Running for Your Life: Water Walking to Running

Don’t laugh … Here’s the deal, in order to get back to pounding the pavement (I know, not a great idea, what are you some kind of masochist?) I’ve taken, thanks to my dear wife and great swimmer, M, to water walking at our neighborhood Y.

I tried on Monday (Nov. 9) and there I was … non-swimmer nonpareil in, from top, bathing cap, pink-colored pool noodle strung between my legs, these cool baby bluey barbell-floaters tucked under each arm, a baby blue back floatation vest strapped firmly at my waist … water walking. For thirty minutes.

M, the dear thing, kept careful watch on me. Like the runt of a less-than-thrilling litter. But I made it, in and out of alive, with this as a surprising finale – to M in any case: I water-jogged along the side of the pool into the deep end, which is where I clambered out of the pool.

And the results? Fabulous. I really think this water walking is the way to go for those with knee, back and ankle issues. Any kind of  joint pain. Take it from me, the least likely person to ever be seen in the heretofore scary regions beyond the kiddie pool, add it to your training regimen …

I am not exactly pain-free, after suffering a bad knee sprain on Friday, Oct. 30, but I’m so happy to report that I’m on the mend. Oh, and I don’t care how many smirks the inflatable me evokes at the Y pool. It’s taken me almost thirty years to get there, but this is New York, damn it. The place where people dress up in Elmo suits, sing Spanish dialect opera while striding down a crowded Midtown street, where women “wearing” nothing but painted stars and stripes lewd around in Times Square getting people to pay THEM to have your picture taken with them.

My business at the Y pool is the wee-ist of humiliations compared to all that …

Next: Running for Your Life: The Long Hot Stretches


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