When I arrived to the hotel the first thing I checked out was the pool. Was I in for a suprise, it was much smaller than the picture advertised on the web site. I thought to myself, “How can I swim in a pool that is three feet deep and about ten feet long?” My response, “I don’t care how small or deep it is! I am going to make this work!”
I quickly went to my room to change into my bathing suit. With my IPOD in hand, sandals and sunglasses on, I happily strutted out to the pool. Once in the water with the hot Miami sun beating down on me and a glorious blue sky overhead, I forgot about the size of the pool or about the ice and cold back home.
“Now what?,” I thought. I was in the water but my real agenda was to work out in the pool. With no kickboard available, I grabbed the life saver to use as a floation device. I began to flutter kick around the perimeter of this tiny, yet sparkling and cozy pool, holding my IPOD in my hand, so it wouldn’t get wet. I kicked to the beat of Janet Jackson’s “Nasty,” perfect music for a swim workout. Once I warmed up, I spontaneously broke into a jog. I began to jog around the tiny pool in one direction and then I switched to the other direction. From the jogging came the lateral crossovers, hip hikers, side kicks and front kicks. I started to kickbox my way through the pool. The resistance of the water was challenging, yet comforting, because there was no impact.
I was exhausted, yet inspired. So inspired that I decided to permanently include swimming in my training plan. An hour later, my arthritis of the knee seemed to disappear. I was walking without any pain or stiffness. A day later, there was no pain or stiffness. Could this be just what I needed, the miracle that I was waiting for? My physical therapist was right, swimming is wonderful for recovering from injury or for overall health and fitness. I am convinced.
Here I am back home – it’s cold and snowy. Tomorrow I plan on swimming again. So what if there is no sun or warm weather. I can improvise – right? A little spontaneity goes a long way – and besides it’s fun to spice up your workout.
