Swimming and swimming some more

32 weeks. 8 more weeks to go. The baby in there is growing, growing and I am somehow managing to get bigger each week as well. For those of you who have been there, you know the drill... the feeling of a 3-4 lb hand weight sitting in your pelvis, more difficulty tying your shoes than when you were 5, dreaming of the day you can lay on your back or take a deep, full breath in.

The saving grace for cardiovascular fitness has been mainly three-fold; stair-stepper, walking, and swimming. I suppose I have been on my bike a bit but those days are quickly coming to a close.

I was thinking about this as I was coming home from a Master's swim practice this morning. I have had quite a few people tell me about how good it felt to get in the pool when they were pregnant. I am guessing these people weren't trying to get in 3000 yds in an hour but none-the-less I think about what they've said. I get in the pool in the morning and it really doesn't feel that great initially. It's 5:30 am, dark, the water is cold, and I have a hard set waiting for me and then a full day at work. I can't jump in anymore without pain and discomfort so I slide in slowly and then I start swimming. It takes less than 10 yards for the cold to change to cool and refreshing and then about 300 yards for my stomach muscles to start to complain about attempting contraction at not quite maximal stretch. At about 1000 yards I have a permanent side stitch that goes away when I stand up and comes back as soon as I push off the wall on the next flip turn. Yet, I swim 3-4 times per week with as much speed and gusto as I have got. The part that is the most amazing to me though is when I get out. During that hour of submersion and lessened gravity all the blood and fluid that is normally affected by gravity has dispersed. The moment I haul myself up on the side and climb out (I'm holding out on using the ladder. I feel like that is like giving up my athleticism.) I can feel the pressure and the weight and the blood rush down again. It is amazing how I didn't notice while I was swimming how unweighted I was but when I get out the reminder is immediate. I think at the next practice I will have to try and pay more attention to that cause being unweighted is bliss, even if the getting out part sucks.