Today, on the 22nd day of my forced leave from running, I finally took the plunge. I signed up for my very first swimming lesson with my batchmate from college, Nonoy Basa, who has been teaching Terry Laughlin’s Total Immersion swimming style to kids and adults in Makati and Alabang.

– Nonoy Basa, my swimming coach and friend – 

Truth to tell, I walked by the pool area like a fish out of water—all wiggly and nervous and almost out of breath—because this was definitely not my territory. I never took formal swimming lessons; I only learned how to swim from my eldest brother a hundred summers ago. The last time I swam freestyle was in gradeschool when my classmates and I would play “shark” at a friend’s house. And, since I am not Heidi Klum, I haven’t really been comfortable wearing a swimsuit after giving birth to my two kids.

Thankfully, Nonoy made it easy for me and Dondi, another student who is a beginner triathlete, to feel at home in the pool.

The first thing Nonoy did was to show us how he swims. It was simply amazing. I could hardly notice when he would take a breath as he seemed to be completely submerged, gliding through the water, truly swimming like a fish (cliche as it may sound.) Then, it was our turn as he took videos of us doing our own strokes—gulp. Nonoy then showed us our videos and discussed our mistakes and told us the techniques he would be teaching us.

Step by step, Nonoy slowly and patiently taught us 4 or 5 drills to practice so that we could gradually get used to the method of TI. He would teach us one at a time making sure each of us got the position correctly. Seemingly innocuous drill names like Sweet Spot were quite challenging for a newbie swimmer like me to do without having water creep up my nose. But, after a couple of practices and tips from Nonoy, I could do them comfortably.

I liked the fact that TI focuses on engaging the core to propel forward. I thought that it truly will complement my running wherein core workouts are very important for support during those long distance runs. Swimming will also help exercise my upper body, an area that desperately needs toning to keep me in good form when I run. And, it will also help my feet become more flexible, a common problem for runners who have stiff ankles.

What was supposed to be a 1-hour session turned out to be more than 2 hours of fun for me. It was great to be diving (literally) into something new, engaging muscles that were rarely ever used during my runs, and getting a bit of a cardio workout at the same time. It’s also nice to know that I just took a tiny step closer towards my goal of becoming a future triathlete.

I know I am going to enjoy swimming. Having said that, will I exchange my running shoes for goggles anytime soon? Certainly not. It is still running for me. Besides, “The Bull Swimmer” doesn’t sound too catchy.

* For child/adult swimming lessons, call Aqualogic Swim Co. at (0917) 858 AQUA or visit their website.

So, I heard it was a PR race for most of you. To those who finished…PR or not…congratulations

Click here for results:

Mens 10km

Womens 10km

Mens 5km

Womens 5km

* Thanks to Mark for sharing this!

I was planning to pay the doctor a visit yesterday but I decided otherwise. You see, I was simply planning to bombard the doctor with all the unanswered questions in my head such as “What am I going to do now? I’m gaining weight by the second!” or “Why did you tell me to run when I ended up limping after Clark?” But, after Monday’s therapy session, I pretty much got my enlightenment from the gracious therapist who answered all my queries.

This is what I learned about my injury from my therapist:

– My doctor did not stop me from running since, like I said, I only need strengthening and stretching exercises. But, since the pain seems to worsen after a run or even a treadmill walk, the therapist told me to resist the temptation until we’re sure I am fully recovered. As a mature, disciplined woman I nodded in agreement (but that’s after I dreamed of slapping her in the face. Kidding!)

– Those 5-minute bike warm-ups at the gym aggravated the injury (so that’s why I would limp my way out of the locker room everytime! Duh!) I was advsied to do none of the cardio machines at the gym: treadmill, stationary bike, elliptical. I can take that. They kinda bore me to death anyway.

– The only cardio I’m allowed to indulge in is (drum roll please): swimming.

Somehow, that last therapy session helped pull me out of the confused, injured state I was in and gave me a clearer vision of what I should be doing to get out of this rut. I’m a lot more hopeful now. Plus, I’m feeling great since I have felt no pain for the past couple of days.

Yesterday, I pretty much laid out my game plan for the month to help me stay fit despite the injury.

