The above picture, showing me swimming laps in the 2nd lane on the left, appeared in the NY Times in March, 2016, in the real estate section’s article and photo spread about my town in the Hudson River Valley, Ossining. The town has a terrific, enclosed public pool, and frequently I am the only person swimming laps.
Today is July 4, and I just returned from the pool, which was as usual rather devoid of people, which makes no sense to me. However, I accomplished what I set out to do: swim 5 kilometers (a little over 3 miles) non-stop, using pull buoys the whole time, as my legs get serious cramps after 2 kilometers if I kick while swimming.
Don’t know what pull buoys are? They’re double styrofoam cylinders that you hold between your thighs while you swim. They allow you to swim without kicking, using just your upper body, while your legs float and trail nicely on the surface behind you. Here’s what they look like:
I am now exhausted and at peace with the world. I feel like writing some Q & A’s about swimming and me, to sort some issues out for myself, and maybe spur some readers to push themselves at the gym, in the pool, on the track, up a mountain, on a bike, or all of the above.
Q: Why, at age 64, do you have any desire whatsoever to swim 5 kilometers, with pull buoys, no less?
A: Because I can, for one thing. While swimming this afternoon I thought about Barack Obama’s campaign slogan, “Yes, we can.” I changed the pronoun to 1st person singular, “Yes, I can.” Last summer after I swam four open-water races, ranging in length from 1 mile to 2 miles, I showed some of the photos to a friend from high school, who said, “It’s amazing anyone is doing this at age 63, let alone someone with Parkinson’s disease.”
And here’s the other answer: Because I must. If I slack off on physical training, a host of problems (physical as well as mental/emotional) set in, and the world, as well as my life, seem hopeless and futile. Despair and anxiety set up tents in my mind, making me an unhappy camper.
Q: How long is 5 kilometers in that pool? How long did it take you to swim it?
A: The pool is 25 meters long. Swim from one end to the other and back again (one complete lap), and you’ve finished 50 meters. You need to do this 100 times to complete 5 kilometers. I don’t know how much time this took me, as I wasn’t watching the clock. I wasn’t pushing myself for speed; however, I also swam yesterday and used a pacing clock to push myself on short distances.
Q: Is swimming the best (or at least a good) exercise for someone with Parkinson’s?
A: I say, “Yes!” Of course, you can read the literature online (e.g., click!) (or stay in-house: click! click! and click!) and learn all about boxing, cycling, dancing, ping-pong, hiking, weight lifting for Parkies. Everyone has her/his own opinion about what works best. But to my mind, it’s all good, and these days I mix swimming with weight lifting, yoga/stretching, and ping-pong. Some people say swimming is somewhat mindless, that there’s no cognitive engagement, but in my case, that’s not true. As I swim I’m paying attention to how my arms move through the water, experimenting with, say, cupping my hands vs. keeping the fingers wide spread.
Sometimes I also play a challenging game called “Swim Golf.” It goes like this:
- Swim 50 meters at a moderate pace. Count exactly how many strokes it takes you to do this.
- Let’s say you take 40 strokes to swim the 50 meters. This is your “par.”
- Now you have to swim 50 meters again, but reduce the number of strokes, so you come in under par.
- Try to swim 50 meters ten times (taking a short rest each time), constantly reducing the number of strokes you need. If you took 40 strokes on the original swim, can you get them down to 30?
This game forces you to elongate your strokes, push off the wall with more force, kick a lot before you take your first stroke, glide as much as possible, take fewer breaths (breathing slows you down as you swim) and get maximum power out of each stroke you do take.
Q: How do you keep track of how many laps you’ve swum?
A: This is a huge problem for me. I have two solutions: (1) Count backwards from 100, because it makes swimming 100 laps psychologically less daunting. If I start counting up from 1 (1, 2, 3, 4…), 100 seems impossible to reach and I’m tempted to throw in the towel (which would get it wet!). But counting backwards (100, 99, 98, 97…) motivates me as I dispense with one high number after another. It’s like sliding down a hill. (2) Count out loud. Every time I touch the wall at the close end of the pool, I say out loud what the lap is.
Q: Don’t you get bored doing something so repetitive?
A: No. And I entertain myself with the numbers. When I hit 77, I sing the theme song from the TV show, 77 Sunset Strip. The next number as I descend the counting is 76 – a perfect time to sing to myself “76 Trombones” from The Music Man.
Q: Is that all you do in the pool, swim back and forth endlessly?
A: No, on other days I set different challenges for myself. That’s what the pace clocks by the side of the pool are good for. For example, swim 25 yards without taking any breaths along the way – you must swim it with just one breath. Look at the clock and 30 seconds later, do it again. Repeat 5 times. This will build up your lungs…and force you to swim faster.
Q: Do you do any other physical exercise?
A: If you check my calendar, where I record my physical activity, you’ll see I also lift weights, do yoga/stretching, walk miles when I’m in Manhattan, play ping-pong, etc.
Q: What immediate and long-term benefits do you see from all this physical activity?
A: It’s very clear to me that when I work out rigorously, my emotional state is good and I have few physical problems. When I can’t work out, things slide quite a bit. The worst part is feeling crappy about myself and hopeless about the future. The long term benefits seem to be (at least, if I understand my neurologist correctly) that Parkinson’s disease isn’t progressing in me.
Q: What are your immediate and long-term plans with swimming?
A: This summer I just want to swim open water events. I don’t care about winning any age-group trophies. Maybe next summer I’ll try to be in better shape so I can compete for first place in my age group.
Q: What’s the main message you want to convey to other Parkies?
A: Physical exercise: The more you do it, the better off you are.
