Not Quite Healthy, So Not Quite a Workout

Although my antibiotic cycle has finished, my cough is not. It's so much better than it was--I'm not falling down, it's not killing my back, and I can (almost) take a complete deep breath without going into a coughing fit.

I can't laugh yet, though, without going into a horrible-sounding coughing fit.

But it's been exactly a week since I did any form of exercise. So today, when I had my 3.5 hours to kill between my chiropractic appointment and my daughter's gymnastics lesson, I decided I'd go to the gym to work out again.

I knew I wasn't yet up for running as walking up the short, gentle hill by my daughter's preschool winded me into a coughing fit this morning, so I thought I'd do a little swimming, which at least feels gentler.

It didn't go well, for that reason and others. My noseplug wouldn't stay on for anything and I kept getting water in my nose. I finally just decided to swim without it; it's become a bit of a "crutch" anyway, I suppose. I did okay for a few laps, but was having trouble on my flip turns (which I have never done successfully without a noseplug), and I was getting winded and all gross-coughing again.

So I would walk about midway down the pool, swim back, do a flip turn, and swim until I came up out of the water. Repeat. I got a lot better at judging the distance for my turns (something I've been fairly inconsistent with since I've worked on just doing the swimming part more). I was also able to get a lot better at keeping the water out of my nose during the turn.

I'm debating putting an ad on Craigslist for a swim instructor--although I need someone willing to trade, as it would be yet another expense we can't add to our budget.

By the way, for any relatives (or close friends) reading this blog, I just want to make sure no one thinks we're struggling too badly. Things are tight, yes, but manageable, as long as we plan carefully and don't have too many (or a single too great) unexpected expense(s). It's just that adding things like training supplies, competition equipment, competition fees, babysitting (since I can't leave a 3-and-a-half-year-old home alone or in the car) during workouts, apparel, and other things to an already tight budget is challenging.

And yes, we are lucky that we get to do many of the things we do get to do. I won't name specifically what businesses/individuals (since some of them do not want it disclosed) I'm able to arrange trades with, but I calculated out a few weeks ago that we "save" (in quotes because if I wasn't able to barter for the things I am bartering for, we simply wouldn't do them) up to $900 a month. About $400 of that (minimum) is expenses in things I'm utilizing to help my training.

Getting healthy is expensive.