Today was the moment of truth. Although I don't see my doctor until tomorrow, today marked four weeks since I stopped swimming in order to let my shoulder heal. I was so excited to get back in the water, I honestly couldn't sleep last night. I tossed and turned in anticipation.
When I got to the gym, first, I ran 1.5 miles just to get my blood pumping. I followed it with a 20-minute ride on the stationary bike. I wanted to do these before swimming, just in case my shoulder wasn't ready and couldn't handle it. I wanted to be sure I got at least some exercise.
Once in the pool, I wanted to take it nice and easy, just to gauge where my shoulder and my stamina are at. Here's what I did.
Warm up
100 free easy
Core
2x500 free (alternating free and breast every 50)
Cool down
100 breast
During my warm up, I could feel a twinge of pain every time I pulled with my left arm. Immediately, my worst fears were realized. Before, there was minimal pain during swimming and it usually came later in the day. But this time it hurt like hell during my warm up. However, after some deep stretching, it felt loads better. Perhaps my rotator cuff wasn't used to the crawling motion of freestyle when I warmed up and it wasn't quite used to it. I've been extra careful not to use my arm in that motion and I think it just needed a minute to adjust.
My core workout was simple and I'm not too worried about yardage yet. Just to be sure I wasn't overdoing it with the continuous motion of freestyle, I did two sets of 500 alternating freestyle and breaststroke every 50 yards. My shoulder didn't hurt at all. I was a bit gassed and I'm still not very accustomed to bilateral breathing, but I did it during all of my freestyle yards. I cooled down with a slow 100 breast.
It's been about four hours since my workout and so far, my shoulder isn't aching. I feel a tiny bit of discomfort every now and again, but overall, I'm pleased with the result. I iced it once right when I got home and I'll do it again tonight. I'm in high spirits about it now, but maybe I'll be singing a different tune tomorrow.
Total distance: 1,200 yards swimming, 1.5 miles running, 5 miles cycling
Nice! I hope you stay pain free. I am feeling pretty good these days. I have had to adjust my stroke a little, do more stretching and do a lot of backstroke in warm-ups, but so far, so good.
ReplyDeleteDo you think it's the cortizone shot, or just taking time off that made it feel better?
Honestly, I don't even know if it is better. You know how pro athletes are listed day-to-day with injuries? I should be listed hour-to-hour. The pain comes and goes like a phantom.
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