted to *be* fast, I swam with the club team during the winter, before swim season started for the high school. So both years I swam in California I began the high school season in lane 1 with the fast girls and then was systematically booted down to lane 8 as everyone else got in shape, and asked if I'd rather swim junior varsity. I cried in frustration at a swim meet on my 18th birthday (in private, of course.)

So yesterday I emailed my friend Liz in a panic about my leg - it's actually been getting worse even though I haven't been running. Liz ran a huge pr marathon after battling several injuries a few years ago, and I asked her what she'd done to stay in shape during the injury time. Swimming and spinning were her answer (well she aquajogged, too, but I don't think it's a very good idea for me. I hated it. And I never felt like I got a good workout, even when I did it without the belt.) So I decided to plan for the worst: 5 weeks of no running. If I can't run I plan to spin and swim myself into a frenzy.

This morning was morning #1 of my new plan, and I headed over to the neighborhood pool for master's swimming. The whole experience sent me way back - digging out my swimsuit and goggles, hoping the goggles wouldn't fall apart from rot, standing on the freezing pool deck, trying to get all my clothes off in a way that kept me warm the longest, splashing the paper workout to the pool wall so it sticks, the way that first length just feels soooo good and smooth before your shoulders start getting tired, getting lectured about breathing only on my right side ...

Our first set was a 2x 400, and I started to panic at about 275 when I realized I was in danger of getting lapped. But on the kicking set I dare say I was the fastest in our lane! Imagine that. My legs are strong. No. Way.

The swim coach was great - she's a two-time Olympian and a double Olympic medalist. She trained with Gilbert this past summer when I did my stint with him before my base-building ("run til you drop") phase. I googled her just now and there was a story about how she'd gone to the 88 Olympics at a really young age, had a goal of medaling in '92, and didn't make the team. But she came back in Atlanta and got her medals. A story about setback and ultimate goal achievement -exactly what I needed to hear.

I still got to go to runner breakfast, with serious goggle and cap marks on my face (very attractive. I have very UN-resilient skin.) In the back of my mind I've thought it might be best not to talk about my leg. If it does turn out to be nothing I don't want to be embarrassed about being so melodramatic. But it's hard not to talk about it. I'm what my friend Shannon calls a blurter - I have a hard time keeping my thoughts to myself (which makes me a VERY good blogger, by the way.)

So day one of the new plan went pretty well. I got in about two miles or so. Nothing was really that hard or fast; I guess they do more endurance stuff on the weekends, too. My arms were really tired at the end. I just don't know if it's financially worthwhile - there's a pretty hefty startup cost and you have to pay at least two months in advance. I only need 5 weeks.

My leg feels better today, too. (And here comes the excruciatingly boring part where I describe the pain in detail.) It seems to feel better after activity. Sitting at work yesterday it just got more and more painful when I'd get up, move it around, or press on it. Last night after sitting a long time at happy hour/dinner I stumbled a little bit on a parking bump and MAN it hurt. It hurts when I first get up - and if I use my leg to turn myself over in the middle of the night it hurts enough to wake me up. It hurts when I press on it, but if I keep pressing it doesn't hurt anymore. It hurts when I flex my foot, but if I keep it flexed or repeatedly flex it it goes away. It's an acute pain, not a soreness. I just have no idea what I'm dealing with. It does remind me a lot of the way my foot felt with the stress fracture, though.

So tomorrow the plan is to try spinning. I worry a little bit, though, since I did the bike at the gym on Thursday night and yesterday my leg hurt worse than it ever had before.

Oh I dunno.

Posted by jenandmats at January 8, 2005 2:55 PM

Comments

I was self-conscious about only breathing on the right. Then I mentioned it to my brother and sister-in-law, who are the kind of swimmers that I am a runner. (A dozen or so New England masters age-group titles between them, and a few records for my sister-in-law.) They looked kind of puzzled, then my sister-in-law said, "Pfft. I always breathe on the right."

Of course, she was a backstroke specialist, so I wonder if I should take that too seriously. My brother - who agreed - does distance free, but he also likes those masochistic races like 800 IM or "let's see who can fly longest."

Posted by: pjm at January 8, 2005 5:37 PM

I am glad to hear you made it back in the water - and that you are being really smart about your leg pain and taking 5 weeks off to let it recover.

I would be careful with the spinning. If you feel even a twinge of pain, I would bail on the class. When I came down with my metatarsal SF, I immediately hopped on the bike and went crazy. I felt pain, but I justified it because I wasn't pounding - I think if I would have stuck to pain free cross training, it wouldn't have taken me 3.5 months to recover! It got to the point where my only option was FULL and complete rest. It totally sucked, but I am so HAPPY to be running again that the time off was worth it.

