Back in the Pool

It's been nearly 9 months and I finally got signed off by the Physio this week for the shoulder injury sustained in November. Truth be told it's still sore every day and I still have strengthening exercises to perform every day but Physio says its 99.9% there and I have to just keep doing the exercises. Bonkers. I guess it would have been better to break something as that could have been be put back together and would have healed a lot sooner.

Since then I have been unable to perform anything but the very gentlest upper body work outs, or ironing as I like to call it, so I have a wobbly upper half. Nice! I have therefore been doing nothing other than running. Half marathons, hill races, hilly half marathons that sort of thing and 2 weeks ago my first marathon which was quite hilly also. Lovely.

I have also been on a quest to find some sort of decent lessons or teacher. It has taken all this time to actually find something. It is incredible to believe that it could take so long to find something but it has. I can't even remember who it was that finally sorted me out with a teacher as I have rang so many different places and left so many unanswered emails. Last night, in a health club in Edinburgh, I had a 1 on 1 lesson with a nice lady called Naomi.

Keeping it simple and streamlined I wanted to work on Breast stroke, as that to me seems to be less stressfull on the shoulder. We worked on gliding and doing the leg work then gliding and working on the arms. It was surprising how quick the time passed. It is good to find someone who 'gets' where I am and who I feel we are on a similar wavelength. Of course I started a bit rubbish but with each attempt it got better and let's get working on getting that committed to 'muscle memory'.

I could still float, I was pleased to find out, and could still stick my face in the water without any huge panic. I wanted to work on getting back to a standing position without my panic/flounder manoeuvre and I am pleased to say that after about 10 bad attempts I finally managed it twice on my own without any dramas. More about the technicalities of it next week when I can remember what on earth I did.

All this will be worked on again on Monday, as that is my next lesson.
Only problem with this pool is it doesn't have a deep end so how do I learn to tread water?
I am delighted to be back in the wet stuff, however, and determined that I can and will do this.

What is it with blokes in locker rooms though? Wandering about in the buff like they totally want you to see them, young/old fat/thin/blessed/unlucky. One guy was even watching himself towelling dry in front of the big mirror. I just don't get it. Put it away for goodness sake.

I have toyed with the idea of scrapping this blog as really last year was virtually a complete waste of time and none of it, I imagine, would be of any help to anyone but if nothing else it is interesting for me to read back and see what has changed. What has changed, I think, is my fear of the water is receding and my confidence increasing. Technique will surely follow.

A holiday at Centre Parcs in 5 or 6 weeks time and as the only thing that is free is the pool tonight I feel confident that by then at least I should be able to do a few strokes and stand up.

Currently watching Tom Daley and co. diving at the Olympics.
I wonder if I could do that....

Hit the tarmac!

Ouch! On Tuesday, on my last run before my first half marathon this Saturday, smack! Down I went. Hit  the pavement. Landed on my right shoulder.

Trip to the hospital, not broken, not dislocated just f@@@in' sore, thank you very much.

I have been neglecting this of late as I have binned my second teacher.

I have made a Total Immersion friend however who indulged me a couple of weeks ago. I will write about that next week. Suffice to say another injury will probably keep me out the pool for a few weeks.

Still running on Saturday though....hopefully!

Not much to report. Didn't blog last week as I just totally flippered out and had a not so good session. Who thought flippers were a good idea for someone who can't swim?

I am enjoying reading my Total Immersion book and watching my Total Immersion DVDs however when I get back into the pool nothing has changed.

Knowledge is power but practice and technique are proving to be very hard walls to climb right now.

My concentration is also more or running again at the moment as I have managed to get myself onto a very exciting Half Marathon at the end of November, and I really need to up my training for that as I am a couple of months behind schedule due to the summer injuries. I need to do very well indeed or risk looking like a fool infront of some people who could really help me next year in my quest to run up and down the hills.

Back in the pool tonight. Who knows what may happen?

Pip pip!

Splosh!

I have been looking into Total Immersion this week, check it out: Total Immersion

Inspired by Aquamillie's brilliant blog, check it out: Aquamillie's blog

Fascinating huh?

I have got my hands on a copy of the o2 in h2o dvd, like Aquamillie, but didn't get it in time to watch it all the way through before my lesson tonight. I will definitely get involved in the coming days. I like what I see regarding total immersion and simple, obvious things like practicing a skill until you have mastered it then building from it onto a new skill and so on just help to remind me to try and get some sense and forward planning into this. So far it has been all over the place, like a mad lady's breakfast.

Another good night in the pool. Teacher was on form tonight really pushing us, which is really what I need. Despite not being 100% successful in anything I tried and drinking most of the pool the positive thing was I tried, I had a go. I may have flailed but I didn't fail. So I have a fizzy nose and throat but I feel good. A cup of decaf and everything is rosy.

