Aqua Jogging: First Thoughts

Since my doctor gave me the prescription of herpies no running OR biking for the next few weeks, I’ve been resigned to the pool.  I don’t like the pool. It’s cold, it’s wet, it makes me smell like bleach. Like my girlfriend in highschool? I’ve said that my idea of swimming is with a beer in one hand while I’m cannonballing into the deep end. Well no - I take that back. I think that there could be exceptions made for various co-ed activities in a well alcohol-ed hot tub. Anyway.....

Normally when I am hurt I get lazy.  I push very hard while training that's what she said so I generally use the injury periods to catch up on sleep and get to know my family again. (Let’s all ignore the voice in our heads saying “well dummy, if you wouldn’t push so hard maybe you wouldn’t get hurt”)  I lose a little fitness, but I claw back a bit of my sanity so it is basically a win/win.   Oh, but this time is different.  This time the Boston Marathon is leering around the corner.

As such, I’m doing all sorts of things that I normally wouldn’t do at a feeble attempt at being race ready.  Case in point? Aqua jogging.  Essentially, you strap on a floating ring....and run in the water without your feet touching the ground.  It’s really that simple.  So, I borrowed a floating belt from my Virtual Run Coach co-developer Chad and hopped in the pool.

Party up front

I have NO idea what I was doing here....

This was supposed to be a picture of me pointing at the floating belt. Turns out it was just me pointing at my ass.

Business in the back

Spandex gives me love handles

I’ve done it twice for a period of 1 hour each.  A few first thoughts:

• The belt is TIGHT around my chest so that it doesn’t slip and give me a doughnut shaped chaffe mark like a sports bra uhhhh or so I've been told. That means that I can’t get a completely full deep breath and sort of grunt a bit. I’m assuming people walking by the pool think I’m having sex.
• It's a great ab workout! I'm sure I twist and turn a bit more than I should, but at this point I'll take any cross training that I can get.
• Everything that I’ve read says that you should simulate running with heartrate and time.  So, if I run 8 miles in an hour with an average HR of 160, then I should be in the pool for an hour with a similar heart rate.  However, I really can’t seem to get my HR up that high!  I’ll kick and run and kick, but my heart rate sort of hovers around 140.  Will try to get it higher soon.
• The pool that I swim in is a play pool with a fountain instead of a lap pool.  So, I have to do cannonballs off the fountain every 15 min do a very small out and back in the deep end.  It gets pretty boring pretty fast, but it allows me to not have to travel to a gym.
• I honestly don't feel like I'm getting as good of a workout - which sucks.  I'm sure that once I get better at aqua jogging I'll learn how to push myself harder, but until then I'll be the guy by the fountain, grunting, trying to drink out of a water bottle without going under.

Finally, I did buy this on a bit of a "I'm sad because I can't run" impulse this weekend.  Although, if the last one I bought is any indication, it'll sit there for 2 months half eaten and I'll throw it away after it gets 1/2" of frost on the top.  I fail at emotional eating :(