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well, i have officially (sort of) made it back to a place i was at mid 2005, before all this crap started happening!

spring 2005 i was working on the requirements for lifeguard certification, just for something to work towards in the pool. never was a particularly strong swimmer.

at that time i succeeded in swimming the 600m in 18 minutes once, but then work and school started eating at my schedule and so much for that.

didn't really have swimmy people around me for a long time, although i did spend some time in the ocean while in australia.

so here in ottawa/gatineau i have found myself back in the pool thanks to the pals i've met locally. first time back in i went 250m and quit when the hands went floppy.

second time out i intended to beat it, never mind floppy hands, but instead i did the whole 600! it took me a while though, taking breaks every few laps.

yesterday was the third time out and i kept going and made it to 600 under 18 minutes! woo hoo! i could barely drag myself out of the pool coz i heated up my spine too much, but it was so great to get that done!

to put this in perspective though, my friend who is training for triathlon can do 1200m in under 20 min!! she dragged me around a mountainous 25km bike loop two saturdays ago, i thought i was going to die lol!

did the 600 again last night, but not under 18 minutes, more like 19 or 20 - was feeling a little low at the start and was suprised i even got to 600 at all!

Good for you Jimmylegs, congratulations!
I know how it feels to achieve a previous personal best. Went though about 6 hellish years with MS when it really made me feel proud to make 2 miles slow slow walking with lots of stops to let spasticity ease up.

To put that in perspective I was capable of cross-country mountain cycling a month before I was diagnosed and did tai chi, swimming and cycling 40km a week to and from work - so the loss of being able to really push my fitness levels bothered me a lot. A lot of my perceived quality of life depends on my ability to exercise - most unfortunate in a pw MS


Bizzarely I am now somewhat back to what I was 9 years ago, able to go to the gym and do 2,000m in 10 mins on the rowing machine etc. I won't be winning any medals but my feeling of happiness each time I go is amazing. I just feel so alive and so thrilled I have another day of being able to exercise again.
Congrats again, and enjoy that feeling!

hey that is so great WW, glad you can enjoy it too. it is weird to feel limited by this but yea, just having a personal best to work against is great!!

another new personal best

started swimming with another of my new friends here in the ottawa region, and she didn't keep track of lengths so we started at 500m and did that a couple times and then decided if we get done in 20 minutes and pay for 90, we should really try for two sets with a rest in between so that is what we did last night. i think she lost track of her laps but i got done in 4x10 minute chunks with a couple minutes resting in between so it was pretty good. pretty sure i never swam a kilometer before and with all those little rests in between, gravity was not the usual kicker as it has been before when i get out of the pool after really working hard! not too shabby. still, don't really feel it the next day. at least i'm back in sight of the top end of my BMI again ;) hopefully the crazy adventure we have planned for the weekend will be doable! a few of us are going to this place: http://www.aventurelafleche.ca/en/index.php

aventure Laflèche is not far from where I live. Cool! I hear it is great. Enjoy your new power. Carole

isn't it nice around this part of the world carolew? i'm not ready to leave yet

i'm sad, with the rain coming this weekend - i hoped we could camp before our trip to lafleche!

We went to that kinf of adventure park with my girlfriend, last week, just after her 2nd Avonex injection. Hope we'll still be able to do it in the future. Enjoy your trip, those parks are really great !

ya we're really lookin forward to it! good times!

FYI, lafleche ROCKED THE CASBAH! i am IN LOVE with extreme zip lines and want to marry them, seriously. sorry brom, if this thwarts your matchmaking plans ;)

jean that's cool i just noticed you're in france, when i was at lafleche i heard employees saying it started in france and has moved to a few locations in quebec, i LOVE it!

oh and by the way we did camp before lafleche, even in the rain, my tarp was huge enough to acommodate

Glad you enjoyed Jimmylegs.

thanks!