119: 5 Mile Bike & Swim

I was dying for exercise this morning so I finally took myself down to the gym in my building and reluctantly got on the bike. It felt like when I was at the very beginning with running and couldn't go 100 feet without stopping. I assumed it would be hard and so made sure to set a small goal for the day - just a little bit of biking to get used to it - and not so much that I'd have a negative experience and not want to come back.

I haven't been on a stationary bike in ages and most of my experiences with them have been negative. Once I actually fell off a stationary bike while my feet were strapped in during a spin class. Don't ask. Even I can't figure out how that happened but needless to say, I needed help extricating from that knot. So for today, I set a goal of 15 minutes, which I worried was too long; and I had no idea how many miles that would be.

I peddled as fast as I could and was surprised that it was easier than I'd though it would be so I pushed the resistance up to 3 (out of 20) and gave it my all. I could see my thighs turning red! It wasn't easy at all, and I could hear my knees clicking, but it was kind of fun. I was starting to sweat by the time the 15 minutes closed but I wasn't wrecked so I decided to push on until I hit the fictitious 5 mile mark, which ended up being at 21 minutes. Then I was a little wrecked and felt I could quit in good conscious; but I wasn't so wrecked that I didn't want to do it again; actually, I was kind of excited to see if I'd feel this later in the day, or the next morning, and how much more I could do if I really pushed.

The nicest thing about biking was that, because it wasn't horrific, like running, it required very little concentration - just the periodic affirmation, shifting my weight on the hard seat, or switching from holding the handles to leading in. Otherwise, I was free to watch TV, read a magazine (which I can't do while running on a treadmill), or even talk.

After the bike, I stretched for a few minutes at the behest of the gym's supervisor and then peeled my sneakers, shorts and Tshirt off, put on a bathing cap and goggles, and popped in the pool. The supervisor, who is also the lifeguard, followed me and listened to me whine about how much I hate swimming! I was a real brat. I told him I was a terrible swimmer and that I was thinking of taking a lesson from the tri shop near my house. The lifeguard kindly offered to watch me do a few laps and give me tips. I thought that was a great idea! Maybe he'd tell me I was so bad it wasn't worth trying, which would get me out of swimming altogether.

I gave one more loud, "Ugh! I hate this!" for good measure before sticking my head in the water and crawling the lap. When I came up at the other end, the lifeguard was standing over me with his hands folded, looking disappointed. "What?" I said, "Terrible?" "No!" he said, "You have a perfect stroke. I thought you said you were a terrible swimmer!" I was a little taken aback. Perfect? How could that be? I learned to swim at a YMCA camp. I mean, I had a pool growing up, but I didn't swim in it, I just spent the entire summer doing cannon balls, screaming, "Dad! Look at me! Look at me now! Are you looking?" then diving, and doggie paddling over to the ladder to repeat the action. Had I actually picked up swimming someplace along the way? I do remember at least 10 summers of daily swimming lessons in miserable camp pools and lakes.

Then it occurred to me that he might be pulling my leg so I challenged him, "If I'm so good, why am I swallowing so much water? And sinking? And it doesn't feel right... Are you sure?" He told me to breathe every 3 counts instead of 4, so I'd be alternating sides, and to breathe in through my mouth and out through my nose... opposite of running. You know, maybe that's a no-brainer for most people but I was all messed up with that. I only breathe using my mouth during running so I thought I should do the same with swimming.

The lifeguard started to look more cheerful. He said he had a vision for me, and that I just needed to keep cross training, and that if I could lose weight and buy a $10,000 titanium bike I could really be a contender in a triathlon. I laughed. Sure! Let me just finish this little Marathon first! Oh, and maybe bike for more than 21 minutes! And not end up with my ears so full of water I'm stumbling dizzy out of the pool after 10 laps. Sigh...

The 10 laps got progressively easier, kind of like running once I've past the second mile. The water in my ears was pretty unpleasant, though; and it got in my mouth, and my nose. As I got more tired, my posture slacked and I sank a bit, giving me a longer distance to reach my head out of the water for breathing purposes. I think I will need to get some ear plugs, and maybe a better pair of goggles, since mine are so old the glue has cracked and the rubber gasket looks like it might separate from the plastic at any minute. And is the swim cap supposed to be so tight it gives you a headache? Maybe it shrunk; or maybe all this blogging has given me a big head.

Because of my toe injury, today was the start of something new - something I hadn't intended to even look into until the Marathon was over. While I'm excited that I actually liked both biking and swimming more than I expected, running now seems even further depositioned. Not a great way to head into 15 weeks of intensive running training; but more information can't be a bad thing from a holistic perspective. Right?