Tonight after the usual deep end dunk we did some treading water. Which I really wanted to do. We got noodles which was great as we could really concentrate on our legs and get that right without any fear. I got the hang of it eventually. It helps me to not look down. I practiced 3 different types of kick. Egg beater, breast-stroke kick and just a kind of swishy swishy thing. I did them all but I really concentrated on the swishy swishy one. As I had been watching some youtube clips and I like the idea of long relaxed slow moving legs, relaxed feet gentle movements trying not to kick far beyond the line of the body, as that is the kind of kick that I have seen used in some of the short Total Immersion promo videos I have watched. I never got a chance to go back and try without the noodle, as intended, as the rest of the lesson was action packed. So a skill to practice and master is treading water, until I can do it without a noodle. (1)

Next, float in 2 hands we did 4 widths of the pool, face in water and breathing as best we could. Now I haven't watched the o2 in h20 dvd yet so I just did it my way. Which worked as well as it has always done. I get half way across the pool and I either run our of breath or breathe wrong or my legs are not moving me any longer. I was trying this week to not kick too hard and not breathe too hard as I am sure that is what is going to be the way forward for me but my relatively new made up habits are hard to break. My kicking was less frantic and violent which did help a bit, as I was trying/hoping to keep my kicks all swishy swishy like and within my body line but then I would forget to breathe or breathe wrong so although I may have improved my technique by the minutest of details it wasn't enough to propel me any further than normal. It's a lot to think about and do.

So next we had one hand on the float and one hand 'swimming' 4 widths. Well this was OK providing I was swimming with my right hand, it was as successful as with 2 hands on the float but when I changed to the left hand I was hopeless. Absolutely hopeless. I found it really tough to do, to be fair so did half of the others.

Next we had to do it without floats, I was nervous-not scared, but off I went. I did a width in 3 stages. But that is progress as last week I managed a third of a width twice, so to do 4 widths (albeit in 3 stages) feels like progress and to be only nervous and not scared was progress too. Delighted with that. Again my technique wasn't great and to be honest the majority of the time I didn't stick my face in the water as it was just all too much to think about and trying to survive at the same time. My front crawl feels like a doggy paddle, It would be interesting (or mortifying) to see a video of me doing it.

So while the others tried backstroke with hilarious consequences I wanted to try floating on my back. I'm OK floating on my front, floating on my back I struggle with so I gave that some attention tonight. Until tonight I had never floated on my back, never thought that it was possible but I have seen people do it on youtube so I had belief this week. Lie back, put ears in the water and mostly it works. Just remember to push tummy up.  My problem is that I don't find it easy to get back on my feet. Lift head up, lift bum up bend knees into chair position, don't panic and flail about.  I practiced and it got a wee bit better so I need to keep practicing  as I need to master that, that is skill number (2)

I'm thinking about a swimming cap too. Hmmm!

Some sites I have been looking at that I found helpful this week are here:

Total Immersion Forum this was interesting as there was a few beginners or frustrated swimmers who were battling with there breathing too. I am not alone!

Everybody Swim videos some good videos for very basic beginners techniques. Quick and simple.

Barefish blog I found the blog a good read.

It never stops bloody raining I love this site equally as much as I hate the constant Scottish drizzle.

One more cup of coffee before bedtime. 

Pip pip

Splish!

2 weeks ago I got a bit carried away after a 4.5 mile run. I was feeling great, feeling strong.  I decided to top it up to 6 miles. Mistake! At 5.5 miles pop went the same calf that I tore in the pool 5/6 weeks earlier.

So I have been sat at home feeling angry with myself for a couple of weeks.

Today the leg was pain free so I decided to give the pool a try. I am glad I did.

There was a good turn out tonight. 6 ladies, me and another bloke. A 69 year old guy who wants to swim before he is 70. Brilliant, I thought, some good old fashioned competition. That's what we blokes need. 

I took it quite easy at first tonight, making sure the leg was up to it. It was fine. 

So an interesting thing happened tonight. After all the usual stuff, float for a bit, noodle for a bit managing  half a width before stopping,  I was encouraged to try and just swim. I wasn't convinced it was a good idea but I went with it. 2 Lanes out from the side off I went. Interestingly the first few times were quite a success. I actually managed to swim. OK it was quite a short distance, only the width of 2 lanes, but that is the first time I have moved through the water without any aid. Sure it wasn't graceful and may well have looked like anything but swimming. But it was. I swam. Hurrah! I was obviously feeling cocky so I stepped out 3 lanes and had a go. That was less of a success as I managed 2 and a half lanes before  It went a bit wonky, I think I must have felt a bit silly after that as I lost a bit of confidence and struggled a bit to regain my original glory.

I spent some time practising breathing again going across the pool with float or holding out a noodle in front. It's not brilliant. I can get half way across and then it seems to go a bit rubbish. Most of the 'new' folk seem to be unable to stick their face in the water so I am very pleased that although I still can't do it perfectly at least I have a really good go. I was trying to help some folks with the advice that nice folks have given me but mostly everyone was just adamant they couldn't do it. So they weren't really listening. I will try again next week.

