Swimming

Well I finally went swimming, on Sunday. The nurse practitioner who removed my 2nd drain, on Friday afternoon, said that it was okay to swim after 48 hrs. She also said to swim half what I usually swim the first time, 3/4 the 2nd time, and to leave at least a day in between the first two times. I usually swim a mile, so that's pretty clear and simple to figure out.

Of course I was planning to be in better shape than she thought, because I always figure I'm in better shape than they think. SO I got to the pool, got my suit on (looked a little funny on the flat right boob, but of course no one's really paying attention) and got into the water. It took me a quarter mile of alternating breast stroke lengths with semi crawl lengths* to get my right arm extended up to a reasonable crawl stroke, but I did it, and was pleased to have done it on my first day out. (* The semi-crawl started out as a nice crawl stroke with my left arm and little baby duck flap with my right.....) I was thinking that I'd do 3/4 mile rather than a half, because the first quarter was so wussy...... but just as I was finishing the last lap of the half mile my right pec clenched, as thought it suddenly noticed it was all alone out there without its breast! So I caved, and got out after having swum exactly the amount that the nurse practitioner had said and no more -- and made sure to take a 4-5 mile walk later with Pinky and a friend.

SO it was with some surprise that I discovered later that evening that something over near my right armpit was extremely sore -- I had to take a pain killer in the night! It hurt today, biking to my eye doctor with a backpack on -- but biking with backpack hadn't hurt any of the times when I'd gone to Georgetown last week, so I think I am still sore from that half mile swim.

I had been planning to do my 2nd swim tomorrow, the 3/4 mile -- but I'll find some other exercise instead if I'm still hurting this much in the morning.