Dip your toe in the deep end

A recent post on Model Per4mance about injuries got me thinking about my friend Saralyn. About this time last year she called me from a ski trip she was on and started telling me a story about how she and her husband and some friends were at the top of a run that had a jump. She was wary of doing it but her husband and friends were encouraging her to try it. She then says “you see where this is going, right?” It went right smack into a fence or rather, she went right smack into a fence and tore her ACL. She’s a runner and was really bummed that the injury was going to sideline her for so long because she was going to need surgery. But after her surgery, when she was cleared to do so, she started swimming and discovered the she actually liked it.

Saralyn’s not alone, lots of runners give swimming a try when recovering from an injury because it’s a good low impact exercise alternative. Many people shudder at the thought of swimming for exercise, thinking that it will be so boring just swimming laps. I started swimming because I wanted to do triathlons but I had the same thought and wondered how on earth I would keep sane doing the distance I needed to train. I found that after a few laps I get into a zone and just enjoy the solitude. But there are a few tools that have helped my swimming get to the point where I could do the 2.4 mile Ironman swim. If you’d like to start swimming or build more swimming endurance, check these out.

Total Immersion Swimming This is a swimming technique that teaches you to swim efficiently. The goal is “fish like” swimming where you glide through the water. I love it, I bought the DVD, an open water training book, and the book of drills. I would love to attend a workshop but haven’t had the time to do it. If you would like to swim more but feel like it’s so difficult and you just couldn’t do any distance, check out TI swimming.

Workouts in a Binder It’s easy to get in a rut with whatever your workout routine, so it’s good to have a plan. The workouts in a binder do all the planning for you. This waterproof workout binder has a good mix of speed work and endurance workouts. Because it’s waterproof you can set it down at the end of your lane to refer back to so you don’t have to memorize your workout.

Another reason I was thinking about swimming today is because I was listening to this song. It’s by Kate McGarrigle who just died, she was the matriarch of a musical family. I love this song because it reminds me of the summers of my childhood which were spent mostly in a swimming pool, playing marco polo with my friends or taunting the lifeguards by pretending to hit our heads on the diving board. It’s a good song for your running mix too.