I went back to the pool today, and this time got a swimming lesson from the friend who didn't make it yesterday. My technique is pretty poor all around. No one ever taught me how to breathe while swimming, or apparently more than one kind of kick, or how my arms are supposed to move in a freestyle stroke. I think the extent of my swimming lessons was a summer of lessons, long enough to learn how to tread water, float, and get from one end of the pool to the other without help or doggy-paddling.
I suspect I'll be making this a routine and trying to mix days I swim with friends with days I swim on my own to practice technique without people watching me. I might make the solo days a morning thing, provided I make time for it.
Swimming feels great, even with how much I have to learn. I took a shower afterwards and brought my shampoo and conditioner with me (think I might be adding leave-in conditioner later and/or acquiring a cap, because my hair is going to be really unruly otherwise). I just felt good afterward, and my skin ended up at that stage where my nerves feel really alive, nothing hurts (even the parts that were hurting prior to swimming), and clothing feels good but not necessary. I've had that happen with dance before, only I took a shower back at my dorm and then sat in my room naked because of how good it felt.
In short: I don't know why I didn't find an exercise routine of some kind after I stopped taking dance classes, because physical exertion makes me feel so good.
Showing posts with label coping techniques. Show all posts
Showing posts with label coping techniques. Show all posts
Tuesday, March 27, 2012
Monday, March 26, 2012
Swimming
I just came back from a trip to my university's gym. It's on the far side of campus, and this is only the third time I've been there for the entire time I've gone here. Once for some freshman orientation thing, once during the blackout back in October/November in order to get a shower, and now today.
I've been dealing with family stuff again. I spent break at my father's house, and most of what happened there was fine with me. I helped my stepmother out by keeping up with the dishes since I was home almost every day while she was at work and I had time to spare. My dad, sister, and step-mother are starting to treat me more like family (especially my sister!) which is awesome.
And then there are things I can't currently deal with that involved a panic attack on my part and a major fight with my mother. I don't want to go into detail, because that's not what this post is about, but I forwarded one of her emails with a letter attached to a friend and then deleted it entirely from my email account until such a time as I'm able to handle her letter without affecting my grades too much.
So today I decided to try something different as stress-relief: I went swimming. Initially, I was going to swim with some friends, but they didn't make it, so I swam laps by myself.
My stamina is not very good right now. I'm not sure if it's due to lack of practice swimming or just generally not having done much physical since I stopped taking dance classes (because I don't have time).Either way, I achieved what I set out to do: raise endorphin levels and exhaust myself. That I did it in <20 minutes just means I need to go more often and get more exercise.
I did a total of five laps: twice both ways in the lane I picked, and then one more after I swam sideways a bit to get to the part that had a ladder on the opposite end I was on because I could not figure out how to get out of the pool in what I'm calling the "swim team lanes" where there's a ledge and a mini thing that looks like a diving board only much shorter that was making it impossible for me to climb out on; it was too far above my head and slanted toward the pool. Turns out I didn't need the ladder, I just needed to get to the area the side was low enough to climb. So I did an extra lap for no reason. I also ended up doing two laps on the breaststroke and three on the back stroke/half of the last one was a butterfly stroke (I think? I haven't had swimming lessons since elementary school when my aunt made me learn how to swim).
At any rate, holy cow am I tired.
And! There were a few nifty features in the locker rooms. The showers had soap dispensers; judging by the scent, this wasn't just regular hand-soap despite the similarity in containers. My hair is rinsed out enough that my comb went through it okay. There was also a little machine to put swimsuits in, and it would get them reasonably dry in about 30 seconds (they were still damp, but not dripping wet anymore). And last, they had things that looked like automatic hand dryers, except they said for hair and stayed on as long as I stayed under it. There were some about chest height (I'm assuming for children) and some a couple feet above my head, and my hair did indeed get pretty dry within a couple of minutes, so I was reasonably dry when I left the pool.
I think I might start coming to the pool more often. I have transportation so that I don't have to spend half an hour walking there, and it did me some good. I'd like to improve my stamina in order to do more laps without having to push myself really hard for every single one of them. And next time, I'm going to go in the shallow end so that I can put my feet down as necessary. This time, I was in something like 8'3" of water, and had to be able to go the full length or not at all.
I've been dealing with family stuff again. I spent break at my father's house, and most of what happened there was fine with me. I helped my stepmother out by keeping up with the dishes since I was home almost every day while she was at work and I had time to spare. My dad, sister, and step-mother are starting to treat me more like family (especially my sister!) which is awesome.
And then there are things I can't currently deal with that involved a panic attack on my part and a major fight with my mother. I don't want to go into detail, because that's not what this post is about, but I forwarded one of her emails with a letter attached to a friend and then deleted it entirely from my email account until such a time as I'm able to handle her letter without affecting my grades too much.
