Back in the Water

I got my stitches out on Wednesday of last week.  Dr. Doogie Howser cleared me to swim effective Friday.  It took me until Sunday to get in the water.

I was nervous.  My foot has had some good days but mostly I have felt pain when I have pushed it too far.  Doogie wants me to push on my toe to help alleviate the stiffness...that hurts...and it swells quite a bit after I do my exercises.  So I was really worried about getting in the water and trying to swim. 

On an unrelated note, I signed the little ones up for their first triathlon.  Grace didn't think she would be able to do a triathlon until she was 7 (the minimum age for the TriColumbia Kids Tri).  However, MMTC hosts a kids tri where the minimum age is 5.  So I asked Grace if she wanted to do the tri and she said YES.  She asked if she would be able to swim with a life vest and bike with training wheels.  I wasn't sure so I emailed the race director.  Turns out, the answer is yes to both questions.  I told Grace and she got very excited.

The 5 year olds have to swim 25 yds, bike 1/2 mile and run 1/4 mile.  The only thing I'm worried about with Grace is the swim. So when we got to the Y today, she got in the lap lane with me.  She wanted to try to swim her 25 yds with her life vest on.  I asked her if she wanted to use a kickboard.  She said "no way...it holds me back".  (Love this kid's attitude.)

Grace started down the lane.  She was kicking and paddling with determination.  We got to the end of the lane and she had finished her 25 yds with ease!  She grinned and said she wanted to go back.  So she swam another 25 yds.  And then another and then another.  That girl swam 100 yds without stopping!  So I no longer have any concerns about her finishing the swim portion of the tri!

After Grace was done swimming her laps, she went over to where Stephen and Ella were swimming in the rec swim area.  It was time for me to do some laps on my own.

I pushed off the wall with my good foot.  With one kick of my legs, I realized that the pain in my foot was going to keep me from kicking effectively.  I decided to just swim laps with arms only.  My legs basically just dangled behind me uselessly. 

The great news for me was that I never got winded.  The only thing that made me stop was that my arms got really tired.  I swam 500 yds.  That should be seen as a success considering that I'm 2 1/2 weeks out from major surgery on my foot.

The best way to describe my emotions were mixed feelings.  I was so excited to be back in the water and swimming again.  But I wanted to really swim and I couldn't.  I was doing a decent job just pulling with my arms, but I wanted to kick.  I wanted to swim.  I have to accept that this recovery will be slow and steady.  At least I am back in the water.