swimming laps
Not me!
I don't swim laps.
I watch others at the pool swimming up and down, up and down, 6-10-20 times.
Do I get a bit jealous?
Yes I do. A bit.
But now let me demonstrate my ignorance.
What is a lap exactly?
Is it from one end to the other?
Or is it from one end to the other and then back again?
I'm still swimming in between watching the better swimmers, struggling my way up and down the lane. I've found I don't get out of breath as much, so that's an improvement. I get halfway up the lane before needing a rest, where before I'd make it only a few metres.
A big problem is the bursitis in my shoulders. It's difficult to get going properly when the shoulder says stop! I've had enough!.
Anyway.....I'm sure I'll eventually get to swimming laps, or even one lap would be good.
Too cold today though, raining too.
Hooray! Signs of winter!
I don't swim laps.
I watch others at the pool swimming up and down, up and down, 6-10-20 times.
Do I get a bit jealous?
Yes I do. A bit.
But now let me demonstrate my ignorance.
What is a lap exactly?
Is it from one end to the other?
Or is it from one end to the other and then back again?
I'm still swimming in between watching the better swimmers, struggling my way up and down the lane. I've found I don't get out of breath as much, so that's an improvement. I get halfway up the lane before needing a rest, where before I'd make it only a few metres.
A big problem is the bursitis in my shoulders. It's difficult to get going properly when the shoulder says stop! I've had enough!.
Anyway.....I'm sure I'll eventually get to swimming laps, or even one lap would be good.
Too cold today though, raining too.
Hooray! Signs of winter!
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Good question about laps. I assumed it was one length but it sounds more like it is up and back.
ReplyDeleteI cant speak for where you are but here they allow you to take swim fins into the pool (flippers) which make it much easier on your shoulders but of course, harder on your legs...
ReplyDeleteWhen I used to swim a lap was one length, ie, from one wall to the next. Up and back was 2 laps.
ReplyDeleteA lap is from one end to the other. In a twenty-five metre pool it takes forty of them to equal a kilometre. And I always lost count and would find myself (on what had to be an even lap) saying three, three. And was it two or four? Sigh.
ReplyDeleteListen to your shoulder. It probably knows what is good for it.
Andrew; I thought it was one length, which makes me feel better knowing that I've actually done six laps when I thought it might have been three.
ReplyDeleteTempo; yes, swim fins, (flippers) are allowed and I've seen plenty of people zipping by me with them on, but I have enough trouble with the shoulders, don't want to stuff up my hips as well with the extra drag that flippers might add.
Fenstar; thanks, I feel better knowing I'm doing four or six laps instead of two or three.
I'm envious of those who are going up and down for a half hour without stopping.
Elephant's Child; well I can say right now I will never swim a kilometre. My shoulder sings loud and clear, so of course I listen. Four or six laps then a rest of about twenty minutes then another two or four and that's it for the day. And I don't go every day.
I suspect that it's up and back (usually 50m in total) but, for me, it's every single lap (25m). In the end, however, it's the total distance.
ReplyDeleteYou'll get there, River!
At least you are moving. That's more than I can say for myself girl.
ReplyDeleteI am sure a lap is one length of the pool no matter what its length. Good on you for persevering. If you are having troubles with your shoulders (I know I would too) can you do breast stroke or get one of those long plastic things (I forget what they call them) or a paddle board so you could still use your legs to propel yourself along the pool and give the poor shoulders a rest. Just a thought that may help.
ReplyDeleteThe furtherest I ever swam was half a mile and that was when I was about 12 years old.
I'm in awe. I cannot bear the thought of dealing with being wet and in a bathing suit, too boot.
ReplyDeletecongratulations on the swimming improvements :) on this end of the world we're looking forward to spring and summer as it's bloody Baltic :)
ReplyDeleteHi River,
ReplyDeleteThe main thing is you persevere at your own pace. You have my admiration for getting into the swim of things.
All the best,
Gary :)
The fact that you are continuing along the path you started instead of letting the shoulder set you back is admirable.
ReplyDeleteKeep up the good work River!
Kath Lockett; there are differing opinions here, so I'll take it as one length for now. It's beginning to get too cold to go to the pool now, yesterday was cold and windy, today was on and off showers with a wind chill factor that made me go to IKEA instead.
ReplyDeleteDelores; still not moving enough though. I walk a bit, but not as much as before because I've found my hips and lower back "lock up" the next day. So I'm still spending too much time sitting in front of the computer/TV, on the couch reading.
Mimsie; I tried a paddle board but found the strain of holding it was too much for the shoulders. I'm better off with breast stroke and a bit of overarm stroke and lots of floating.
Joanne; the bathing suit was a hard thing to get used to, I haven't exposed that much of myself in a long long time. But there are other women there just like me, so that helps. I love being in the water.
The Wicked Writer; it's helped the breathing a lot, I haven't used my inhaler at all, since I started my holiday.
klahanie; keeping to my own pace is always best I've found. We're heading into colder weather though, so I'm not sure how much longer I can keep this up.
Jennifer Kay; the key to bursitis is to keep the shoulder moving so that the joint doesn't freeze. There are exercises to do twice a day as well, I till have the sheet from the physio when the other shoulder had the torn tendon. I'm really enjoying being in the water in spite of not swimming very well.
A lap is one length. I swam in highschool for, oh, about two weeks.
ReplyDeleteThe chlorine is hell on your hair, ya know!
Pearl
I'm so proud of you for keeping it up, even though your shoulders are hurting. I had a torn rotator cuff a while back, and my regular doctor told me to "baby" it. Turned out not to be the wisest plan. The shoulder froze, and got so bad, I could barely lift my arm. The physical terrorist got me back in shape again by making me push past the pain. Not fun, but it works. And you're already seeing some improvement in your stamina. Gonna get even better yet!
ReplyDeletePearl; only two weeks? There are showers in the locker room, so I wash out the chlorine as soon as I finish, then spray on a good amount of leave-in conditioner. so far so good.
ReplyDeleteSusan; I had a frozen shoulder about three years ago, a torn tendon had me keeping it very still because of the pain. I didn't know that would freeze it. I had it injected with something that expanded the frozen joint until it popped, then did the exercises given to me by the physio. So this time around, (other shoulder), I know to keep it moving and am following the same exercise sheet as well as the spinning. I recall that it will probably take a year to be right again.