Back in the water!

After a CAT scan and a visit to my MD, I finally got the green light to get back into pool exercising…on a limited basis; two mornings a week, 45 minutes each time. I can also walk at my normal pace…, which is a lot faster than I’ve been walking for the past two months. What a great feeling to be back in the water. I was a little nervous at first, but that soon gave way to the awareness that the workout, which I would have considered “light” back in January, was tiring me out!

I reflected on the way home – a 40-minute walk, each way – that I have lost a considerable amount of “fitness,” and that it will take me many months to regain that. I have to constantly remind myself that I can re-enter the world of fitness exercising v-e-r-y slowly. This will be difficult for impatient me, but necessary, if I want to protect my health and my life. When Dr. Bakshee was explaining the nature of this stroke to me, he made it very clear that a second one of this nature could be fatal, and that avoiding this would be largely up to me. Sobering.

Tonight, I’m quite tired. Besides the 80 minutes of walking this AM, and a 45 minute workout, I walked to Tim’s this afternoon, about 20 minutes each way. My legs are weary, but otherwise I feel quite good. It feels like the “recovery” process has turned a corner, not a MAJOR one, but a small one. I have so much further to go, and I must keep the pace down, down. No long walks tomorrow. Sigh…