Alternative running

It has been 9 weeks, exactly, that I have run. The hills combined with a change in running form without backing off on mileage gave me a stress fracture. It has been so hard to not run, but I'm following orders to get back on the road. I was in a boot for about 4 weeks and will be not running for at least the next 3 months.

I feel like I have been gaining weight, losing muscle, and overall getting back into a depression like I was last year, before I started running. Last Sunday was the Des Moines Marathon. I felt so down all day. All I could think about was I should have been running that marathon! My biological issue has also arisen again. This was perhaps the biggest push to get me to take action.

Tonight I went to an indoor pool to try to keep myself in shape. I knew I wouldn't be able to do as many miles as I would when I was out pounding the pavement, but I was hoping to at least get in one mile. I also wasn't sure how much I would be able to take of the water running. The pool was completely empty! I was the only one there. That was good. As I entered the pool a lifeguard climbed into the chair. I knew it would be either 10 min or an hour. In the back of my mind I wanted to reach a goal of at least 30 min in the water.

I quickly realized that I couldn't actually run in the water. At best I had to do a fast walk. The resistance was much more than I was anticipating. I walked as fast as I could for about 40 min, doing 32 down and back laps. It was actually 64 - 1/2 laps so I figured 32 full laps, right? Once the water reached my chest, it was too much to move so I stayed in the shallow end. I then swam another 8 full down and back laps. I had to do a lot of resting for the swimming part. I started off doing the breast stroke, but made it only about 1/2 way down. :( I just can't do that one. So, I did about everything else during those laps. Seriously, I need some major lessons in how to do that!! I just hold my breath the whole time. I think I'm afraid I will swallow water or something. I can exhale, but inhale is out of the question. So, vardotrichic, my question for you is how far is this really? Did I get at least a mile? I can't remember our conversation.

Anyway, when I got out of the pool and left the building I felt so awesome! It was that euphoric feeling that even though it was a ton of work and I was really tired and sweaty in there, it felt great. I want to do it again! It is certainly not my first choice of exercise, but it definitely felt great to be doing something again. We'll see how jello-y my legs are the next couple of days.

Next time I think I need to just walk about X min and then swim a few laps. I was trying to figure out how far I could go in X min however. I was also very consciously stepping on my toes and pushing off with them.

40 min walk; 20 min swim