Splish Splash

Today is the first day I have returned to the pool and water aerobics class in at least 4 months. It had been so long that I forgot my water shoes and the balls of my feet ached everytime my foot impacted the pool bottom.

Overall it went well. Part of the reason for such a long absence is not because I did not have doctor approval. In fact I was given the permission after my first month follow-up. With the weakness in closing my right eye and the burning/scratching irritation I was having, I thought being in the pool would aggravate it more. Further (LOL), I have not been behaving well since surgery and have been on a eat anything that tastes good food fest which included pies, cookies, chocolate truffles, rum cake, etc.. Thus I gained that weight I lost from not being able to eat in the hospital and then some. I am a few pounds more than I was when I went in. My hope was to get a new swimsuit but in the winter season I have been finding the selection rather slim.

I have not found a good suit yet. Where are they when you want one? But today I decided time is flying by and I can no longer use that as an excuse. Therefore I put my old one piece suit on that is slightly falling apart at the side. The class is not a Miami Beach bikini contest so nobody would probably notice anyway.

As I had mentioned earlier in my post about running, my legs have really gained strength and stability. Starting off today seemed just right as I didn't experience any muscle weakness or quivering in my legs (aside from my sore feet because I forgot my shoes). My balance seemed improved too when we did the stretching exercises at the end. I was able manage standing on one foot while moving my arms around in the water.

One difference I noticed however is that water leaked through my nose into my airway. In the right nostril it is weakened and I do not have the ability to fully seal it off at times. I did not notice this in my pool sessions prior to surgery so I am not sure what I can do or if I can do anything to improve it. It was not a huge problem but it does make me wonder if this would occur when I return to lap swimming.

The other issue of course was the eyes. I definitely had some eye movement problems going on where my vision was "shaken up" and it was hard to see what the instructor was doing at times. I do not really know how to describe it except for that maybe it is like if you tried to focus and see something after spinning wildly around in circles.

Even with the weight I have gained I am not an easy floater still and on certain exercises I slowly sink under. Hopefully that means that I have gained muscle mass more than my lack of technique and skills.

I did get a little nauseous afterward and had a weird headache. However, Harley has been ill and I think my immune system finally gave in to his bug this morning as I was not feeling too great when I woke up. I did not feel really well in the afternoon either (fell asleep in my truck when I got home from taking the dogs for a walk) but I am feeling ok right now.

I am going to try another new class (Body Vive) at the gym that focuses on strength, balance, and body core. With that, the running, the weight lifting, the stair master training, and walking the dogs, I will probably just fit in one water aerobic class a week. It did feel nice to be back in the water though. I am hoping to continue improving my leg strength and balance with the water aerobics, Body Vive class, and BOSU practice so that I will be able to handle wearing dive equipment again.