So today I decided to try something different as stress-relief: I went swimming. Initially, I was going to swim with some friends, but they didn't make it, so I swam laps by myself.
My stamina is not very good right now. I'm not sure if it's due to lack of practice swimming or just generally not having done much physical since I stopped taking dance classes (because I don't have time).Either way, I achieved what I set out to do: raise endorphin levels and exhaust myself. That I did it in <20 minutes just means I need to go more often and get more exercise.
I did a total of five laps: twice both ways in the lane I picked, and then one more after I swam sideways a bit to get to the part that had a ladder on the opposite end I was on because I could not figure out how to get out of the pool in what I'm calling the "swim team lanes" where there's a ledge and a mini thing that looks like a diving board only much shorter that was making it impossible for me to climb out on; it was too far above my head and slanted toward the pool. Turns out I didn't need the ladder, I just needed to get to the area the side was low enough to climb. So I did an extra lap for no reason. I also ended up doing two laps on the breaststroke and three on the back stroke/half of the last one was a butterfly stroke (I think? I haven't had swimming lessons since elementary school when my aunt made me learn how to swim).
At any rate, holy cow am I tired.
And! There were a few nifty features in the locker rooms. The showers had soap dispensers; judging by the scent, this wasn't just regular hand-soap despite the similarity in containers. My hair is rinsed out enough that my comb went through it okay. There was also a little machine to put swimsuits in, and it would get them reasonably dry in about 30 seconds (they were still damp, but not dripping wet anymore). And last, they had things that looked like automatic hand dryers, except they said for hair and stayed on as long as I stayed under it. There were some about chest height (I'm assuming for children) and some a couple feet above my head, and my hair did indeed get pretty dry within a couple of minutes, so I was reasonably dry when I left the pool.
I think I might start coming to the pool more often. I have transportation so that I don't have to spend half an hour walking there, and it did me some good. I'd like to improve my stamina in order to do more laps without having to push myself really hard for every single one of them. And next time, I'm going to go in the shallow end so that I can put my feet down as necessary. This time, I was in something like 8'3" of water, and had to be able to go the full length or not at all.
Wednesday, February 22, 2012
Snacks
In the last however many months I've identified a few snacks for when my mouth gets dry, and I'm hungry. It takes some searching, but there are a few things I love and a few things that work (not necessarily overlapping).
First up, Sugar-Free Lifesavers. I'm a fan of the Wintergreen flavor, and as a plus, it's the sugar-free my rheumatologist told me to find to prevent more dental decay. The down side? They have a strong odor, such that anyone within a few feet of me can smell the mint.
Second, gummy snacks. Lately I've been buying Annie's Organic Bunny Fruit Snacks, which are high-quality, very juicy, and not overly sweet or anything else. Of course, before looking them up just now, I didn't actually know what they cost; I buy them with my university meal plan from one of their to-go kiosks. I'm hoping I'll be able to a) find them and b) afford them when I graduate.
Third, ice cream or similar things. I love cakes and brownies, and all those yummy snacks. But they don't help my dry mouth at all and in fact tend to use up most of the moisture in my mouth within a few bites unless they're really moist. Instead, after meals I go for ice cream of some kind, provided the cafeteria has a flavor I like. A scoop or two of ice cream does very well for rounding out whatever dry food I might have eaten for dinner. As long as it's not super-creamy, like cookies and cream, anyways.
The major downside to all of these things is that I suspect it would cost a lot of money if I paid for these things in cash on a regular basis. During school breaks, I tend to be SOL on most of the things I eat regularly; I compensate with a LOT of water.
Does anyone else out there have dry mouth? What do you do for it?
First up, Sugar-Free Lifesavers. I'm a fan of the Wintergreen flavor, and as a plus, it's the sugar-free my rheumatologist told me to find to prevent more dental decay. The down side? They have a strong odor, such that anyone within a few feet of me can smell the mint.
Second, gummy snacks. Lately I've been buying Annie's Organic Bunny Fruit Snacks, which are high-quality, very juicy, and not overly sweet or anything else. Of course, before looking them up just now, I didn't actually know what they cost; I buy them with my university meal plan from one of their to-go kiosks. I'm hoping I'll be able to a) find them and b) afford them when I graduate.
Third, ice cream or similar things. I love cakes and brownies, and all those yummy snacks. But they don't help my dry mouth at all and in fact tend to use up most of the moisture in my mouth within a few bites unless they're really moist. Instead, after meals I go for ice cream of some kind, provided the cafeteria has a flavor I like. A scoop or two of ice cream does very well for rounding out whatever dry food I might have eaten for dinner. As long as it's not super-creamy, like cookies and cream, anyways.
The major downside to all of these things is that I suspect it would cost a lot of money if I paid for these things in cash on a regular basis. During school breaks, I tend to be SOL on most of the things I eat regularly; I compensate with a LOT of water.
Does anyone else out there have dry mouth? What do you do for it?
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