Bon Jovi's Revenge

Not for the first time Bon Jovi get a mention in my blog. Not that I am a fan, however after seeing this clip I am now a sympathiser. Haha!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O1jTwXo1je8


Anyway went to quack yesterday and he confirmed torn calf muscle. Ouch!

Rest was prescribed.

From the Top!

OK, so off I went tonight. Sufficiently rested and ready to go again. 

I have been gingerly testing my left leg after the thigh strain on Friday night. It's OK, just can't stretch it too far yet and running is probably still 2 weeks off. Should be OK in the pool though. 

The usual start, off to the deep end, a few dunks. First one a bit spluttery but a few more and everything was fine, back off down to the middle of the pool. Had a wee chat about various bits n bobs and decided I would like to try, with a float, just to do some kicks and put face in water. So that's just what I did. Just like the first lesson one however this time it was actually a success. It is so true that an adult just can't learn to swim in a baby pool. In a big pool the body is just more buoyant. It would not have believed it if i hadn't experienced it myself. So there you go. Legs up no problem and with little effort virtually horizontal and when face goes in it just all feels so right, so balanced. I just can't believe the effort I was putting in in the baby pool and really getting nowhere and feeling very frustrated about it. I started 1 lane then 2 then 3 from the side and kicked my way in, it was alright. Not brilliant but alright. At then end I was managing 3 breaths in the water before reaching the side. Quite pleased with that. I must admit I am not really getting Adam's breathing technique just right tonight but it's probably just the excitement of getting back in the pool again and I have done it before so I know I can do it again. 

It has been 4 weeks since I have been with the ladies in the pool and I do feel like it's all new. This time however I know I can stick my face in and I know I can float so I am a few steps ahead then I was the first time round. Brilliant.

I tried some more floating, just face down and limbs out and its all so nice and serene and floaty woaty  and TWANG!!!!! OWWWWW!!!!!

Disaster struck! The 'good' leg stiffened up and I panicked a wee bit thinking maybe I'd done the hamstring. But it was actually the calf that was hurting. I had to get out. Which wasn't easy. I managed to hop out and sat at the side. Perhaps it was cramp. Anyway after a couple of minutes it loosened off so I went for a walk in the water and it felt OK, a little tight but I felt I could go on. So I did something new. Hold the float with one hand and kind of doing some sort of home made stroke thing with the other kicking as we go. It was a partial success then the leg tightened up again. I gave it a few minutes tried again and it was getting tight so I just called it a day. Don't want to chance another injury. Shame as I could have achieved just a little bit more.

I consider tonight to be a success. I managed to do more than I thought I would and although I have still a long way to go I feel the foundations are a little bit stronger and I am still confident that I can crack this. 

I have a sneaky suspicion that I think that teacher thinks that I could actually swim if I only tried, but I'm not ready to give up my comfort blankie just yet.  Maybe it's psychological, I'm sure it could well be. I proved I can float, if I can just figure out this treading water lark then maybe I would believe a bit more. 

A few weeks off and I haven't been doing any homework so as school is back on I will be checking out other swimming related sites and if I find any useful I will let you know what they are. 

OK fingers crossed it was just cramp. 

Pip pip

Annoyance and Pain

First the annoyance:

Wednesday's lesson cancelled. Quite annoyed actually.

Now for the pain:

Friday night at the running track. 2nd grade quadriceps tear during warm up. Bloody sore. 2-3 weeks off. Not sure if I can go to the pool or not in the meantime. Hmm quite annoyed with myself.

Another wee rest, back in the saddle next week.

Decided again to have another week off, as teacher is on holiday, and try something different. So I joined the Lothian Running Club, for the first time, for their Wednesday night run up and down a wee hill and joined them again on Friday for my first ever go on a running track. Much fun was had however knees and hamstrings were hurting on Sunday morning, still, for my quick run before taking Spiderman to his swimming lesson.

New teacher for him today. Teacher asked all the kids for their names, to take register, predicatably my wee monkey said "Spiderman" which led to an argument with another kid who considered himself to be Spiderman also. So we had Spiderman 1 & Spiderman 2 in lessons today. Crikey!

Before and after the lesson both Spidermen were inseparable and my Spiderman followed the other Spiderman and copied everything he did. The other Spiderman is very good in the water and is happy to go under and come back up blowing bubbles which interestingly my Spiderman did too but during lessons he won't entertain it, and he seems to lack confidence in lesson time. I'm a bit confused about that I can only assume he doesn't like being told what to do and when to do it. A bit like his Spiderdaddy. So I will try and take him to the pool as often as is possible in between lessons to keep up the confidence.

Back to lessons tomorrow night and I am quite looking forward to it. I am refreshed and ready to start again (again).

I thank Aquamillie for her comments on my blog and I am hopeful of a continuation of her story too. I think the comments are spot on, to date my lessons have been all over the place, like a mad lady's breakfast, and I need to get a grip and get some kind of road map. I think it will be a good idea to try the float and practice the breathing in water thing and see what happens. It has been a few weeks so it makes sense to go right back to the start.

OK, so here we go again.

Pip pip.

Change is equal to or greater than a rest

This week with my teacher on holiday and my family on holiday too we decided to just go to the pool and have fun, Mummy, Daddy and SpiderMan! A fantastic time was had by all and Spiderman, freed from the shackles and the pressure of intense toddler swim school, was happy to splash about and just enjoy being in the water. He even surprised us with arm bands and later on just with a noodle tied round him doing a kind of a doggy paddle thing from one side of the pool to the other. OK he wasn't swimming as such as he was more vertical than horizontal but all limbs were working in sync and he seemed perfectly OK getting his face wet and blowing bubbles. During swim lessons he sometimes get's a bit cheesed off with all the dunking and deliberate attempts to splash his face so he is a bit more defensive during lesson time. In the free water he just swam and enjoyed himself.

He even took Mummy round the deep bit and in the secret lanes under the slides monkey style, ie holding on to the side and moving sideways, err like a monkey. A crab monkey presumably.

Daddy was happy just to walk about, dunk my head a couple of times and just kind of hold on to the side and enjoy watching my little Spiderman have a ball.

To be honest, as it's first week of school holidays, the pool was hoaching with kids and even if I could swim I wouldn't anyway as there just wasn't any room for an adult to even get 2 strokes in. The pool is very small, it's really more of a kids fun pool, it's not at all like a proper pool. Funny really it's the only pool in town too. There are 4 high schools with pools of which 2 are open to the public which I guess are swimming pool size but you would think a town of this size could use a big proper swimming pool. Maybe I should build one.

So for me it's good to go to a pool without anything in mind other than enjoying my boy have fun. It's good for the soul too, my lessons have been a bit rubbish 'til late and I have been frustrated so it's good to have a week off, next week I haven't decided if I will go splash about with the girls or have another week off then get right back into it when teacher is back from holiday. I did fancy maybe doing a few breadths with the float and face in water, just to see if a change of pool would be any different and to make sure I'm keeping up to speed with the face in water breathing thing as after 2 weeks of breast stroke attempts I have probably been not pushing that too hard.

Last week was the first weekend of the year when we went to the beach, got as far as dipping my toes in the frozen north sea and was greeted by wave upon wave of tiny purple jelly fish, urgh! It would be just great to go down to the beach and dive in and go for a swim without getting frostbite and jellyfish kisses. But then Scotland has it's other charms. Pictured below is our trip to the beautiful sands of Fife, with the hills of Edinburgh across the water  in the background.

Pip Pip, Onk Onk!