It's me again. Still here, still on a journey toward wellness. Today I was looking at home treadmills and marveling at how much the price has come down over the last few years. I can now have a health-club quality treadmill for under $1000! Wow!
I have also discovered a new, albeit temporary, hobby. Cold-water swimming. I have a pool, and I live in Northern Indiana, just about 10 miles from Lake Michigan. Since I live so close to the big lake, I grew up swimming in cold water... not to mention that I was a competitive swimmer for 10 of my developmental years. I've swam in lots of cold water throughout the years, but never really intentionally. Now I have been taking a dip in my pool every day as sort of an experiment. The water temperature is currently hovering around 65 degrees and the air temp isn't usually much warmer. It is rumored that there are multiple potential benefits to cold water, ranging from improved circulation, to enhanced immunity, to pain relief, to weight loss. Medical disclaimer: I am not a medical professional and I don't recommend this practice to anyone — I am simply doing a personal experiment to see if I notice any benefits. But a funny thing has happened along the way. I've found that I enjoy it. It gives me a burst of energy, yet I find it calming all at the same time. My skin kind of goes numb, but I feel warmth radiating from within. I like the feeling. As I noted above, though, it's a temporary experiment as the pool is being closed in early October. Usually it is closed by now. Living in the snow belt, we can get snow as early as October and I'm not quite brave (or crazy) enough to cut a hole through the ice to swim. Maybe I'll try cold showers instead. :)