I LOVE reading your blogs, by the way. You are such a fantastic writer and I feel like I know you even though we have never met!! You constantly inspire me to work hard and stay positive. Sending you hugs and healing karma . . .

Posted by: bridget at January 8, 2005 6:56 PM

Oh poohey! I was hoping I was going to read about how well your run went today and how great your shin felt. But you now have a plan and you are committed to make this work and that's half the battle! Hang in there, stay positive and keeping giving that shin some love! I'll be thinking of you.

Posted by: Beth at January 8, 2005 7:42 PM

I really don't have any good advice when it comes to swimming because I think that I'm akin to a beached whale flopping ackwardly to get back into the ocean when I'm in water. Yeah, not so cute. But one of my bestest college friends was on the swim team and would come home to dinner with goggle marks on her cheeks nearly every night, so that conjures fond memories.

I wish I had good advice on your leg thing, but it sounds super-ultra peculiar to me. Have you made an appointment to get in with a doc and get Xrays and an MRI?

By the way, I think it's perfectly okay to be melodramatic about injuries. You know, you gotta deal with it the way you need to. But I'm definitely of the melodramatic club with you, and proud of it. Well, perhaps not proud, but accepting.

So, Jen, I'm so sorry. And I'm seriously going to be thinking of you frequently, lots and lots. Please keep blogging (or just plain email me) and letting us know what's up. I hope some days of rest will work miracles for you.

Good luck, lady,
Meghan

Posted by: Meghan at January 8, 2005 9:06 PM

I hope that it doesn't take five weeks for this to go away. I'm so impressed that you already have a plan, though, and you aren't whining about it. If it were me, I think I'd have to spend a week feeling sorry for myself first! It's good that you have the swimming background, because that makes, say, getting in the pool and swimming two miles possible. Two miles! That's a lot of swimming (in my book) - great job.

If spinning doesn't aggravate it, it could be an excellent workout - but since calves and shins seem to be so connected and biking works your calves a lot (or at least it does when I do it), it's possible that it might not feel great.

Our head XC coach always tells people with shin problems to stretch their calves after going in the pool, because he thinks the pool tightens them up. I have no idea if it's true, but it probably wouldn't hurt.

I really hope this goes away quickly. Your fitness will probably be fine for quite a while, I think the hard part is maintaining mental fitness when such things happen!

Posted by: Alison at January 8, 2005 10:07 PM

sending more healing karma after reading meghan's blog :) i really really really hope this injury magically disappears with a few days in the pool!!!

Posted by: bridget at January 8, 2005 10:41 PM

yuck to injuries!!!!!! healing vibes!!!

-audrey-

Posted by: Audrey at January 9, 2005 9:21 AM

Jen, first I really, really, really hope that it does not take five weeks to shake this pesky shin/fibula pain, and I really, really, really hope that it is not a stress fracture.

That said, here goes the swimming stuff...As far as breathing only on the right side, it isn't that bad. It isn't all that good either. If you can, breathe to the left every now and then, say once per lap. I tended to alternate sides in practice, but always breathed to the right in races. It makes your shoulders feel better because it distributes the stress of pulling more evenly. Think about it, would you run and only land on your right leg? It also makes both sides of your neck have cricks, not just one side. My coach never forced us to alternate breathe, because some people just can not breathe on their other side, they swallow too much water. If you're in this boat, then keep on goin to the right. Is there a fitness center that you can join that just has lap time. It might be more cost effective than doing the master's team. Our Y has lap time, aquajogging belts, and then all the gym stuff: spinning, kickboxing, step, aerobics, ellipticals, bikes, stairmasters, weights, etc...

Keep on hangin in there. Schedule a massage and stay positive!!

Blondie

Posted by: Blondie at January 9, 2005 5:31 PM

Come and swim with me at Stacey Pool. For free. Plus, you'll get irritating comments and lame attempts at humor at the end of each repeat.

How much? You got it: $free.99!

Hang in there, Jen. You're going to figure it out. Not just your injury, but how to keep yourself sane through the whole fiasco. And once you've got that figured out, well, you've got life by the tail.

Posted by: Janie at January 9, 2005 9:24 PM

Just stopping by to see how things are going today. So, how did things go today? Did you spin? Did you swim? Did you row? Did you rest? What did you do? How did your leg feel today?

I emailed the Running Fairy and asked her to deliver you some leg healing potion. Hopefully she'll make it by tonite and sprinkle on the formula while you sleep. She said she does return visits, if you need more than one dose. Just keep her posted.

Yeah, and I agree with those above that you have a great attitude about your little misadventure here. Either that or you're acting really tough.

Sending good leg thoughts,
Meghan

Posted by: Meghan at January 9, 2005 10:32 PM