Tags
barefoot running, fitness, health, run, runner, running injury, swim, swimming
In a way, I suppose I am lucky that this forced break happened now. The pool is simply the best place to be in the afternoons. Perfect water temperature, sunny skies and the water cradling you. My little girl is a waterbaby, quite a natural but when I ask her if she would like to pursue it, she is quite sure that she is an artist, not a swimmer. So, I let her be and enjoy watching unadulterated joy as she does little dances under water. Her latest kick is in finding out how far she can jump into the pool with a running start.
Head above the water
I find myself enjoying swimming too, the silence under water and the breath for company. It seems to slow time away from the mad rush of everyday work and chores. There used to be a sense of restriction earlier, having the boundaries of the pool. But, now I find that there is no restriction to the depth available. And that is the playground of the breath. Quiet and powerful.
Running, especially when I increase my mileage makes me very skinny, almost skeletal despite increasing my food intake. Swimming doesn’t do that, it kind of just tones everything without making me look anorexic. Perhaps, I should consider swimming and running rather than just being a runner. Or maybe switch to just swimming? A bit blasphemous for a runner but all things are subject to change, no?
me and my run 
Reading this breaks my heart a little bit. You should look into cycling, though admittedly there is nothing minimalist about it.
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Definitely not minimalist if your beautiful Venge is my image of a cycle. 😊
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You’re too kind! 😀 (It is a wonderful bike, no doubt about it).
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Back in my running days, I was banned from the buffets and pot-lucks. That was fifty pounds ago.
My favorite swims were lake workouts. Our group would follow a rowboat in and out of the bays of Lake Minnetonka in the Twin Cities. A lot of wealthy people lived on the lake and we called it, “the swim of dreams”.
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😀
Swim of dreams sounds so much fun!
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Cross-training is best for avoiding overuse injuries (says the fitness professional and soon-to-retire professor of health and exercise science.) If you change up between running and swimming, that should be good. I like your reflections on breath and inner depth under the water.
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Thank you! Hope your shoulder is feeling better.
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