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pool runnings
(For Three Weeks for Dreamwidth. Nothing to do with the Jamaican Bobsled Team. :-)
As I mentioned in the last couple of check-ins, I've got a probable metatarsal stress fracture, and in order to allow it to heal I need to use crutches to walk - so needless to say, I can't run. I can't even bike yet, which was my cross-training of choice last time I was injured. Enough people recommended deep water running (or "pool running") that I decided to give it a try. And amazingly enough, I'm enjoying it quite a bit. Although many of my friends who have done it while injured have commented that it's a whole new kind of boring, I am finding it a lot less boring than treadmill running.
If you're having a hard time imagining what this is like, here is a good video. Our pool has belts that look more like this one. You can also do without the belt if you're buoyant or energetic enough.
I am more or less using Pete Pfitzinger's water running plan, which is almost all interval running. (The actual schedule, also linked from the plan, is here.) The idea behind this is twofold: first, to keep you from getting bored, and second, because water running is less strenuous for the same perceived effort, so (unfortunately) you have to work harder to maintain fitness.
After doing the first two workouts as written I decided it was a little on the easy side for me, and that I didn't mind spending more time in the water. So the third workout I did an hour steady rather than half an hour, the fourth I did an extra 4-minute interval (making it like week 4 instead of week 1), and the fifth I did six intervals instead of four (making it like week 3). I'm comfortable with sort-of-winging-it like this, because it's not as though I'm training for something, and on the other hand, I'm unlikely to injure myself (more) through overdoing it.
Another resource I've been using heavily is an online friend's pool-running blog, Well, I'm TRYING to run... Cris was injured in November and started pool-running for fitness. Even now that she is recovered she still uses pool running as a no-impact training tool. She has lots of very useful information and tips and tricks that I am finding invaluable. For example, one of her tricks (which I used today) is to put your mp3 player into a ziploc-type baggie, put it on your head, and put a swim cap over it, so you can listen to music (or audiobooks, which is what I listen to) while you "run". (Topic index here.)
Obviously if you are a swimmer (I know a lot of you are triathletes) you probably are just fine with swimming as injury xt, but I really wanted something to work the legs more. I do swim a little after some of my pool-running workouts. The day after the hour-long session, when I did my core exercises and stretching, I definitely felt my muscles were a bit fatigued - hooray, it's doing something! Anyway, I'm a lot happier now that I have an exercise I can do, although I look forward to being able to run on land again. If you find yourself unable to run because of injury, maybe this will make you happier, too.
As I mentioned in the last couple of check-ins, I've got a probable metatarsal stress fracture, and in order to allow it to heal I need to use crutches to walk - so needless to say, I can't run. I can't even bike yet, which was my cross-training of choice last time I was injured. Enough people recommended deep water running (or "pool running") that I decided to give it a try. And amazingly enough, I'm enjoying it quite a bit. Although many of my friends who have done it while injured have commented that it's a whole new kind of boring, I am finding it a lot less boring than treadmill running.
If you're having a hard time imagining what this is like, here is a good video. Our pool has belts that look more like this one. You can also do without the belt if you're buoyant or energetic enough.
I am more or less using Pete Pfitzinger's water running plan, which is almost all interval running. (The actual schedule, also linked from the plan, is here.) The idea behind this is twofold: first, to keep you from getting bored, and second, because water running is less strenuous for the same perceived effort, so (unfortunately) you have to work harder to maintain fitness.
After doing the first two workouts as written I decided it was a little on the easy side for me, and that I didn't mind spending more time in the water. So the third workout I did an hour steady rather than half an hour, the fourth I did an extra 4-minute interval (making it like week 4 instead of week 1), and the fifth I did six intervals instead of four (making it like week 3). I'm comfortable with sort-of-winging-it like this, because it's not as though I'm training for something, and on the other hand, I'm unlikely to injure myself (more) through overdoing it.
Another resource I've been using heavily is an online friend's pool-running blog, Well, I'm TRYING to run... Cris was injured in November and started pool-running for fitness. Even now that she is recovered she still uses pool running as a no-impact training tool. She has lots of very useful information and tips and tricks that I am finding invaluable. For example, one of her tricks (which I used today) is to put your mp3 player into a ziploc-type baggie, put it on your head, and put a swim cap over it, so you can listen to music (or audiobooks, which is what I listen to) while you "run". (Topic index here.)
Obviously if you are a swimmer (I know a lot of you are triathletes) you probably are just fine with swimming as injury xt, but I really wanted something to work the legs more. I do swim a little after some of my pool-running workouts. The day after the hour-long session, when I did my core exercises and stretching, I definitely felt my muscles were a bit fatigued - hooray, it's doing something! Anyway, I'm a lot happier now that I have an exercise I can do, although I look forward to being able to run on land again. If you find yourself unable to run because of injury, maybe this will make you happier, too.
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