Ok, so my ears aren't actually overly large but the title got your attention didn't it! When I was swimming every day in India I had a few episodes of inflammation in my ears, probably due to bacteria in the water and the amount of time I was spending in it. When I researched "swimmers ear" I was concerned to learn that repeated infections can lead to damage and even cut short a pro swimmer's career. In order to try and minimise the risk of any further infections I started to wear little silicon ear plugs that mold to the shape of your ear and prevent water from entering the ear canal - until they annoyingly fall out mid-swim that is. I was always a little concerned about bacteria on the outside of the ear plugs as I was wearing them daily and they got a lot of handling, so I would replace them every couple of days. This, of course, became somewhat expensive as I was swimming daily; but worth it for the protection of my delicate lobes. The other drawback of using ear plugs is that they also cut out sound and that is not a good idea when you're in open water and need to keep yourself safe.
I was recently sent a bottle of ear drops by SwimSeal to try. I was taken with the idea that all I needed to do was put a couple of drops in each ear and, voila, my ears were protected! SwimSeal works by coating the external ear canal in a similar way to natural ear wax, forming a barrier and reducing the risk of irritation and inflamation. The drops have the added advantage of not blocking out noise so I am safe in open water and will be able to hear the safety crew screaming at me to get out of the water! I have to say I loved them! Easy to apply, more hygienic than grubby ear plugs; they are now a permanent part of my swimming kit! You can get more info, or buy a bottle, at www.swimseal.com/uk Now, about the Red Faces .................. I have done the day of the Couch 2 5K programme! Oh boy was it hard work! I'm not sure which was the most difficult part - the mental or the physical. I did it on the treadmill in the gym as I decided that would probably be easier as I could set the speed and incline and just go for it. Easy right? Pah!!!! Mentally I had to convince myself that I wasn't going to break the treadmill with my weight bouncing up and down on it; then I had to try and forget about the crowd of people gathered around laughing at Fat Girl trying to run. Of course I was the only person who could see the laughing crowd but somehow that doesn't help. As usual in these circumstances, I used music as my saviour, plugged myself into my Ipod and shut everything else out. Now there was just the physical pain to contend with. My hips, back and knees were all fine - absolutely no pain at all. My lungs however felt as though they were trying to expand and exit my body via my chest!!! Each 60 second period of running (more lumbering really) felt interminable; conversely the 90 seconds of walking passed way too quickly. However my marathon 30 minutes of run/walking did eventually end and I felt immensely proud - and somewhat shocked - that I had survived and completed Day 1 Week 1. When I staggered down the stairs into the changing rooms I was purple in the face!! Actually purple!! Ladies in the changing rooms were giving me concerned looks and I'm sure a couple of them had 999 on speed dial just in case! Of course I finished off my 2 hours in the gym with a swim - and getting my wobbly, sweaty self out of a sports bra and into my swimsuit was a whole other workout!! It took almost 3 hours for my face to return to it's normal pallor but I am currently feeling proud and motivated.
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