Splish splash

A post about swimming!

I should preface this by saying that I actually really enjoyed today's pool session and I do love being in the water. I just get a bit frustrated sometimes. To me, slogging my guts out usually equals success (eventually) and with swimming, this is not yet the case.

I had a really useful session today. The pool was surprisingly quiet and, for once, I actually had someone with me to take a good look at what I'm doing. As ever, it was not quite what I think I'm doing. My left leg has a slightly different agenda to my right. This is not a surprise to me but it's something that I have to always bear in mind. If I'm swimming breast stroke, my left leg corkscrews horrendously. It's less pronounced in freestyle thankfully but that's the side which fatigues more quickly and it signals this with a nice bout of cramp in the foot. The only way I've found to ease this is to not allow myself to slack on the pool time and just keep plugging away. Let the cramp subside and get straight back at it ... and then make sure to not skip any pool sessions. Essentially it's a case of thrashing it into submission. That lessens the number of cramping episodes at least but I suspect the old left leg will always be a bit wayward!

Lately the trouble has been that of the three triathlon disciplines, if I'm short on time the swim session is the one that's liable to get cut. I can jump on the spinner at home or throw on some runners and just head out the door. Swimming requires more time, even just in terms of getting to a pool (and making sure there are lanes available - ggrrrrr!) and then getting changed. I have decided that missing the odd swim session is something that could be avoided with some better organisation on my part. So, this week, I start on a new improved training schedule!

I couldn't find a decent sized wall planner (who knew they'd be so hard to get hold of) so I have hijacked one my son got free with his Nintendo magazine. I may well be the only (would be) triathlete around with a Pokemon schedule pinned up on the wall but the important thing is that it's all there now in black and white (and red ... with pokeballs) so it will get done. I always find that I have better success sticking to things that I've written down by hand. I've had schedules on excel, things I've tapped into the calendar on mobile phone etc but the ones that stick are the ones where I've the old pen and paper approach. Forges stronger connections in the old brain I think. Let's hope so and there will be no more skiving the swim. To be honest, I am looking forward to better weather so I can get into my wetsuit and do a bit of open water swimming. In the mean time, I will have to put my grumpiness aside and carry on with the pool sessions though I have yet to completely suss out what times of day the pools are less full of idiots. It seems to be never.

A few days later ....

I wrote all that several days ago. Since then, it appears that my hip has decided to leave my body through the nearest exit (except there isn't one so it's just going to bust it's way out). Well, that's what it feels like. I am not a professional of course, so it's not an exact diagnosis ;) I can still swim and the bike feels pretty much okay but, for the time being, running is out. I could pretend that I'm okay with this but I'm not, I'm really not - I am royally pissed off. Running is cathartic in a way that nothing else is and with everything that's going on right now, I need that outlet. Still, I am trying to be sensible because I want this sorted as soon as possible and doing what I'm really tempted to do (i.e. run through it) would cause far more problems further down the line. I need to borrow some patience from somewhere.

My boy will be away all weekend at the Scout's extreme winter camp so, with a weekend all to myself, I had big training plans in mind. I even turned down a date for Friday night because I wanted to be bright eyed and bushy tailed on Saturday. Okay, that was not the only reason but it was a factor ... as was just not being arsed (who says romance is dead?) I truly have no idea what I will do instead ... but I'm guessing it won't involve housework! The weather is going to be too awful for going out on the bike. Maybe I'll stick on some super-padded shorts and see if I can turbo my way through a film trilogy (though perhaps not the extended editions of The Lord of the Rings)