I realized that I have been so busy complaining about my knee these days that I haven’t posted an update about how swimming is going!

About a month ago, I joined the YMCA down the street from my work for the main purpose of using the pool. My orthopedic doctor recommended swimming as a low impact sport that could help strengthen my leg muscles, and my physical therapist echoed this.

So I got my Y membership (which work mostly pays for- score!), a new bathing suit, some goggles and hit the water.

I used to be on the swim team back in the day, but swimming is not something that I ever enjoyed or that came easy to me. I had been thinking about getting back into it in hopes of one day doing a triathlon, but the thought of swimming doesn’t exactlyyyyy excite me.

The first few times back in the pool were rough. Rough as in I felt completely exhausted after a few lengths, and it took every ounce of me to stay in the water for at least 20 minutes.

Now that I’ve been swimming for about a month, things are definitely becoming easier. At first I could only swim 50 meters and that has slowly grown into 100… 200… 300… etc.

Since my focus has been on my legs, I have been alternating between 100m freestyle and 100m flutter kicks using a kick board. And something exciting happened yesterday: I swam 1,000 meters! Swimming that distance seemed impossible to me a few weeks ago.

I’m really excited to see where I go from here, both with speed and distance. It just goes to show you how consistent exercise can really build endurance, even when you’re slow

So the only thing I’m not exactly loving about swimming right now is the pool schedule. They have other things going on in the lap pool when I get off of work (and I have to get home to walk the dogs anyway), so my only option is to go before work. Which requires me to get up at 4am. My disdain for that is well documented in this blog.

But other than the early mornings, I think swimming has been great for me, both physically and mentally. It has shifted my focus from all of the things I can’t do right now to what I *can* do. I can feel my endurance growing and my body getting stronger.

The same people are in the pool every morning and they are all very friendly. I know it sounds funny but the Y plays Christian music and listening to that while I’m getting ready for work gives me a calm and peaceful start to my day. I also like that even though it is super early, I’m on a schedule for the day. Above all else, I am getting in some great cardio, which I have greatly missed!!

My hope (and by hope, I mean hoping with every ounce of my being) is that my knee will get better and my swimming will be a nice jump start to triathlon training in 2015. And that I will be back to riding my bike! Let’s keep our fingers crossed

Do you ever do a certain type of exercise because you ‘have’ to, not because you want to?

Have you thought about any fitness goals for 2015? Even though it’s only November

Hope you have a great weekend!