So since at least two people on this board are interested in my adventures in joining my University's team I thought I'd create a thread (much like ande's swimming blog) to detail all of it. Yeah.
Since the season doesn't actually start regular practice for another week and a half, this is mainly an intro post - and I'll update it with what happens when I go meet the other girls on the team and such! Stay tuned! It'll be better than any general hospital or passions!
Today I actually swam for the first time (since my freshman swim test last year) in the University pool. It was huge. And cold. Over the summer I got used to swimming in health club pools with water hovering around 80-85. Not exactly the most comfortable water at times, but at least nice and warm. The Ratner pool here is...freezing by those standards. I'm guessing the water temp is 75 at the warmest. Gives new meaning to the term "warm up".
I was really nervous when I first got in - the girls and guys returning members were having informal practices and I was sort of afraid they'd notice me. Although, I don't think they did. Or maybe they did and I just didn't hear what they said about me. Haha.
I also swam a 600 for the first time in a long time. I mostly stuck to 400s and below in my summer workouts (yeah, I know, I'm a little bit of a wimp). Unfortunately, that couldn't last. The coach suggested when I met her that I get in the water and swim 6-800 straight every day this week as part of my workout. It kind of hurt. Actually, it was one of the odder experiences of my life. For the first 200 or so my chest was tight from my asthma and I was freaking out about the distance (I was also really cold). Then all of a sudden I started to get really into it and just kept on going. I probably could have done 1000 if I wanted to.
The workout was cut short - only about 2300yds - because I promised my friends I'd come home and cook dinner for them tonight. And that's where I leave it tonight.
Background: For those who didn't see my posts on the board throughout the year, I'm a soph. in college who has been going through the prepartion to join my school's team. I attend the University of Chicago (a div 3 school) and was a competitive swimmer for seven years before high school. Burnout put me out of the water for almost 5 years, however, and I'm only recently getting back into it.
Former Member
Weell.....looks like it's time for an update!
I planned to update earlier in the week, when I got my results form the MRI. Unforunately, I don't have those results yet. I was supposed to follow up with the sports medicine doctor on wednesday, but she was subpoenaed and had to go meet with a bunch of lawyers, so my appointment was cancelled.
In the words of my coach, it's not usually a good thing when your doctor is subpoenaed. I found it funny.
So I'm still in the dark on what's causing my pain. And I'm having odd feelings about it.
What I'm about to say will sound really crazy, and maybe I am, but I have a good reason for it.
I almost hope I have a herniated disc.
I know, that's crazy. Why would I hope for the more serious injury over the lesser cause of muscle inflammation?
Because, at this point, inflammation just doesn't seem to make sense.
As of today, it's been 8 weeks since I injured myself. 2 full months! It just doesn't seem possible, to me, that I'm still having pain and numbness and all that goes with it just from inflammation. Especially when you consider that in that time span I've taken a total of 100,800 mg of ibuprofen. (I'm an Econ nerd, I like to calculate things...)
When you add all the rehab hours I've spent to that ibuprofen total, it just doesn't make sense to me that I'm only suffering from cranky muscles. A herniated disc would make SO much more sense, and finally give me the peace of mind to know that I am seriously injured, and that it's not somehow my actions that are holding up my healing process. Sigh.
Along with the normal symptoms I've had, I had a really odd experience earlier in the week. I was walking around my dorm room getting ready for class...in some pain and with some numbness in my lower leg and foot...but nothing out of the ordinary. All of a sudden, I got these horrible stabbing shooting pains down my leg and on the bottom of my foot, and I wasn't able to support weight on my left leg. I was limping around like this for a good 5 minutes before everything returned to "normal" (ie, the same amount of pain I'm used to being in). It freaked me out.
We had our last swim meet of 2005 on Saturday. It was a pretty fun meet, although really small. It was a dual meet vs Grinnell College - a school in Iowa. We lost pretty bad, 163.5-78.5. They were a tough school - had a really good program, but I think we were all tired and just didn't have it this weekend (I didn't swim, obviously...).
Our next meet is at Olivet, in Michigan in the first week of January. In 2006. Crazy. I'm not sure if I'll swim in it or not. I hope to, and I'm pretty confident I'll at least be in the water by then, perhaps even doing serious workouts. We'll see.
Largely, it depends on my ability to do starts and turns. Hopefully I'll recover well over winter break.
Over the past few weeks, I think fueled by depression, I've had doubts about swimming. This scares me, because swimming is a sport I loved and missed for five years after I first burned out. I only hope that healing this injury, and, if necessary, treating the depression I feel will erase those ....I don't want to quit again after only a year.
Got my MRI results today. I didn't actually follow up with the doctor yet - just received the report...so I'm not totally sure of what's going to happen...but.....
I have a bulging disc at L5.
I guess that's okay...I mean no herniation means no surgery (which is a huge plus), but having the disc bulge is definitely an injury.
I guess it also means I'm back in the water sooner rather than later, which is also good, given that there's only like 7 weeks left in the season.
Hrm.
Okay...time to open this one up for discussion.
Bulging disc? What's it mean for swimming? Anyone had one before?
...Why do I get to have one before I'm 20?
Do you recall doing something that caused a traumatic injury?
Perhaps you had this weakness in your body, and it has chosen to crop up now.
You are good to learn everything you can about this. Especially, pay attention to preventive measures. Since you are so young, this will probably follow you, so now is time to make all the muscles strong around the injury and keep them strong.
Do you recall doing something that caused a traumatic injury?
Perhaps you had this weakness in your body, and it has chosen to crop up now.
You are good to learn everything you can about this. Especially, pay attention to preventive measures. Since you are so young, this will probably follow you, so now is time to make all the muscles strong around the injury and keep them strong.
And glad to hear this is not as serious as it could have been!
Hi.
I've just read bits of this post. sorry to hear about your back an hope your ok.
I'm 18 just started swimming again for the first time since primary school (when i was about 10) I broke my back in may had to have an op. not allowed to do contact sports so decided to over come my fear of my local swimming pool (bad memories of learning to swim...)
So started swimming it's slow progress but found a great site
(www.personal.psu.edu/.../ZeroTo1mile.html) and am now trying to do 0 to 1 mile in half the time they say.
Never enjoyed swimming so much before and now its my ambition to join the uni (i think thats the british equivalent of collage not sure though) swimming team. as soon as i can do 25m in 15 seconds think thats a realistic goal to achive by january (curantly doing it in about 30sec and only started doing freestyle for the first time ever at the beging of the month :D.
It sounds really proffetional were your doing.
hope you keep up your posts and get better soon.
P.s what age do you start collage(uni) at usually in america?
So I just got back from thanksgiving break.
Late.
And I missed a german exam. By half an hour. That's required. Crap.
And you know...driving two and a half hours with my back injury...really doesn't feel good.
Agh.
And I missed morning practice too.
Why does my life suck right now?
Yeah.........
Nighteyes - Yeah, college here and uni there are the same thing. We typically enter college at 17 or 18 (right after high school).
Well....only one more day until I meet with the doctor about my MRI results. Assuming she's not subpoenaed again of course. At this meeting I hopefully get cleared to enter the water again and find out exactly what I should and should not be doing in the pool.
I just hope for some concrete answers.....I don't like the whole "swim until you're in pain or your leg is numb" thing. That's not fun.
