Goal

I have been going to a CFS/ME group that is run by my local chronic fatigue service. It is a nine week course and has so far been incredibly useful. They are trying to help us to get back into graded exercise and to set ourselves a goal that we can work towards slowly. My goal is to be able to go swimming once a week for 30 minutes. By swimming I mean actual length swimming not just floating around in the pool. To do this I am going to start by doing a little it of daily walking, and some Pilates stretching four times a week. I know that this is not swimming, but I need to build up a bit of stamina, and improve muscle length/strength. I will also go to the swimming pool once a week just to float about. It is important for me to do this because I get anxious going new places, and going places where there are lots of people. So it is important to be able to get used to going to the swimming pool before I actually start swimming. I will then gradually build up the amount of walking and pilates I do, before starting little bits of real swimming once a week. Hopefully over time I will be able to build up the swimming, until it is 30 minutes once a week.

I feel better knowing that some kind of return to something that is normal is possible. I hope that by doing more exercise it will actually build up my stamina more and will lead to me having more energy. Swimming is something I have always enjoyed - I just love being in the water, and doing something that makes me feel good is also going to increase my feeling of well being and help me feel better.