I got a painful lesson in the importance of cross-training when I went to the gym today.

For the past few weeks, I have been skipping swimming in favor of walking on the treadmill for my workouts. The arrangment suited me for several reasons. First, my allergies have been really bad this spring, so I didn't want to get my head wet. Second, swimming means I always have deal with my hair afterward, which can be a real pain. If I swim, I have to get up at 5:30 in the morning versus 6 for the treadmill.

So I had been content to get some extra sleep, that is until today. I decided that I really needed to get back into the water, especially since summer is here.

So off I go to the Y, all pumped and ready to swim. Until I actually got in, that is. I was totally out of practice, and boy, did it show. My stroke was out of sync and I couldn't remember the proper breathing method. It took me four sputtering, coughing laps to get it right.

After that, I was fine. But I have promised myself I won't do that again. Hair or no hair, it's back to the pool for me.

-- Amanda Barrett