Who’d have thought - me at the swimming pool in the middle of winter

I haven’t been to the hydro pool yet but today was a gorgeous sunny 22 degree day so I willed myself to go to my local pool.  The pool is heated to around 28 degrees so once I was in there it was very bearable.

The purpose of my trip was to do the aqua exercises my physio gave me, they being:

·         walking in water (I can see how, in deeper water, this is a good workout)

·         treading water (tried it for the first time today. Didn’t have much of a clue as to what to do but I managed to stay afloat for a burst of time)

·         kicking on my back holding my kickboard across my chest (pretty easy peasy)

·         kicking on my front holding onto  my kickboard (more on that below)

I haven’t been in the water for about 4 months so I really wasn’t sure how my kickboarding performance would go.  I remember when I first started lessons it took a few attempts to get this sorted.  Well I am pleased to say that I was able to get to the other end without gasping for air, without having my thighs burning horrifically and with only one moment of ‘oh, shite I think I am stuck kicking on the spot’.  I wouldn’t say I was powering down like an unstoppable machine but I would say that when it comes to kickboarding - I think I’ve still got it.

I didn’t submerge my face into the water today but that was more to do with my having eye makeup on, and not wanting it smeared all over my face, rather than because I was reluctant to.

More gorgeous weather this week so who knows when I might be able to fit in another mid winter session. J

Forced back into the water

After two weeks of being back from holidays and a week and a half of being back at work, I suffered a pretty bad lower back strain.  I can’t pinpoint what caused it but it was the kind where you can barely  walk, or sit, or move.  One word – ouch!

I have been going to the physio for relief which has been a helpful, if not rather expensive, exercise.  Part of the recovery and strengthening program he suggested was swimming (I told him I couldn’t swim – but was learning) and hydrotherapy.   Kicking on my back, treading water (I didn’t do that in my lessons but have been wanting to try), walking through water and then graduating to kicking on my front.

I know hydro pools aren’t intended for people to splash around in learning to swim, but lucky for me the exercises my physio gave me double as learn to swim drills.  I get to work on my back and parts of my swimming and in the middle of winter, a time I wouldn’t have ventured anywhere near a pool! See, I told myself – something good always comes of something bad.

My local hydro pool is being re-tiled at the moment so I won’t be starting until next week, but knowing that it is indoors and heated to around 34 degrees, I am quite looking forward to this!

A quick wave hello

I got back from my holiday a few weeks ago and thought I'd resurface with a quick wave hello - so hello! *waves cheerily*

It's the dead of winter here but recent events will put me back in the water sooner than I thought. More on that next post though.

Aquamillie