A Few Steps Forward and Another Back

I have been battling with on-going injuries for a good couple of months now. None of which have occurred while running, but all have kept me from running. Most recently, a hamstring injury has kept me from running for almost 7 weeks now. It seems just as I get to a breaking point in which I am free and clear to run as much as I would like, something else will happen and ruin my efforts. It's frustrating to say the least.

I have come to a point where I have decided that I need something that gets the cardio workout I am longing for and not getting, but I need to put myself in a bubble in order to avoid anymore injuries. So what have I come up with? Aqua-Jogging.

Don't laugh.

I have been doing extensive web research on the topic after reading about it in a running magazine while in Arizona. Here's the deal, I can get my cardio workout while in a bubble...a bubble of water. In the water, I weigh only 10% of what I weigh on land. So I can train cardiovascularly without worry that I will hurt myself. Seems pretty cool, huh?

Well, I haven't really quite grasped what Aqua-Jogging looks like per se. I mean do you run laps or are you staying in one place like a treadmill? How about your feet? Do they touch the ground or are you supposed to be in deep water? What do you do with your arms? Really, I could go on and on with this.

When I search the web for answers, I get articles that say things like "Aqua-Jogging isn't difficult. Just get in the water and run." "There is nothing to learn. Just do what you do on land but in water."

Hmmmmm....

So I said, "What the heck...I'll just go for it!" I saddled myself up in a new suit and hit the rec center today to do some Aqua-Jogging.

As I got started, many of those questions came right back up into my brain. I just kept trying to remember that there was "nothing to learn" and "just do what you do normally on land".

Not quite so easy.

To top it all off, and to stay true to the current pace that I have been setting for myself, I left the rec center with two huge blood blisters on the bottom of my feet. Nice bubble, eh?

I am bound and determined to make this work though. I have read nothing but wonderful things about Aqua-Jogging. Obviously, it is just me who is having difficulty. Next time I am going for the stationary run in deep water....and I thought I got funny looks from the other swimmers and life guards today....I'm sure it's going to get worse.

I have to persevere here though, my body needs this...and I already forked over the money for the swim suit and Aqua-Belt.