not quite so bummin'

[ilanarama]

I got the go-ahead from the podiatrist to do pool running, so I gathered together all the links my running friends had sent me, went to the rec center (and discovered I still had 16 visits left on my 5-year-old "20-punch" pass [not literally punches; it's a magnetic scan card, but the name is left over from an earlier era] and although it had technically expired, the rec center kindly revalidated it for three more months, so yay), got a foam belt from the lifeguards, and embarked upon Adventures In Pool Running.

And to my surprise, it doesn't (so far) suck!

I'm not sure why. I hate treadmill running, and the stationary bike downstairs is torture. But I am finding pool running oddly enjoyable. At least for the moment. And it's certainly improved my mood, for which my husband is thankful.

Anyway, for Three Weeks for Dreamwidth, I wrote up a short info post about pool running and posted it to runners. If you are curious, check it out.

Comments

[twistedchick]

I've been doing deepwater running for about eight years now, and I like it a lot. The last few years I've combined it with arm exercise, using foam barbells. It's all very good for me, especially when I'm having either knee or ankle problems.

[ilanarama]

Our pool has those foam dumbbell-like things, but I have no idea what to do with them. Can you describe some of your exercises, or point me to information about them?

[twistedchick]

Have you ever done any weight lifting with free weights? I do arm curls, flies, a lot of the kinds of things I would do with free weights, except that under water it's an effort to hold things down, so I modify them to adjust the direction of stress. The dumbbells come in several levels of resistance to water -- the ones I've used are 30% and 60%, and currently I'm using the stronger ones. Anything you do with them *underwater* will be helpful.

Other things you can do: push them down so your arms are at your sides and swing your arms under water while you walk; put them under your armpits and disable your arms so your legs do all the work; put them under your knees and do crunches; push them down in front of you, leaning forward a little, and do push ups while walking. I do all of the exercise except the sit-ups while walking. If you move your entire leg, and make sure it goes well behind you as much as you can, it works your abdominal muscles also -- mine are in terrible shape but I can feel the difference and they're slowly getting better (I couldn't exercises at all for six weeks after surgery last winter.)

In addition -- if there are kickboards available at the pool, you can do pushups on one while walking, or sit on one and work your arms at a different angle, or, when you want to push your abilities, try standing on a kickboard and making your way across the pool (and then for extra credit, when your balance is good enough, tilt your feet toe-heel while you go and tone your legs.)

How's that for a start?

[ilanarama]

Thanks! Yeah, I've done weights but those foamy things look weird. :-)

[twistedchick]

Yeah, I know. There are several varieties -- be sure to play around with them under water to check the resistance before you work with them seriously, because if you use ones that are too strong for you it can result in strained muscles. With the kind I use, the easiest are blue (30% resistance), the next are yellow (60%) and I think the hardest are white (90%). I'm using the yellow ones now, but I only moved from blue to yellow after I could work with the blue ones for at least half an hour without interruption. (I'm cautious that way).

I also use what are called 'shell', which are plastic rounded hand-shapes with straps to slide my fingers into; they give more of a workout and let me do swimming strokes -- breast stroke, crawl, backstroke, sidestroke, etc.-- while running.

[(Anonymous)]

I saw that you were doing some sort of Pfitz workout and thought- now for xt or injury, that's a great resource. Glad to read that you are liking the workouts as well!
You'll be back on the road before you know it, but it sure is great to have something to keep us crazy runner folks from driving our husbands crazy in the meantime =D .
-Raina

[ilanarama]

Thanks, Raina!

[meri_oddities]

I didn't know about this community on DW. It didn't even occur to me since I think of DW as fannish rather than sportish. *g*

Pool running does seem like a good alternative. How is your foot doing?

[ilanarama]

Most of the people in runners are fannish types. Except for me, of course. :-)

My foot is getting better, I think, but I'm sticking to the crutches until I see the doctor again in 2 more weeks.

[twistedchick]

Forgot to mention the other thing I'm doing -- keeping track of distance. I've learned that 81 laps (across and back is 1 lap) = a mile. So I do 2 laps with the shells, then 2 laps with the barbells, and alternate; when I work with the kickboard I do it in 2-lap increments also. That makes it easier for me to remember how far I've gone when I'm in the moment. I generally have little trouble in going a furlong (1/8 mile) and have gone 1/5 mile (16 laps) a couple of times. If I'm just using the shells and ignoring the barbells and going for speed, I can do 20 laps but that gets pretty tiring and too easy to lose count.

[ilanarama]

I'm keeping track of time rather than distance, since the purpose of pool running is not to cross the distance but to spend roughly the same amount of time I would be running. Also, most of the workouts in the Pfitz program are intervals based on distance, e.g. 1:30 hard, :30 easy. If I'm swimming, of course, I pay attention to laps, but not to time because I can't see the clock without my glasses, and I don't have prescription goggles or contact lenses!

[twistedchick]

I don't wear my glasses in the pool, either; don't want to have to dive down 18' if they fall off.

[ilanarama]

I wear them while pool running, so I can see the clock. But it's not a very deep pool and they are unlikely to fall off, anyway. 18', yeah, that's a lot. Also, my vision is horrid and my eyes are very differently bad, so I get headaches from not wearing glasses. Not so bad underwater.

From Greenlee

[(Anonymous)]

I still can't get this OpenID thing to work. Anyway, yes-- I can say first hand that it DOES work. I am so glad you find it somewhat enjoyable and that you're feeling more optimistic!

Re: From Greenlee

[ilanarama]

I am, thank you!