Into the deep end

I still haven't gotten back to running. My foot is definitely feeling better than before, but still the pain isn't entirely gone, and I don't want to do anything to prolong this injury.

After talking with my doctor, I think the problem is Plantar Fasciitis. I have the names of some podiatrists I can see, but I don't have an appointment set yet. I'm going to set one up tomorrow for as soon as I can see one. I don't think I need the doctor to heal, as I'm doing that on my own, but I might need one to tell me whether or not I'll need an orthotic insert to prevent this problem from returning.

So, to try to keep up my cardio fitness, I went to the Welles Park gym this evening to get a swimming pass for the summer and went for my first swim. I've never swam laps before, so it was definitely a learning experience. I had to re-learn how to breathe while swimming, find a rhythm that met my oxygen needs and worked in time with my arms cycling. Eventually I got the rhythm down,though. Next time I'll get some ear plugs, though, because I got real tired of shaking out the water after every lap.

The swim wasn't hard on my legs at all, but my arms were certainly working. And I was breathing deeply between laps, which is definitely something I wanted. Not too hard, but enough to get my heart rate up. I swam for about 45 minutes and called it a day. I figured that was a good first day. I estimate I'll be going for the full hour on my later swims. I didn't keep track of how many laps I swam, mostly because I forgot to start counting. I was just eager to get in the water and go. Also, I don't know how long the pool is, so I have no clue how far I swam. I'll see about finding that out next time.

The plan is to keep swimming for my cross-training on days that I don't run, so this isn't just while I'm rehabbing my foot. The plan is to make it a permanent part of my training.

But definitely ear plugs before next time. ;)