No Chaser

Zoomers are great

No, they are not the latest drug for club-hoppers.  Nor are they any form of new energy shake.  They might be the name for precociously show-biz-y adolescents on that PBS show filmed in Boston, 0-21-34.  But, those are not the Zoomers I am referring to.

The Zoomers I mean are a training fin for swimming, and they totally rule. 

I have used them a few times at my local pools.  You can usually find a pair or two hidden in among longer fins, kickboards, and about a jillion water-aerobic float belts.  They are always too big.

Nevertheless, I have enjoyed messing around in them, mainly on the kickboard.   So, they were having a sale at my local independent sporting goods retailer, and I bought a pair.  Yesterday was my first real Zoomers-aided swim. 

First I just did a twenty-minute regular swim, then five minutes on the kickboard with the Zoomers on to get used to them and warm up my legs.  I set aside the kickboard, replaced my goggles, and set off on the crawl, which in this case is a complete misnomer because I was kicking ass.  I even kept up with the guy who's usually lapping me. 

It's super fun to swim fast, planing through the water like a shark, but the best part of swimming with Zoomers is that your heart rate really soars, so you get a much better workout than you would normally.  Your legs do more work as well, and that means less kickboard time, always a bonus.   I generally zone out in the pool, so my stroke can get a bit sloppy at times.  Interestingly, with the Zoomers on, my stroke improved, getting more regular as my speed increased.  Maybe it's because I was so focused on the pure joy of swimming.

After my twenty minutes was up, I was dying to do more (endorphin junkie that I am), but I decided to take it easy and work up to thirty by next Friday.   We'll see if I can wait that long.

posted by: NoChaser at June 29, 2006 10:20 | link | comments (4) |

Myankle

I have always had a problem with myankles.  I am prone to twisting them and have suffered many sprains.  This is because I pronate, which means I land on the outside of my foot.  If anything is a little off, there's not enough surface to keep me balanced, and TORQUE!

About eight years ago, near the end of a run with Clonk, I tripped on a curb and heard myankle pop.  I wailed in pain, but got up and starting walking around on it to test it out.  Clonk offered to get the car and come back to fetch me, but I decided to tough it out.  Clonk had told me several admiring stories of people who had toughed it out, and I wanted to impress him.  We were about a mile from home.  I ran the whole way.

By the time we made it home, myankle had swollen fairly dramatically and only puffed up more as I sat with my foot up on some pillows, under a bag of frozen peas.  I had either no or bad insurance at the time, and I hate doctors anyway, so I didn't bother seeking medical attention.  This may have been a mistake.  I still don't know what happened, but that pop I heard was probably a sign of something tendonal.

I tried to keep off my foot as much as possible, but I had to go to work (by bus or bike), I had to buy groceries, I had to go to the bathroom.   The hardest part was that I had lots of energy because I had been training for a marathon and was running seven miles on weekdays, and twelve or more on the weekends.  So, I started going to the pool and splashing about for a couple hours a day.  I would swim laps until I got bored, and then put on one of those floaty belts and "run" around next to the aquacise groups.

Myankle took about four months to heal and was really stiff and sore for another four months or more after that.  For a couple of years, if I spent too much time on it, it would swell up again.  It seemed to have quite a bit of scar tissue around it as well, and I worked hard to get it more flexible.

I'm telling you this because myankle still gives me trouble, and this last week-and-a-half, I have been on my feet all day, walked a lot in the evenings, tripped and twisted myankle slightly, and am now suffering.  Acutally it was far worse yesterday, but my kind employeers, upon learning of my injury, kindly allowed me to sit at a desk during most of my shift yesterday, and that made a big difference. 

Yesterday, when I walked, I would land only on the ball of the bad foot, which reminded me very much of the quirky gait of Little Miss Sunshine who has had numerous knee surgeries.  I think, perhaps, I shouldn't tease her so much about that walk.

Myankle is much better this morning.  I still feel a creepy but familiar tugging and twinging sensation as if a tendon is being pulled farther than it would like and its response is to threaten to snap or go numb.  But, at least it doesn't hurt.

Fortunately, I'm not as dumb as I once was, and no longer feel a need to impress Clonk with my toughness (just my incredibly fast bike-riding and, um, swimming and, well, ability to lift very large pieces of wood, and -- okay, so at least I'm not as dumb as I was).  And, the upshot is, I'm staying off myankle for a while.

posted by: NoChaser at June 22, 2006 08:22 | link | comments (3) |

Paint

Today, I painted the dining room a cheery shade of yellow. In preparation, I put on my painting jeans, which I am sad to say are a bit tight in the waist as I bought them when I was running a lot and therefore quite thin. This tightness led me to cut the waistband off, making the jeans more comfy than they've been in years. Unfortunately, the zipper broke, so I held the fly together with two safety pins. I considered putting one in my ear to match, but since my piercings closed up years ago, I figured it was probably not worth it.

Because it's shockingly hot today, I also cut the jeans into capris this morning and have wondered all day why I hadn't done so before. All I could figure is that I thought it would be good to have my whole leg covered and thus protected from the paint. Now, I think it's probably because I haven't lived anywhere so damn hot that I felt a need to be as minimally dressed as possible.

These jeans have seen many painting projects, all of which can be traced through the splotches covering primarily the front thighs of the jeans where I wipe my hands when I'm working. A sampling includes jungle green from an erstwhile friend's den, raspberry pink from my mother's bedroom, white from my bookcases, melon from my office, mint green from my bedroom, and the most glorious swimming pool blue from my old living room. And while they remind me of people and places -- and less pleasurably of painting jobs -- I like the pants mainly because they are particularly beautiful.

I hear Clonk sweeping up from his deck-building project, which means it's just about time for an icy cold beer. I'd say we've earned it today.

**Special thanks to tapir for providing the tuneage for today's endeavors: fIREHOSE and The Jam were particularly enjoyed. It's been way too long.**

posted by: NoChaser at June 17, 2006 14:58 | link | comments (3) |

Back in the Land of Corn

We have returned and are trying to live by our new rules of Midwestern engagement:

1) no complaining
2) accept the realities
3) enjoy what is enjoyable
4) avoid obligatory social activities
5) spend time with people you actually like
6) get away to a nearby city at least once a month
7) don't try to do things you would do in a normal place
8) take long nature walks (flat ≠ "hiking") every other week
9) spend less time on the web
10) appreciate solitude
11) make more art

So far, we're doing pretty well although a couple of remarks I made today were considered by some people to be "complaining" until I explained the difference between acknowledging the reality -- a necessary step toward acceptance -- and complaining.

posted by: NoChaser at June 13, 2006 14:55 | link | comments |