Start of the semester resolutions

Well, it's that time again, and I have a busier semester than usual due to teaching a First-Year Seminar (the class formerly known as "Freshman English") at Butler University as well as my usual two days a week teaching voice at Earlham College. I cut back my high school music magnet teaching to one day a week instead of two.I've had knee problems ever since I danced in Pirates of Penzance in March. One would think it would be all better now. The main thing going on, apparently, is a patello-femoral tracking problem. I suspected I was due for this at some point in my life, because my knees turn in when my feet are pointing straight ahead. My femurs are a bit rotated in. I've always compensated for this by turning my feet out slightly during dance and exercise. I've been able to run, hike, do pretty much anything except ride a bicycle, which makes me limp for a bit afterwards. The only other time I noticed problems (basically pain on either or both sides of my kneecap) was on long downhill hikes, but a night of rest would usually take care of it.I've been through physical therapy, which has helped, but not as much as I would have liked. Some of the exercises are great, others leave me limping. I can't seem to tolerate much that puts a lot of weight on a bent knee. I hated not being able to hike as much as I wanted during my recent New England vacation, but the knees just weren't up to it--especially the downhill. Using two walking poles helped but couldn't take all the stress off of my knees. Taping them to keep my kneecap from rotating outward also helps, but I can't do that all the time or I get blisters.So I've resolved to not hike or do extensive walking this semester, do the exercises that strengthen without re-irritating my knees, and give them a chance to heal up. I'm wearing shoes with arch supports, something I never had to worry about before. Apparently I have high arches so many shoes with arch supports don't even reach my arches. For aerobic exercise, I'm swimming at least twice a week at the gym. I love being in the water, and have no trouble staying afloat, but I'm a terrible swimmer when it comes to doing strokes properly. I thrash through the pool probably looking about as graceful as a whale on land. I'm working my way gradually up to 40 laps in the 25-yard pool. I can't do any strokes that use "frog kick" legs, but I'm doing the crawl up the pool and the backstroke on the way back, and this seems to work ok. You'd think that being a singer, I'd have the breathing all set. Wrong. By the end of a lap with the crawl, I typically have breathed wrong at least once and gotten a little bit of water in my nose. I'm sure this will get better with practice. I've started small. Since the pool opened, I've had two swim sessions, one for 10 laps, the next for 12. I'm going to add at least two laps every time until I'm up to 40. Yes, I suck at swimming.I'm also planning to lose weight. I'm going to my first Weight Watchers' Meeting next week to see how I like that. I've been able to lose weight on my own before, but it's difficult, and I think I need some extra motivation. Now, before anyone says, "Oh, but you don't need to lose weight!" I'll just say that I never had knee problems when I was below 120 pounds. I've recently put on quite a bit of weight for my frame, which I'm sure is partly due to do having to give up most of my normal forms of exercise. My orthopedist mentioned the word "surgery" to me recently, and my goal is to do everything in my power to get better without having to resort to that. If I can take 10-15 pounds off the load my knees have to bear, I feel like I'm giving them much more of a fighting chance.So by 2010, I want to be slimmer, a better swimmer, and have happier knees! I'm really hoping I can ease back into some of my normal activities in the spring.