Friday, February 29, 2008

Small Wonder

Our computer networks are down at work, so I'll take a moment to tell you about a small victory: I swam an entire workout last night without one of my dreaded foot cramps!!!!! Since I've started swimming with the team in January, I've had an arch cramp on the bottom of my right foot (the leg that always whines) every single practice. The same time. Without fail. If I'm lucky, the foot cramp comes later in practice, when it's winding down and then I can pretty much bag the workout. Sometimes I can swim though it for several challenging laps, but then I'll kick harder with the other foot and get a cramp in that one. Sometimes my toes will cramp, but not my feet...how weird is that?

I've asked a co-worker and searched the Internet for solutions. So far, I've tried pulling out a sports drink and sipping that as an afternoon beverage for hydration. Of course, if I down a sports drink right before practice, that leads to other problems. I also strongly suspect this is a relaxation issue. I'll try to gradually ease into kicking during warmup and really focus on keeping my feet and legs relaxed. After all, I'm a person who felt the beginnings of a foot cramp after a really sad funeral. I hope for I can have more cramp-free workouts. Swimming is one of the nicest things that's happened to me lately.

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