Saturday, March 21, 2009

Swim WIN!

Swimming has always been my exercise of choice. I’ve loved to be in the water since I was a baby and I started playing water polo when I was 13. I was so delighted last spring to be able to play water polo again, and so disappointed that I wouldn't be able to play this year. Nothing makes me feel as good as gliding through the water, or flexing slightly to keep myself afloat, or just absorbing the sound of being underwater.

I’ve been trying for weeks (ok, ok…months) to get my act together and get in the pool. Swimming is also the exercise of choice for people with rheumatoid arthritis, because it is low impact on your joints but still keeps your body moving. But with how bummed out and gross I have been feeling lately I just couldn’t seem to muster the energy. I knew if I could just get myself into the pool it would make me feel better, but the energy necessary to get my stuff together, drive to the gym, find a parking spot, get into the locker room, get the swimsuit on, force myself into cold water…it just seemed like more energy than I had before I even got to the point where I was supposed to exercise.

To make matters worse I no longer have access to the University Rec Center because technically I am not a student right now. I can buy a “affiliated student pass,” but it’s sort of expensive and only lasts through the end of May. So I’ve diligently researched other options – Boulder actually has really good community rec centers – but the added hassle of having to buy a membership when I got to the pool just seemed to diminish the chances that I had enough energy to actually get there and get in the water.

But this week I was feeling pretty good on Thursday (which is probably a good sign since it was the day after my fifth Remicade infusion). So I decided to just make myself go for a swim. It turns out that the South Boulder rec center is literally five blocks from my house. I bought myself a 20-pass punch card and got myself in the water.

It felt wonderful. I only had energy for about 20 or 30 minutes of swimming, but I was really glad I did it. I felt so good and energized afterwards that I made a lovely dinner of salmon, asparagus, quinoa, and white wine that APL and I enjoyed on our back patio.

I’m going to try to get back to the pool once or twice a week. It wasn’t that hard, after all. And in the end it was worth it because I definitely felt better.

So someone please remind me of this post if I start to slack again? ~;o)

2 comments:

Sylvia Zebrowski said...

Keep it up--you will feel so much better. Just schedule it in and do it, I'm proud of you for signing up . You know you love it.

~kelly marie~ said...

You are amazing! Congrats for getting back in the pool! :)