It seems that half the time it is all alright. Good kicks, OK breaths etc etc and the other half of the time it is awkward and wrong. I keep going because I hope that with time the 'alright' bits will be greater than the rubbish bits and I will be able to get from one side to the other without it going the same way as a clown's car when he slams the door and honks the horn!

So another hour flew by and again I feel that I have made some tiny progress, with a long way still to go. 

The last 2 Sundays I have taken Spider-man for his swimming lesson. After Sunday's lesson I decided it would be fun to have a go in the big scary slides. I think they called them flumes when I was a kid. So before he could talk us both out of it we climbed the steps. Up and up to the ceiling, wow I forgotten how scared I used to be of heights. I sat down and gently positioned the wee super hero on top of me, I laid down and whoosh! down we went, like a double decker torpedo of fun. It was the first time either of us had done such a thing and I had no idea what to expect. What fun. We landed in a small pool at the bottom of the slide giggling like, well like a kid and his daddy. We went straight back up the steps and did it again and again. Brilliant!

Tonight coming out of the pool it was dark and cold. The first time since I started this, that I have come out in the dark. Time is marching, Christmas is coming, and I won't be 36 for ever! At least it was calm, though,  after 2 nights of 70+mph winds and horizontal rain as Katia paid the UK a visit. Or summer as we like to call it in Scotland.

Pip pip!

Splash!

Hurrah, back in the pool after quite a few weeks off with injury and illness. 

Just like starting all over again, again, again.

A couple of splutters underwater at the deep end, I am well out of practice. 

So tonight did some floating, getting my face back in the water. One of the girls told me just to put my face in the water, not my whole head. Apparently that's what I was doing. You should wear the water like a mask, not a helmet! Brilliant. I consciously tried to do just that. I also learnt that eyes should be looking forward, not down when in the water. So that's 2 things I learnt tonight that I did not know before. Makes sense if you think about it. 

So I need to try and put that into practice. 

To be honest if left to my own devices I would have just practiced that for the whole hour but teacher kept up a brisk pace tonight for us, constantly trying out new things on us. It was all just to fast for me but the other 4 girls could just about keep up. We all tried, which was good. 

The things we tried was holding float with one hand and trying to do some strokes with the other hand. Then change over. I was useless with the left arm. There were other various things like that but to be honest it was going to fast for me and I can't even remember now. 

Biggest change tonight though was instead of getting a float and stepping out 1 then 2 then 3 lanes from the side and float/flapping back in I decided to kick off from the side and head across the pool, I just did it and guess what? I didn't drown. I may have stopped 3 times on the way across and stood up but that's OK. Very pleased with that. I got tired half way through though and it was quite hard work towards the end. 

So still need more time to practice before I dare take away my comfort float.

However I have learnt a couple of things about head in the water and I have turned round and headed out instead of in. That may be all but it's this weeks' step forward. O and remember to just breath normally.

More pool time is needed. Christmas is coming.

Pip pip.

Nothing to report:

Just a quick note to say nothing to report here. As it is Scotland in summer it inevitably rained for a whole month last Wednesday so I didn't make it to the outdoor Ceilidh and then on Thursday I uncharacteristically ate some skanky junk food from a greasy cafe. I suffered, alot. 

24 hours of pain and vomiting and 4 days in bed. Great! I even missed a performance, at the festival, by the Edinburgh Sitar Project  http://www.tablaalba.org/  Gutted! The next thing i'm going to do after I nail this swimming lark is join these guys. They rawk! Looking on the bright side, though, I got 2 days off work and I lost 5 lbs. Spiderman was not very well last week either, he was sick on Tuesday and Thursday so poor Spidermummy had quite a few days. Bless her.

Tomorrow will be 4 weeks since injury number 1 and I will be going out for my first jog. Should be interesting. 

On Sunday there is a great event in Edinburgh. Check dis!

http://www.edinburghrunningnetwork.co.uk/2ndAnnualERNLPRace.htm

An interesting afternoon is guaranteed, including a cake baking competition! Here are a few prize photos from last years race.

Hopefully I can win myself some crappy old lp too. However I intend just taking it easy and enjoying the experience. 33 1/3 minutes of running after 4 weeks off will no doubt be a small challenge. 

I have been checking out Barefish.com.au very interesting and quite informative. The advice would appear to be slow down, don't rush, listen to your senses. Your mind knows what to do, let your body do it. Interesting. It's hard to slow down when you are desperate to learn but there must be something in it as I have been in a massive rush and have got nowhere thus far. Paralysis by analysis. Groovy man!

OK I'm off to listen to the rhythm of the rain on the conservatory roof. Hopefully next week I should be back on that, err horse?

Busy week. Sunday LP run. Monday Ravi Shankar at the Edinburgh Festival. Tuesday running with the Jolly Joggers. Wednesday Swim club. Thursday Jolly Jogging again. Friday. Night off. Phew!

Pip pip!