CARDIO: Swimming (4x a week)
STRENGTH: Weights at the gym (2x a week)
STRETCHING: Yogilates at home (2x a week), Squats plus other exercises ordered by PT (daily)

If this doesn’t work, I don’t know what will. Here’s to a wet and wild month ahead!

The race was named after me (at least that’s what I’d like to think) so it was unfortunate that I missed it. How did you all do in “The Bull Run: Takbo Para sa Ekonomiya”?

Ah, there were so many reasons why I wanted to be at this race:

1) It’s my namesake.

2) My first job was as a research analyst at the stockmarket. This was my chance to be a part of it again in some way.

3) “Takbo Para sa Ekonomiya”…Oh sure, I am more than willing to contribute to the growth of our economy. If running could somehow help propel the stockmarket (where I’m losing money as we speak) then that would have been a win-win situation for me.

4) I love races. Big or small. Organized or chaotic. I’m in.

Too bad then that my injury is showing little signs of improvement. The past two weeks, I have run 0 kilometers and biked a depressing 20 mins (total of all my warm ups) and yet there is still some soreness in the knee and tightness in the muscles. I’ve been strength training, stretching, praying and whining yet nothing seems to work. Worst of all, I feel bloated and cranky. It irks me that I have to eat so much less now and still my jeans feel a bit too snug. I just have to have my cardio soon or my kids will see me as their favorite dessert: jello.

Tomorrow I hope to visit the doctor again and beg him to give me a magic antidote to this way too long injury. If he does have one, I’ll let you know. I’ll probably sell it for a million a piece.

It’s been 10 miserable days since Clark—the race that ended with me limping my way back to the hotel. I initially thought the pain would go away by itself, like all the other times I pushed my body beyond its limits and found myself on the road again just a couple of days after, but I was sorely mistaken.

The right side of my right knee has been a major pain—literally and figuratively. On good days, the injury is just bothersome. But, on most days, I am “Erap”—the name my hubby affably gave me when I was a preggy woman who wobbled instead of walked—as I limp my way from point to point, especially through flights of stairs. It’s especially painful for me when I step out of the car or get out of bed in the morning. I even had two consecutive sleepless nights wherein I was in agonizing pain as I could barely straighten my leg.

These 10 days have been the longest I’ve ever gone without a run. My doctor gave me the go-signal to run, but after a mere 40-min walk on the treadmill left me in utter pain, I decided otherwise.

It’s been tough—a bad mix of frustration, boredom, and intense, gut-wrenching pain—but I’m coping. The past days, it seems that I’ve been doing anything and everything I can to get back into running again…except to actually do the deed itself:

THERAPY

Strengthening Exercises. I’ve been in therapy for over two weeks now. I’ve been a very good girl. As therapists ordered, I obediently do my exercises to strengthen my VMO, the weak part of my quadriceps which is causing my ITB to pull my knee caps outward. No matter how slow those 20 seconds go by as I do those oh so boring squats (yawn), I push myself (yawn) to finish them if it would mean it will let me run sooner.

Stretching. I’ve been stretching those tight ITB’s too. On two occassions, I even allowed those masochistic therapists (I’m just kidding…I love these people) to release my ITB, something I thought would be akin to a gentle massage but turned out to be quite the opposite: the pain brought back memories of the time I spent in the delivery room helplessly feeling the intense contractions while screaming for an epidural.

GYM

Weights. I started going to Gold’s Gym already. I’ve had an aversion to the gym the past few years due to my traumatic experience at another gym, but I figured I had to bite the bullet since strengthening exercises is the prescribed antidote to this nightmarish injury.

Cross Training. Aside from weight training, I now have the opportunity to join spinning classes, use the elliptical and stationary bikes, and try out Yogilates. It’s quite exciting actually. A whole new world of exercises is before me and it’s all for the taking. At the same time though, seeing all those treadmills with people using them makes me cry out in envy. Running is still my first love and I’m only at the gym to supplement my running.

I’m trying my darndest best to remain positive. Hoping against all hope that it won’t be long until I can just get out of bed, put on my running shoes, run to my heart’s content and end that run thinking about breakfast rather than my knees. Oh God, please don’t let me wait too long…